The Effect Of Psychological Distance On Intertemporal Choice And Risky Choice

Intertemporal choice and risky choice are two basic forms of choices in decision making. One hot topic which attracts the attention of many researchers is the differences and correlations between these two kind of choices. This study investigated the effect of psychological distance and construal level on intertemporal choice and risky choice, and suggested these two kinds of choices have similar representation, that delay or probability is represented as low-level construal, whereas the magnitude of money is represented as high-level construal. This study included three parts:Part1investigated the difference and correlation between time discounting and probability discounting by adjusting-amount procedure; Part2investigated the effect of time distance, social distance and probability distance on intertemporal choice and risky choice in simulated experiment circumstances; Part3investigated the effect of construal level mindsets on intertemporal choice and risky choice.Part1concentrated on three issues:the comparison of math models of time discounting and probability discounting, the effect of the magnitude of money on them, and the correlation between them. The results showed:(1) time discounting and probability discounting were fitted well with the hyperbolic model rather than the exponent model;(2) magnitude of money had opponent effect on time discounting and probability discounting;(3) there was no significant correlation between them. The results indicated that intertemporal choice and risky choice might contain some similar psychological procedure, as well as some special psychological procedure in each kind of choice.Part2included three experiments:Experiment1investigated the effect of time distance on intertemporal choice and risky choice. The results showed that compared to making choice in near future, people making choices in distant future tended to prefer delayed alternative in intertemporal choice and risky alternative in risky choice. Experiment2investigated the effect of social distance on intertemporal choice and risky choice. The results showed that compared to making choice for themselves, people making choices for others tended to prefer delayed alternative in intertemporal choice and risky alternative in risky choice. Experiment3investigated the effect of probability distance on intertemporal choice and risky choice. The results showed that compared to making choice for high probability things, people making choices for low probability things tended to prefer delayed alternative in intertemporal choice and risky alternative in risky choice. Time distance, social distance and probability distance had similar effect on intertemporal choice and risky choice, which indicating that time distance, social distance and probability distance were similar as psychological distance, and indicating similar psychological procedure were shared in intermporal choice and risky choice.Part3included two experiments:In experiment1, participants were procedurally primed to high or low level construal mindsets by considering questions related to "why" or "how" they engaged in certain actions, then accomplished intertemporal choices or risky choices. In experiment2, participants were procedurally primed to high or low level construal mindsets by reacting to global letters or local letters, then accomplished intertemporal choices or risky choices. The results showed that participants with high-level construal mindsets valued delayed and risky money higher than those with low-level mindsets, both in experiment1and2, which indicating that time and probability were represented in a similar way. The results could explain some parallels between intertemporal and risky choices. Furthermore, construal-level mindsets could be triggered by both thought and visual perception, which gave additional evidence that the connection between psychological distances and construal levels could be activated automatically and implicitly.In the end, the theory implications of the results to psychological distance and construal level theory, intertemporal choice and risky choice, and other decision making theory were concluded. The practice implications of the results to the prediction of decision making, self-control, risky prefer and risky management were also concluded.