Preference reversal in intertemporal decision making

Yan-Bang Zhou; Kun Zhang; Hong-Kun Zhai; Qing Bao; Shanshan Xiao; Junhua Dang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423615

Preference reversal in intertemporal decision making

Front Psychol. 2024 Dec 4:15:1423615. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1423615. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yan-Bang Zhou¹, Kun Zhang¹, Hong-Kun Zhai², Qing Bao³, Shanshan Xiao⁴, Junhua Dang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Teacher Education, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
² Faculty of Education, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China.
³ School of Journalism and Communication, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁵ School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.

Abstract

This study examines asymmetric preference reversals in intertemporal decision-making by comparing gain and loss contexts across choice and bidding tasks. In the gain context, participants preferred smaller, sooner (SS) rewards in choice tasks but assigned higher valuations to larger, later (LL) rewards in bidding tasks. Conversely, in the loss context, they showed a preference for LL options in choice tasks but provided lower bids for SS options. Bidding tasks consistently required longer decision times than choice tasks, indicating greater cognitive demands during valuation processes. A real-world questionnaire involving 370 participants validated these findings across economic and health-related scenarios. These results underscore the role of task formats in shaping preferences, offering practical insights for refining strategies in behavioral decision-making and applied contexts.

Keywords: gain; intertemporal choice; loss; preference reversal; response modes.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Yan-Bang Zhou was supported by Ningxia Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (20NXRCC05).