title: Discounting of hypothetical and potentially real outcomes in nicotine-dependent and nondependent samples.
abstract: Discounting is a behavioral phenomenon in which the value of an outcome diminishes as a function of its increased delay or decreased probability and is related to substance abuse research because of its theoretical ties with behavioral models of impulsive choice. Research to date suggests that hypothetical outcomes used in discounting research yield data that are indistinguishable from those using potentially real outcomes. However, the extant literature focuses primarily on delay discounting in non-drug-using humans and has not examined whether hypothetical outcomes yield disproportionate numbers of nonsystematic response patterns. In two experiments, we compared hypothetical and potentially real monetary outcomes in delay and probability discounting tasks in terms of rates of discounting and the frequency of nonsystematic response patterns. In Experiment 1, 61 adults reported no smoking, binge drinking, or illicit drug use in the past year. Experiment 2 included a community sample of nicotine-dependent adults (N = 36). In both experiments, discounting for hypothetical and potentially real outcomes yielded similar data, replicating and extending a growing literature pointing to the empirical equivalence of these outcomes. These findings are relevant to research on discounting that is frequently used in the study of substance use and other impulse-control behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA. lawystev@isu.edu
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lawyer
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schoepflin
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jenks
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011336:Probability; D012201:Reward; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine