Adherence
Measured temporal discount rates for monetary or appetitive rewards (but not hypothetical health outcomes) consistently predict unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, alcohol misuse, and obesity, with higher discount rates correlating with greater severity of these behaviors.
If you struggle with unhealthy habits like smoking, overeating, or excessive drinking, your tendency to devalue future rewards (temporal discounting) is likely a key driver. Standard health education focusing on future consequences often fails because it ignores this psychological bias. Instead, focus on reducing immediate environmental triggers for these behaviors and breaking the habitual loop, as these factors are more strongly linked to the behavior than your abstract valuation of future health.
discount rates for money (and in some instances food or drug rewards) are associated with several unhealthy behaviors and markers of health status, establishing discounting as a promising predictive measure.
Why this rating
Based on a systematic review of 112 studies, including meta-analyses showing moderate to large effect sizes for smoking, alcohol, and illicit substances.
Source
Does temporal discounting explain unhealthy behavior? A systematic review and reinforcement learning perspective
Giles W. Story et al. · Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience · 2014
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