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Differences in Delay Discounting of Some Commodities as a Function of Church Attendance

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Abstract

Recent research has suggested that the positive benefits of religiousness that are reported in the literature may be related to “self-control.” The present study attempted to determine whether religiousness, as measured by self reporting of regularly attending church services, would be related to how participants discount delayed outcomes. Three hundred one university students completed a delay-discounting task involving five commodities ($1,000, $100,000, annual retirement income, federal education legislation, and medical treatment). Participants who reported regularly attending church services discounted both monetary amounts significantly more than did participants who reported not regularly attending church services, indicating that church goers placed less value on those commodities than non-church goers. Rates of delay discounting did not differ between groups for the other commodities. These results suggest that religiousness alters how people frame certain decisions involving delayed outcomes, but not others.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank Adam Derenne for his assistance in data preparation and Adam B. Cohen for his assistance in collecting background information.

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Correspondence to Jeffrey N. Weatherly.

Appendix

The identical questions were also used in Weatherly et al. (2010)

Appendix

X times = 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years

Owes You $1,000

If someone owed you $1,000 and was going to pay you that amount in X time, what is the smallest amount of money you would accept today rather than having to wait X time?

Owes You $100,000

If someone owed you $100,000 and was going to pay you that amount in X time, what is the smallest amount of money you would accept today rather than having to wait X time?

Retirement

Your financial advisor informs you that you could retire at a wage of $100,000 per year but that you need to work for X time before that is possible. What is the smallest annual amount of money you would accept today rather than having to work X time?

Medical Treatment

Suppose you were suffering from a serious disease and your physician informed you that you would need to wait X time before getting a treatment that was 100% successful. However, you could immediately begin a different treatment that has a lesser chance of success. What is the minimum percentage of success that the different treatment could have for you to choose it?

Federal Education Legislation

Suppose the Federal Government is attempting to pass legislation that will reform the American educational system. Your senators tell you that it will take them X time to craft the perfect policy, but that they can pass a less-than-perfect one immediately. What percentage of perfect (i.e., 100%) would you find acceptable to get the legislation passed immediately rather than waiting for X time for the perfect policy?

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Weatherly, J.N., Terrell, H.K. Differences in Delay Discounting of Some Commodities as a Function of Church Attendance. Curr Psychol 30, 258–267 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-011-9115-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-011-9115-0

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