5-Trial Adjusting Delay Discounting Task
AKA: Minute Discounting Task
Background
The 5-Trial Discounting Procedure (also known as the 1-minute Discounting Procedure) is a type of Delay Discounting (DD) task that aims to establish a person's discount rate k as a behaviorally-based measure of impulsivity. Generally, a high k value implies that individuals take lower but immediate rewards faster than people with lower k rates who are willing to wait a bit longer for higher rewards. In other words, high rewards with longer wait periods lose subjective value faster for people with high k values.
The 5-Trial Discounting Procedure was introduced by Mikhail Koffarnus and Warren Bickel in 2014 as a quick behavioral assessment tool of a person's k value. In contrast to the more traditional DD procedures, the 5-Trial Discounting Procedure directly establishes this k value and does not require to first find indifference points. To this end, instead of adjusting the amounts and keeping delay intervals constant, the 5-Trial Discounting Procedure adjusts the delays. After 5 adjusting trials, the procedure ends with a delay that can be almost directly translated into a k value.
Task Procedure
After a brief introduction to the task, a participant answers 5 questions such as "Would you rather have $5 dollars now or $10 dollars in 3 weeks?" by selecting the answer choice button of their choice.
During the 5 trials, the delay (here: 3 weeks) is constantly adjusted to pre-determined values depending on the choices made.
What it Measures
The 5-Trial Discounting Procedure is a quick behavioral assessment tool of impulsivity, specifically choice impulsivity
Psychological domains
- Inhibitory Control: The ability to withhold a "rash" response for immediate gain in favor of a more valuable future outcome.
Main Performance Metrics
- ed50: Effective Delay 50%, the delay at which participants start switching from the higher to the lower reward
- k: discount rate (inverse of ed50)
Psychiatric Conditions
Higher discount rates k are linked to the following conditions:
- Addictive Disorders
- Substance Abuse
- Gambling
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Bipolar Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
A brief, 5-question delay discounting task that takes under a minute to administer designed by Koffarnus, Warren, and Bickel (2014).
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit 5-Trial Adjusting Delay Discounting Task.
Koffarnus, M.N. & and Warren K. Bickel, W.K (2014). A 5-Trial Adjusting Delay Discounting Task: Accurate Discount Rates in Less Than One Minute. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 22, 222–228.
Tucker, J., Cheong, J., Chandler, S., Lambert, B., Kwok, H., & Pietrzak, B. (2016). Behavioral economic indicators of drinking problem severity and initial outcomes among problem drinkers attempting natural recovery: A cross‐sectional naturalistic study. Addiction, 111(11), 1956-1965.
Friedel, J., DeHart, W., Frye, C., Rung, J., Odum, A., & Evans, Suzette M. (2016). Discounting of Qualitatively Different Delayed Health Outcomes in Current and Never Smokers. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 24(1), 18-29.
Stein, J., Sze, S., Athamneh, Y., Koffarnus, L., Epstein, M., & Bickel, N. (2017). Think fast: Rapid assessment of the effects of episodic future thinking on delay discounting in overweight/obese participants. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 40(5), 832-838.