Good or bad, we want it now: Fixed-cost present bias for gains and losses explains magnitude asymmetries in intertemporal choice

ABSTRACT Intertemporal tradeoffs are ubiquitous in decision making, yet preferences for current versus future losses are rarely explored in empirical research. Whereas rational-economic theory posits that neither outcome sign (gains vs. losses) nor outcome magnitude (small vs. large) should affect delay discount rates, both do, and moreover, they interact: in three studies, we show that whereas large gains are discounted less than small gains, large losses are discounted more than small losses. This interaction can be understood through a reconceptualization of fixed-cost present bias, which has traditionally described a psychological preference for immediate rewards. First, our results establish present bias for losses-a psychological preference to have losses over with now. Present bias thus predicts increased discounting of future gains but decreased (or even negative) discounting of future losses. Second, because present bias preferences do not scale with the magnitude of possible gains or losses, they play a larger role, relative to other motivations for discounting, for small magnitude intertemporal decisions than for large magnitude intertemporal decisions. Present bias thus predicts less discounting of large gains than small gains but more discounting of large losses than small losses. The present research is the first to demonstrate that the effect of outcome magnitude on discount rates may be opposite for gains and losses and also the first to offer a theory (an extension of present bias) and process data to explain this interaction. The results suggest that policy efforts to encourage future-oriented choices should frame outcomes as large gains or small losses

UBC-DIBS Working Paper 2021-CBI-07

This project aimed to increase attendance at tenancy dispute hearings managed by the BC Residential Tenancy Branch. New “Behavioural Insights informed” pre-hearing notification emails incorporated salient information, consequences of inaction, and actionable next steps. Due to feasibility constraints, control and BI-informed emails were compared in a quasi-experimental trial. Although the BI-informed emails did not significantly increase hearing attendance, the project team identified several useful insights, including the impact of cultural holidays, missing email addresses, and other barriers.Business, Sauder School ofUnreviewedFacultyOthe

The Decision Making Individual Differences Inventory and guidelines for the study of individual differences in judgment and decision-making research

Individual differences in decision making are a topic of longstanding interest, but often yield inconsistent and contradictory results. After providing an overview of individual difference measures that have commonly been used in judgment and decision-making (JDM) research, we suggest that our understanding of individual difference effects in JDM may be improved by amending our approach to studying them. We propose four recommendations for improving the pursuit of individual differences in JDM research: a more systematic approach; more theory-driven selection of measures; a reduced emphasis on main effects in favor of interactions between individual differences and decision features, situational factors, and other individual differences; and more extensive communication of results (whether significant or null, published or unpublished). As a first step, we offer our database---the Decision Making Individual Differences Inventory (DMIDI; html://www.dmidi.net), a free, public resource that categorizes and describes the most common individual difference measures used in JDM research

Testing Different Message Styles about Unnecessary Antibiotics Using an Online Platform

Patients’ expectations are a major contributor to the unnecessary prescribing of antibiotics, yet limited research has examined how physicians can calibrate these expectations. The studies we conducted tested how varying messages could impact patients’ expectations for antibiotics and their experience of medical appointments. All the participants read a short scenario about an appointment for mild sinusitis symptoms, with the patient’s expectation of antibiotics. In Study 1, the participants (n = 1069) were randomly assigned to read a positively framed, neutral, or negatively framed message regarding unnecessary antibiotics. In Study 2, the participants (n = 1073) read a message emphasizing either the societal or personal harms of unnecessary antibiotics, or a message without additional rationale. None of our pre-registered hypotheses were supported, but our exploratory analyses indicated that the societal message increased concern about antibiotic resistance. The participants who were more concerned about resistance were less likely to ask for antibiotics, more satisfied when the physician did not prescribe them, and more likely to recommend the physician to a friend. Discussing the consequences of the different courses of action did not appear to negatively impact physician–patient rapport. These studies demonstrate an inexpensive method with which to pre-test various messages about antibiotic consumption, and suggest that such messages are not negatively received by patients

Web-conferencing as a viable method for group decision research

Studying group decision-making is challenging for multiple reasons. An important logistic difficulty is studying a sufficiently large number of groups, each with multiple participants. Assembling groups online could make this process easier and also provide access to group members more representative of real-world work groups than the sample of college students that typically comprise lab Face-to-Face (FtF) groups. The main goal of this paper is to compare the decisions of online groups to those of FtF groups. We did so in a study that manipulated gain/loss framing of a risky decision between groups and examined the decisions of both individual group members and groups. All of these dependent measures are compared for an online and an FtF sample. Our results suggest that web-conferencing can be a substitute for FtF interaction in group decision-making research, as we found no moderation effects of communication medium on individual or group decision outcome variables. The effects of medium that were found suggest that the use of online groups may be the preferred method for group research. To wit, discussions among the online groups were shorter, but generated a greater number of thought units, i.e., they made more efficient use of time

Do Patients’ Psychosocial Characteristics Impact Antibiotic Prescription Rates?

Previous research suggests that the characteristics of both patients and physicians can contribute to the overuse of antibiotics. Until now, patients’ psychosocial characteristics have not been widely explored as a potential contributor to the overuse of antibiotics. In this study, the relationship between a patient’s psychosocial characteristics (self-reported in postal surveys in 2003) and the number of antibiotics they were prescribed (recorded in Finnish national registry data between 2004–2006) were analyzed for 19,300 working-aged Finns. Psychosocial characteristics included life satisfaction, a sense of coherence, perceived stress, hostility, and optimism. In a structural equation model, patients’ adverse psychosocial characteristics were not related to increased antibiotic prescriptions in the subsequent three years. However, these characteristics were strongly associated with poor general health status, which in turn was associated with an increased number of subsequent antibiotic prescriptions. Furthermore, mediation analysis showed that individuals who used healthcare services more frequently also received more antibiotic prescriptions. The current study does not support the view that patients’ adverse psychosocial characteristics are related to an increased number of antibiotic prescriptions. This could encourage physicians to actively discuss treatment options with their patients.Business, Sauder School ofMedicine, Faculty ofScience, Faculty ofNon UBCMarketing and Behavioural Science, Division ofMathematics, Department ofPopulation and Public Health (SPPH), School ofReviewedFacultyPostdoctora

Pay to walk away: Prevention buyers prefer to avoid negotiation

In bargaining, buyers aim to spend as little money as they can on the items they seek to purchase. Compared to promotion-oriented people, prevention-oriented people seek to avoid losses rather than to secure gains. Employing different negotiation scenarios, three lab experiments tested the prediction that prevention-oriented buyers would thus display higher negotiation aversion than promotion-oriented buyers. Results showed that prevention-oriented people in the role of a potential buyer were willing to accept lower monetary compensation to refrain from entering the negotiation and were more likely to exit the negotiation when such an opportunity was presented to them. We discuss these findings and their contribution to our understanding of how regulatory focus influences consumers' economic decisions. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved