[Overassessment of losses with a delay].
The effects of delay in evaluating the future loss were examined. College students as participants were asked to indicate the amount of money they would pay immediately, supposing they had enough money to pay any amount, instead of paying the fixed amount (100,000 yen) in future after various delays. Two types of questions were employed. When the participants were asked to fill out the maximum amount they are willing to pay immediately rather than paying the fixed amount in future, the reported amount was described by a monotonically decreasing (hyperbolic or power) function of the delay. When they were asked the minimum amount for the alternative against which they would choose the fixed future payment, however, they answered greater amount than the fixed future amount. This result is in clear contrast to the generally reported "discount of value" for future reward. This kind of discrepancy between two types of questions was not observed when the participants made decisions between fixed and probabilistic alternatives, and the data fitted the theoretical functions adequately.
Takahashi
Tokuro
T
Higashiosaka Junior College, Nishizutumi Gakuencho, Higashiosaka 577-8567.
D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D011336:Probability; D013998:Time Perception; D014040:Token Economy