Effects Of Feture Self-continuity,future Earnings Expectation And Delay Time Estimation On Inter-temporal Decision-making

Intertemporal choice refers to the individual through the different periods of gains or losses to weigh and make the best choice.Much progress has been made in the study of intertemporal choice,and the topic of future self-continuity has attracted the attention of psychologists.Previous studies have shown that future self-continuity influences intertemporal choice,but when future earnings or delay time are uncertain,people’s expectations will form different estimates,which lead to different intertemporal choice preference.However,there are few studies on the effect of future self-continuity on intertemporal choice from the perspective of future earnings expectation or delay time estimation.The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of future earnings expectation,delay time estimation and future self-continuity on intertemporal choice.The study was divided into two experiments.In experiment 1,251 college students were tested with 2(high future self-continuity,low future self-continuity)× 2(definite future income,uncertain future income)design.The dependent variable is the individual intertemporal choice option.Reading task and Eulerian geometry circle were used to manipulate the subjects’ future self-continuity level,and then the subjects were asked to complete different groof corresponding experimental tasks to measure their intertemporal decision-making preferences.The results showed that:(1)the proportion of choosing immediate income options in high future self-continuity group was significantly lower than that in low future self-continuity group;(2)the interaction between future self-continuity and future income expectation was significant.Under the condition of high future self-continuity,the proportion of choosing immediate income under the condition of certainty of future income is significantly lower than that under uncertainty of future income.Under the condition of low future self-continuity,the proportion of choosing immediate income under the condition of uncertain future income is significantly lower than that under the condition of certainty future income.In experiment 2,251 college students were chosen as subjects,and 2(high future self-continuity,low future self-continuity)× 2(definite delay time,indefinite delay time)were used as subjects.The dependent variable is the individual intertemporal choice option.Reading task and Eulerian geometry circle were used to manipulate the future self-continuity level of the subjects,and then the subjects were asked to complete the corresponding experimental tasks to measure their intertemporal choice preferences.The results show that:(1)the proportion of the high future self-continuity group choosing the immediate benefit option is significantly lower than that of the low future self-continuity group;(2)the interaction between the future self-continuity and the estimation of delay time is significant.Under the condition of low future self-continuity,the proportion of choosing immediate income under the condition of uncertain delay time is significantly lower than that under the condition of definite delay time.The conclusions are as follows:(1)under the condition of high future self-continuity,individuals tend to choose the long-term returns rather than the short-term returns;(2)future self-continuity and future earnings expectation affect the individual’s choice in intertemporal choice;(3)future self-continuity and delay time estimation affect the individual’s choice in intertemporal choice.