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COMMITMENT, CHOICE AND SELF‐CONTROL

COMMITMENT, CHOICE AND SELF‐CONTROL When offered a choice (Choice Y) between a small immediate reward (2‐sec exposure to grain) and a large reward (4‐sec exposure to grain) delayed by 4 sec, pigeons invariably preferred the small, immediate reward. However, when offered a choice (Choice X) between a delay of T seconds followed by Choice Y and a delay of T seconds followed by restriction to the large delayed reward only, the pigeon's choice depended on T. When T was small, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to Choice Y (and then chose the small, immediate reward). When T was large, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to the large delayed reward only. The reversal of preference as T increases is predicted by several recent models for choice between various amounts and delays of reward. The preference for the large delayed alternative with long durations of T parallels everyday instances of advance commitment to a given course of action. Such commitment may be seen as a prototype for self‐control. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior Wiley

COMMITMENT, CHOICE AND SELF‐CONTROL

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References (18)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
1972 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
ISSN
0022-5002
eISSN
1938-3711
DOI
10.1901/jeab.1972.17-15
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

When offered a choice (Choice Y) between a small immediate reward (2‐sec exposure to grain) and a large reward (4‐sec exposure to grain) delayed by 4 sec, pigeons invariably preferred the small, immediate reward. However, when offered a choice (Choice X) between a delay of T seconds followed by Choice Y and a delay of T seconds followed by restriction to the large delayed reward only, the pigeon's choice depended on T. When T was small, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to Choice Y (and then chose the small, immediate reward). When T was large, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to the large delayed reward only. The reversal of preference as T increases is predicted by several recent models for choice between various amounts and delays of reward. The preference for the large delayed alternative with long durations of T parallels everyday instances of advance commitment to a given course of action. Such commitment may be seen as a prototype for self‐control.

Journal

Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior – Wiley

Published: Jan 1, 1972

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