Strategy

Strategy

The Association between Delay Discounting in Intertemporal Decisions and Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
fatemeh eivazi 1
javad hatami 2
alireza moradi 3
mohammadreza nazemzadeh 4
1 Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education; Psychology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran
4 Physics and Biomedical Engineering Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/rahbord.2022.152682
Abstract
Intertemporal decisions involve outcomes that occur at different points in time. Individuals tend to discount delayed rewards or outcomes. This process is called delay discounting (DD) and is reliably related to subjective self-control or impulsiveness. The delay discount rate differs among individuals. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the DD rates vary as a function of socioeconomic status (SES) along with demographic variables in a high inflationary macroeconomic context. The present study applied the 27-item delay discounting questionnaire (DDQ) to measure individuals’ DD rates. Education and income level as SES indicators were obtained likewise age, gender, and, marital status. The results revealed that highly educated individuals discount delays to a lesser extent and are less impulsive. There was no significant association between income level and DD rates but totally SES was significantly and negatively associated with delay discounting. There is evidence for women discounting more than men and married subjects discounting more than single ones. In a multiple regression analysis, education can predict fewer discounting behaviors controlling for gender and marital status (R2=0.123, Adjusted R2=0.098, F=5.026, p-value=0.003).
Keywords
Intertemporal Decisions
Delay Discounting
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Education
Income

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  • Receive Date 10 May 2022
  • Revise Date 28 May 2022
  • Accept Date 28 May 2022