Changing Delay Discounting and Impulsive Choice: Implications for Addictions, Prevention, and Human Health
Impulsive choice is moveable, not fixed—simple behavioral drills can steeply reduce delay discounting and possibly prevent addiction.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rung and team scanned 20 years of experiments on delay discounting. They asked one question: can we train people to wait longer for bigger rewards?
The review covers lab tasks with money, food, and drug choices. Most subjects were adults with or without addiction histories.
What they found
Yes. Simple tricks like showing clocks, asking "which should you choose?" or practicing short waits all cut impulsive picks.
The authors say these tools could stop addiction before it starts by teaching patience.
How this fits with other research
Renda et al. (2018) backs this up. Rats trained to wait for food chose the larger, later reward 80% more often.
Green et al. (2019) seems to disagree. It shows many people with drug problems are patient with money, hinting discounting is situational, not a fixed trait.
MacKillop (2013) sits in the middle. It calls steep discounting a stable, partly genetic marker. The new review adds: even if it's a trait, you can still move it.
Chiviacowsky et al. (2013) gives a quick win. Adults picked the delayed $20 twice as often when the question read "Which should you choose?" instead of "Which would you like?"
Cascarilla et al. (2025) flips the lens. Teachers also discount future student progress; steeper discounting predicts earlier abandonment of behavior plans.
Why it matters
You can soften impulsive choice in clients, students, and even yourself. Start sessions with tiny wait games, use "should" frames, and show timers. These micro-drills may guard against risky choices later.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Delay discounting describes the tendency to devalue delayed consequences or future prospects. The degree to which an individual discounts delayed events appears trait-like in that it is stable over time and across functionally similar situations. Steeply discounting delayed rewards is correlated with most substance-use disorders, the severity of these disorders, rates of relapse to drug use, and a host of other maladaptive decisions affecting human health. Longitudinal data suggest steep delay discounting and high levels of impulsive choice are predictive of subsequent drug taking, which suggests (though does not establish) that reducing delay discounting could have a preventive health-promoting effect. Experimental manipulations that produce momentary or long-lasting reductions in delay discounting or impulsive choice are reviewed, and behavioral mechanisms that may underlie these effects are discussed. Shortcomings of each manipulation technique are discussed and areas for future research are identified. Although much work remains, it is clear that impulsive decision making can be reduced, despite its otherwise trait-like qualities. Such findings invite technique refinement, translational research, and hope.
Perspectives on Behavior Science, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s40614-019-00200-7