Smaller-sooner Later-larger: Time Reframing in Intertemporal Choice Across Countries

Each day, we make decisions between smaller-sooner and larger-later rewards. These so-called intertemporal decisions are associated with numerous life outcomes including maladaptive health behaviors. A young but expanding body of research suggests that time framing plays a central role in these decisions. Specifically, we will examine the date/delay effect, where concrete calendar dates (i.e. “10 July 2025”) lead to reduced temporal discounting relative to day unit delays (i.e. “in 14 days”). However, the generalizability of this effect across countries remains under-explored, especially in non-WEIRD countries. Given differences in language, date formats, currencies, and purchasing power, we will adapt our items to facilitate meaningful comparisons across countries. Ultimately, we seek to explore whether the date/delay effect reduces temporal discounting globally.

Team

Supervisor: Kristof Keidel
Communication Officer / Project Manager: Danya Subhas
Co-Data Analysis Managers: Purbita Shams & Danya Subhas
Materials Manager: Purbita Shams
Participant Recruitment Manager: Dorothy Chang
Open Science Manager: Saoirse Bodnar
Writing Managers: Saoirse Bodnar & Julia Kikel