Mark R. Dixon, Eric A. Jacobs, & Scott Sanders. (2006)
Contextual control of delay discounting by pathological gamblers.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
39, 413-422.
The present study demonstrated the relative impact of gambling and nongambling
contexts on the degree of delay discounting by pathological gamblers. We used a delay-discounting task with 20 pathological gamblers in and out of the natural
context in which they regularly gambled. For 16 of the 20 participants, it
appeared that the difference of context altered the subjective value of
delayed rewards, thereby producing relative changes in delay-discounting
rates that were generally consistent with a hyperbolic model of intertemporal
choice. The current data suggest that empirically derived k values from
delay-discounting tasks are context sensitive and are not constant across
various settings for the individual. Implications for future transitional
research on addictive disorders generally, and gambling specifically, are discussed.
DESCRIPTORS: choice, self-control, impulsivity, delay discounting, establishing operation, gambling