RATIONALE: In delay discounting, temporally remote rewards have less value. Cigarette smoking is associated with steeper discounting of delayed money. The generality of this to nonmonetary outcomes, however, is unknown. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether cigarette smokers also show steep discounting of other delayed outcomes. METHODS: Sixty-five participants (32 smokers and 33 non-smokers) completed four delay-discounting tasks, each involving different hypothetical outcomes. In the monetary task, participants indicated their preference for a smaller amount of money available immediately (titrated across trials) and $100 awarded at delays ranging from 1 week to 25 years (tested in blocks). In the three other discounting tasks the larger-later reward was $100 worth of a favorite food, alcoholic drink, or a favorite form of entertainment. All other aspects of these discounting tasks were identical to the monetary discounting task. RESULTS: As previously shown, smokers discounted delayed money more steeply than non-smokers did. In addition, smokers discounted delayed food and entertainment rewards more steeply than did nonsmokers. A person's discounting of one outcome was correlated with discounting of other outcomes. Non-smokers discounted money less steeply than all other outcomes; smokers discounted money significantly less than food. CONCLUSIONS: When compared to nonsmokers, cigarette smokers more steeply discount several types of delayed outcomes. This result, together with the finding that cross-commodity discounting rates were correlated within subjects, suggests that delay discounting is a trait that extends across domains.
RATIONALE: In delay discounting, temporally remote rewards have less value. Cigarette smoking is associated with steeper discounting of delayed money. The generality of this to nonmonetary outcomes, however, is unknown. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine whether cigarette smokers also show steep discounting of other delayed outcomes. METHODS: Sixty-five participants (32 smokers and 33 non-smokers) completed four delay-discounting tasks, each involving different hypothetical outcomes. In the monetary task, participants indicated their preference for a smaller amount of money available immediately (titrated across trials) and $100 awarded at delays ranging from 1 week to 25 years (tested in blocks). In the three other discounting tasks the larger-later reward was $100 worth of a favorite food, alcoholic drink, or a favorite form of entertainment. All other aspects of these discounting tasks were identical to the monetary discounting task. RESULTS: As previously shown, smokers discounted delayed money more steeply than non-smokers did. In addition, smokers discounted delayed food and entertainment rewards more steeply than did nonsmokers. A person's discounting of one outcome was correlated with discounting of other outcomes. Non-smokers discounted money less steeply than all other outcomes; smokers discounted money significantly less than food. CONCLUSIONS: When compared to nonsmokers, cigarette smokers more steeply discount several types of delayed outcomes. This result, together with the finding that cross-commodity discounting rates were correlated within subjects, suggests that delay discounting is a trait that extends across domains.
Authors: Matthew W Johnson; Warren K Bickel; Forest Baker; Brent A Moore; Gary J Badger; Alan J Budney Journal: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol Date: 2010-02 Impact factor: 3.157
Authors: Christine Sheffer; James Mackillop; John McGeary; Reid Landes; Lawrence Carter; Richard Yi; Bryan Jones; Darren Christensen; Maxine Stitzer; Lisa Jackson; Warren Bickel Journal: Am J Addict Date: 2012-04-06
Authors: Janet Audrain-McGovern; Daniel Rodriguez; Leonard H Epstein; Jocelyn Cuevas; Kelli Rodgers; E Paul Wileyto Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2009-05-14 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: W Brady DeHart; Brent A Kaplan; Derek A Pope; Alexandra M Mellis; Warren K Bickel Journal: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol Date: 2018-11-05 Impact factor: 3.157
Authors: Alexandra M Mellis; Liqa N Athamneh; Jeffrey S Stein; Yan Yan Sze; Leonard H Epstein; Warren K Bickel Journal: Appetite Date: 2018-06-27 Impact factor: 3.868
Authors: Alexa A Lopez; Ryan Redner; Allison N Kurti; Diana R Keith; Andrea C Villanti; Cassandra A Stanton; Diann E Gaalema; Janice Y Bunn; Nathan J Doogan; Antonio Cepeda-Benito; Megan E Roberts; Stephen T Higgins Journal: Prev Med Date: 2018-03-17 Impact factor: 4.018