Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia.
Addiction Recovery Research Center, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Roanoke, Virginia.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2019 May;43(5):927-936. doi: 10.1111/acer.13996. Epub 2019 Mar 19.
Delay discounting refers to the devaluation of a reward given increasing delays to delivery. Similarly, effort discounting refers to the devaluation of a reward given increasing effort required to obtain it. Individuals with substance use disorder show higher rates of delay discounting, exacerbating short-term positive reinforcement at the expense of long-term consequences. This study explores how effort discounting compares to delay discounting behavior among alcohol users as well as how these preferences change between monetary and alcohol rewards.
A total of 100 participants completed an online survey through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Participant alcohol use was evaluated using DSM-5 and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test criteria. All participants completed 4 randomized discounting tasks involving delay or effort discounting, in which the reward was money or alcohol. A follow-up experiment (n = 423) added the alcohol purchase task to assess alcohol valuation.
Individuals with greater alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity discounted future money and alcohol significantly more than those with less AUD. However, individuals meeting more DSM-5 criteria were only willing to perform more effort for alcohol. The follow-up experiment replicated these findings and demonstrated that individuals with greater AUD also showed an increased valuation of alcohol and alcohol value-mediated effort discounting.
These results suggest that individuals with greater AUD were less willing to wait for money or alcohol. While all participants were willing to work for money regardless of AUD severity, individuals with greater AUD showed increased valuation of alcohol drinks and were willing to exert more effort to obtain alcohol. Together, these results paint a picture of individuals with increased AUD as both more impulsive and willing to work to obtain alcohol, contributing to our understanding of decision making among individuals who abuse substances.
延迟折扣是指随着奖励交付时间的增加，奖励的价值降低。同样，努力折扣是指随着获得奖励所需的努力增加，奖励的价值降低。患有物质使用障碍的个体表现出更高的延迟折扣率，以牺牲长期后果为代价，加剧短期积极强化。本研究探讨了酒精使用者的努力折扣与延迟折扣行为的比较，以及这些偏好如何在金钱和酒精奖励之间发生变化。
共有 100 名参与者通过亚马逊 Mechanical Turk 在线完成了一项调查。使用 DSM-5 和酒精使用障碍识别测试标准评估参与者的酒精使用情况。所有参与者都完成了 4 个随机折扣任务，涉及延迟或努力折扣，奖励是金钱或酒精。一项后续实验（n=423）增加了酒精购买任务来评估酒精估值。
酒精使用障碍（AUD）严重程度较高的个体比 AUD 严重程度较低的个体更显著地折扣未来的金钱和酒精。然而，符合更多 DSM-5 标准的个体仅愿意为酒精付出更多的努力。后续实验复制了这些发现，并表明 AUD 较高的个体也表现出对酒精的增加估值和酒精价值介导的努力折扣。
这些结果表明，AUD 较高的个体不太愿意等待金钱或酒精。虽然所有参与者无论 AUD 严重程度如何都愿意为金钱付出努力，但 AUD 较高的个体对酒精饮料的估值增加，并愿意付出更多努力来获得酒精。总之，这些结果表明 AUD 较高的个体既更冲动，又愿意努力获得酒精，这有助于我们理解滥用物质的个体的决策过程。
