Research On The Impact Of The Level Of Understanding On Intertemporal Choices

Intertemporal choice is a research hotspot in the decision-making field.The current research focuses on task setting,formal effects,emotion and personality traits.In recent years,the research about Construal Level Theory and background factors has become more and more in-depth in risk decision,so whether the conclusions of risk selection research are applicable to intertemporal choices,and whether the mechanism is similar.This study explores the impact of construal level on intertemporal choice behavior from the perspective of intertemporal choice.The initiation of construal level used the psychological distance method and the thinking induction method respectively,and set the gain and loss situation in the background.The research examined the influence of construal level on the intertemporal selection behavior of gain and loss situation.So two studies were conducted to achieve the purpose of the study.Study 1 consists of three questionnaires.The independent variables are psychological distances of different dimensions initiated by the psychological distance method,and the dependent variables are delay option scores and attractiveness scores.Through 182 pre-test questionnaires,the operability of psychological distance was verified.Then 684 valid questionnaires were collected to investigate the effect of construal level initiated by the psychological distance method on the intertemporal choice.The results are the psychological distance can be operated,and the farther the psychological distance is,the subjects are more inclined to choose the delay option.In order to enrich the startup method of the construal level and enhance the authenticity of the real situation,on the basis of study 1,study 2 changed the starting method of construal level,using the thinking induction method,and added the loss and gain situation into the task background.The experiment uses a 2×2 inter-group design,independent variables are construal level initiated by the mind-inducing method(high construal level,low construal level)and gain and loss situation(loss situation,gain situation),the dependent variables are delay the option score and subjective value.The effect of the thinking-inducing method was verified by 60 pre-test questionnaires,and then 160 subjects were randomly divided into 4 groups,then subjects completed the intertemporal choice tasks.It was found that the main effects of construal level and gain-loss situation were significant,and the interaction between construal level and gain-loss situation was significant.Through this study,the following conclusions are drawn:(1)The psychological distance initiation effect has a significant impact on the intertemporal choice behavior.The farther the psychological distance is,the subjects are more inclined to choose the delay option.(2)The interaction between the construal level and gain-loss is significant.