Decision Making2–4 minBurden: LowEMA: Medium

Delay Discounting

An intertemporal-choice task that measures the degree to which participants prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed ones.

ImpulsivityIntertemporal choiceSelf-control
Category
Decision Making
Typical duration
2–4 min
Participant burden
Low
EMA suitability
Medium

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Task parameters

Presents choices between smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards. Outputs: immediate choice proportion and hyperbolic discounting rate (k).

2–4 minBurden: LowEMA: Medium

This is a researcher preview. No participant data is recorded.

Simulated participant view

9:41

Delay Discounting

An intertemporal-choice task that measures the degree to which participants prefer smaller immediate rewards over larger delayed ones.

No data is recorded

Participant experience on smartphone

On each trial two option cards are shown — a smaller amount available today and a larger amount available after a stated delay — and the participant taps their preferred option.

When to use

Useful in addiction, impulsivity, self-regulation, health behaviour, and economic decision-making research where delay sensitivity is a target individual-difference variable.

When not to use

Less suitable when the study requires clinically validated scoring rather than an exploratory hyperbolic-k estimate, or when currency framing may cause disengagement.

How to use in a study

Keep amounts realistic and delays varied to spread out choice patterns. Use a minimum of 10–15 trials for a stable k estimate.

Researcher-configurable parameters

  • Number of trials
  • Immediate and delayed amount pairings
  • Practice block enabled / disabled

Outputs collected

  • Proportion of immediate choices
  • Hyperbolic discounting rate (k)
  • Choice pattern per delay bracket

Interpretation notes

The k estimate provided is a simplified single-parameter proxy. For formal k fitting or AUC scoring, export the trial-level choice data and compute offline.

Scientific evidence

  • Delay discounting is one of the most replicated individual-difference constructs in behavioural research and transfers well to brief touchscreen formats.
  • Smartphone-based intertemporal choice tasks show acceptable test-retest reliability when trial sets are well-designed.

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