Temporal discounting: basic research and the analysis of socially important behavior.

Roane et al. (2001) wrote a narrative review. They pulled together basic studies on temporal discounting.

The goal was to show clinicians how these lab tools can explain impulsive, health, or addiction behaviors.

The paper does not give new data. It maps out how delay-discount tasks can sharpen a functional assessment.

Authors argue that knowing how steeply a client discounts future rewards helps you pick better reinforcers.

Hanson et al. (2013) extends the idea to kids with ADHD and autism. They found children with ASD discount edible and social rewards faster than money, so reward type matters.

Dudley et al. (2019) systematic review looks at all timing work in autism. It agrees that higher-order time tasks, like discounting, show clearer group differences than simple motor timing.

van Timmeren et al. (2016) also focuses on autism but stresses audiovisual timing gaps, not reward delays. The two autism papers do not clash; they simply spotlight different parts of the temporal puzzle.

Lejeune et al. (2006) keeps the discussion grounded in Skinnerian tradition, reminding us that schedules, not internal clocks, drive the effects S et al. want clinicians to use.

You can add a five-minute delay-choice probe to your intake. Let the client pick between one token now or three tokens in 10 minutes. A steep curve flags impulsivity and guides you toward immediate, high-rate reinforcement at first. Over time, you can stretch the delay, shaping self-control just like progressive-interval schedules shape longer pauses in basic studies.