Age differences in intertemporal choice among children, adolescents, and adults

Iris Ikink; Anna C K van Duijvenvoorde; Hilde Huizenga; Karin Roelofs; Bernd Figner

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105691

Age differences in intertemporal choice among children, adolescents, and adults

J Exp Child Psychol. 2023 Sep:233:105691. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105691. Epub 2023 May 5.

Authors

Iris Ikink¹, Anna C K van Duijvenvoorde², Hilde Huizenga³, Karin Roelofs⁴, Bernd Figner⁵

Affiliations

¹ Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: iris.ikink@ugent.be.
² Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Leiden University, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Research Priority Area Yield, 1018 WS Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁴ Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
⁵ Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: b.figner@psych.ru.nl.

PMID: 37150038
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105691

Abstract

When choosing between sooner-smaller and later-larger rewards (i.e., intertemporal choices), adults typically prefer later-larger rewards more often than children. Intertemporal choice preferences have been implicated in various impulsivity-related psychopathologies, making it important to understand the underlying mechanisms not only in terms of how reward magnitude and delay affect choice but also in terms of how these mechanisms develop across age. We administered an intertemporal choice paradigm to 60 children (8-11 years), 79 adolescents (14-16 years), and 60 young adults (18-23 years). The paradigm systematically varied amounts and delays of the available rewards, allowing us to identify mechanisms underlying age-related differences in patience. Compared with young adults, both children and adolescents made fewer later-larger choices. In terms of underlying mechanisms, variation in delays, absolute reward magnitudes, and relative amount differences affected choice in each age group, indicating that children showed sensitivity to the same choice-relevant factors as young adults. Sensitivity to both absolute reward magnitude and relative amount differences showed a further monotonic age-related increase, whereas no change in delay sensitivity occurred. Lastly, adolescents and young adults weakly displayed a present bias (i.e., overvaluing immediate vs. future rewards; nonsignificant and trend, respectively), whereas children showed a nonsignificant but opposite pattern, possibly indicating that specifically dealing with future rewards changed with age. These findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the development of patience. By decomposing overt choices, our results suggest that the age-related increase in patience may be driven specifically by stronger sensitivity to amount differences with age.

Keywords: Amount sensitivity; Cross-sectional; Delay discounting; Development; Intertemporal choice; Underlying mechanisms.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Bias
Child
Choice Behavior*
Delay Discounting*
Humans
Impulsive Behavior
Reward
Young Adult