Assessing the relationship between delay discounting and decisions to engage in various protective behaviors during COVID-19

Abstract

Research suggests that discounting of delayed rewards (i.e., tendency to choose smaller immediate rewards over large later rewards) is a promising target of intervention to encourage compliance with public health measures (PHM), such as vaccination compliance. The effects of delay discounting, however, may differ across the types of PHMs, given that the benefits of vaccination, unlike other PHMs (physical distancing, handwashing, and mask-wearing), are more temporally delayed. Here, we examined whether delay discounting predicts engaging in COVID-19 PHMs in approximately 7,000 participants recruited from 13 countries in June–August 2021. After controlling for demographic and distress variables, delay discounting was a negative predictor of vaccination, but a positive predictor of physical distancing (when restrictions are in place) and handwashing. There was no significant association between delay discounting and frequency of mask-wearing. It is possible that increasing vaccination compliance may require greater emphasis on future benefits of vaccination, whereas promotion of physical distancing and hand hygiene may require greater focus on the present moment. Further research is needed to investigate the nature of this relationship and its implications for public health messaging.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41235-024-00566-6.