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The Economics, Neurobiology and Pharmacology of Intertemporal Choice in Humans
The Economics, Neurobiology and Pharmacology of Intertemporal Choice in Humans A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Alexander J Pine University College London September 2009 2 Preface I, Alexander J Pine confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. AJ Pine 3 Abstract In intertemporal choice, decision-makers must choose between options whose outcomes occur at different times in the future and are associated with different magnitudes of gain or loss. Previous neuropsychological research on this problem is dominated by a behavioural- economic model which proposes that choice outcome is solely determined by a process of devaluing rewards with time, termed temporal discounting. This thesis investigates the veracity of this assumption by developing a new mathematical model of choice which takes into account another fundamental feature of human preference, namely the non-linearity of the relationship between the utility and magnitude of gains. Using behavioural data, methodologies are developed to demonstrate that this model is superior to previous models in accounting for human intertemporal choices. Specifically, using existing terminologies ‘impulsive’ and ‘self-controlled’ to describe preference in choices between smaller-sooner and larger-later monetary rewards, it is shown that the discounting of increasing magnitudes implied by the law of diminishing marginal utility exerts a significant effect in determining choice outcome. In addition to high rates of temporal discounting, it is shown that impulsivity can be engendered by higher rates of diminishing marginal utility and vice-versa. -