title: Initial examination of priming tasks to decrease delay discounting.
abstract: Steep discounting of delayed rewards is linked with a variety of unhealthy behaviors that contribute to the major causes of preventable death and disease. Growing evidence suggests that decreases in delay discounting contribute to healthier preferences. This study sought to provide preliminary evidence for the viability of developing a brief priming task to reduce delay discounting in a large, diverse group of individuals. Participants (n=1,122) were randomized to one of three conditions: Future Focus (FF), Present Focus (PF), and Non-Temporal Focus (NTF) intended respectively to decrease, increase, or have no effect on delay discounting. Participants then completed the Monetary Choice Questionnaire, a brief assessment of delay discounting rate. Participants randomized to FF exhibited significantly lower discounting rates than those randomized to PF or NTF conditions. Race, Hispanic background, social self-monitoring, education, and cigarette smoking also accounted for a significant amount of variance in the discounting model. These findings provide support for the development of a brief priming intervention that might be examined in clinical or public health contexts to decrease discounting and support healthy choices.
authors.affiliation: Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education / CUNY Medical School, 160 Convent Ave, City College of New York, United States. Electronic address: csheffer@med.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Sheffer
authors.affiliation: Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, x39492, Canada. Electronic address: jmackill@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mackillop
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harris Hall Suite 14, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Arislenia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada. Electronic address: darren.christensen@uleth.ca.
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.affiliation: Advanced Recovery Research Center, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, VA, United States. Electronic address: wkbickel@vtc.vt.edu.
authors.forename: Warren K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Bickel
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5510 Nathan Shock Drive, Baltimore, MD 21224-6823, United States. Electronic address: mwj@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harris Hall Suite 14, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Luana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Panissidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harris Hall Suite 14, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Jami
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pittman
authors.affiliation: Virginia Tech University, Virginia Tech Department of Statistics, 403E Hutcheson Hall, Blacksburg, VA 24061, United States. Electronic address: chfranck@vt.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Franck
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harris Hall Suite 14, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Jarrett
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harris Hall Suite 14, City College of New York, United States.
authors.forename: Merlin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mathew
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D065786:Delay Discounting; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011897:Random Allocation; D060865:Repetition Priming; D012201:Reward; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult