<p>I agree with @Fizz that there is probably no specific name for the type of problem in question, but the behaviour involved is referred to as self-control, or more loosely, willpower.  Thus, the type of problem can be referred to as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-control#Counteractive" rel="nofollow noreferrer">self-control dilemma</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Self-control dilemmas occur when long-term goals and values clash with
  short-term temptations. ... One of the most common self-control
  dilemmas involves the desire for unhealthy or unneeded food
  consumption versus the desire to maintain long-term health. ... Weak
  temptations present more of a challenge to overcome than strong
  temptations, because they appear less likely to compromise long-term
  values.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and accordingly <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temptation" rel="nofollow noreferrer">temptation</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment,
  that threatens long-term goals.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Chronic failure to meet long-term goals / succumbing to temptations is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrasia" rel="nofollow noreferrer">akrasia</a>, or "weakness of will".  The opposite is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_gratification" rel="nofollow noreferrer">delayed gratification</a> - also see the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Marshmallow experiment</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-08T10:29:42.130Z
I agree with your answer, but I think the term "instant gratification" can be used : see wiki [instant and delayed gratification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratification#Instant_and_delayed_gratification).  Also sometimes is reffered to as immediate gratification.
DesignerAnalyst
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T18:18:49.677Z
2017-11-06T20:44:31.777Z
2017-11-06T20:44:31.777Z
Arnon Weinberg
<p>I don't think there is quite an established term for it; I found several:</p>

<ul>
<li>"difficulty of envisioning long-term consequences" will turn up occasionally in discussing behavior such as smoking</li>
<li><a href="https://hbr.org/2014/07/3-reasons-you-underestimate-risk" rel="nofollow noreferrer">"reward obscures risk"</a> is a bit more punchy, but it fails to capture temporal aspect: long-term risk vs short-term reward </li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_preference" rel="nofollow noreferrer">time preference</a> aka temporal discounting is a well established economics notion that discounts more distant rewards (and risks) But it doesn't quite capture the contrast you want here</li>
<li>"delay disconting" means the same and there are at least 60 papers in pubmed, for this term, according to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3213005/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this one</a> </li>
<li>PIG -- problem of immediate gratification; this is the self-help/drug-abuse [re]formulation of the aforementioned economics principle</li>
<li>short-termism; almost exclusively used in business circles</li>
<li>akrasia [credit goes entirely to Arnon Weinberg for finding this one]; it seems this the philosophers' favorite term.</li>
</ul>

<p>I'm sure there are more.</p>

<p>After akrasia got mentioned in the other answer, I was pretty sure this gotta be the most used term in phych, because it has quite the pedigree. Alas, it didn't turn out to be so, the number of pubmed publications mentioning it is only a dozen for the base term and about half-dozen for the "akratic" adjective. So I think "delay discounting" is the most used in the psych &amp; health sciences. There's even one paper that explicitly <a href="http://journal.sjdm.org/12/12309/jdm12309.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">says so</a>, although the paper is written by a management guy.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-06T07:10:56.710Z
And I know you didn't ask for this, but I for one found amazing that researchers were able to prove that midbrain dopamine neurons literally encode such a time discounting function: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15462.full.pdf
got trolled too much this week
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-06T20:47:10.953Z
Can also add hyperbolic discounting, which is used in behaviour economics.  Along with time preference / delay discounting, these are attempts to describe the short-term/long-term tradeoff mathematically.
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-17T21:46:40.420Z
@ArnonWeinberg: My understanding is that hyperbolic discounting is one particular instance (as in a specified function) of time-discounting. I do see the point that it's probably the most common one so synonymous in this sense.
got trolled too much this week
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T17:55:58.070Z
2017-11-06T06:16:52.800Z
2017-11-06T06:16:52.800Z
got trolled too much this week
<p>Is there a name for the types of human behavioural problems where making a particular choice isn't a problem, but making the same choice over and over again leads to a bad outcome? Where there is an immediate short-term pay-off for making the choice one way, but a small long-term cost to doing it?</p>

<p>Some examples of these types of problems are: </p>

<ul>
<li>weight gain  </li>
<li>personal debt</li>
<li>litter</li>
</ul>

<p>I think it's a really interesting type of problem because you have to override the short term motivation many, many times to get the long term pay off.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-05T17:15:31.943Z
"difficulty of envisioning long-term consequences". See [this](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5530483) for discussion from a psy perspective. The economics version is much better known as the Keynesian "in the long run we're all dead."
got trolled too much this week
<behavior>
Name for problems with a short-term pay off but small long term cost?
Helephant
# Name for problems with a short-term pay off but small long term cost?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-05)

Is there a name for the types of human behavioural problems where making a particular choice isn't a problem, but making the same choice over and over again leads to a bad outcome? Where there is an immediate short-term pay-off for making the choice one way, but a small long-term cost to doing it?

Some examples of these types of problems are:

* weight gain
* personal debt
* litter

I think it's a really interesting type of problem because you have to override the short term motivation many, many times to get the long term pay off.

**Tags:** behavior

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: "difficulty of envisioning long-term consequences". See [this](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5530483) for discussion from a psy perspective. The economics version is much better known as the Keynesian "in the long run we're all dead."  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-11-05. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

I don't think there is quite an established term for it; I found several:

* "difficulty of envisioning long-term consequences" will turn up occasionally in discussing behavior such as smoking
* ["reward obscures risk"](https://hbr.org/2014/07/3-reasons-you-underestimate-risk) is a bit more punchy, but it fails to capture temporal aspect: long-term risk vs short-term reward
* [time preference](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_preference) aka temporal discounting is a well established economics notion that discounts more distant rewards (and risks) But it doesn't quite capture the contrast you want here
* "delay disconting" means the same and there are at least 60 papers in pubmed, for this term, according to [this one](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3213005/)
* PIG -- problem of immediate gratification; this is the self-help/drug-abuse [re]formulation of the aforementioned economics principle
* short-termism; almost exclusively used in business circles
* akrasia [credit goes entirely to username_2 for finding this one]; it seems this the philosophers' favorite term.

I'm sure there are more.

After akrasia got mentioned in the other answer, I was pretty sure this gotta be the most used term in phych, because it has quite the pedigree. Alas, it didn't turn out to be so, the number of pubmed publications mentioning it is only a dozen for the base term and about half-dozen for the "akratic" adjective. So I think "delay discounting" is the most used in the psych & health sciences. There's even one paper that explicitly [says so](http://journal.sjdm.org/12/12309/jdm12309.pdf), although the paper is written by a management guy.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: And I know you didn't ask for this, but I for one found amazing that researchers were able to prove that midbrain dopamine neurons literally encode such a time discounting function: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/37/15462.full.pdf  
> **username_2**: Can also add hyperbolic discounting, which is used in behaviour economics.  Along with time preference / delay discounting, these are attempts to describe the short-term/long-term tradeoff mathematically.  
> **username_1**: @ArnonWeinberg: My understanding is that hyperbolic discounting is one particular instance (as in a specified function) of time-discounting. I do see the point that it's probably the most common one so synonymous in this sense.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-11-05. Score: 6

I agree with @Fizz that there is probably no specific name for the type of problem in question, but the behaviour involved is referred to as self-control, or more loosely, willpower. Thus, the type of problem can be referred to as a [self-control dilemma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-control#Counteractive):

> Self-control dilemmas occur when long-term goals and values clash with
> short-term temptations. ... One of the most common self-control
> dilemmas involves the desire for unhealthy or unneeded food
> consumption versus the desire to maintain long-term health. ... Weak
> temptations present more of a challenge to overcome than strong
> temptations, because they appear less likely to compromise long-term
> values.

and accordingly [temptation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temptation):

> Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment,
> that threatens long-term goals.

Chronic failure to meet long-term goals / succumbing to temptations is called [akrasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrasia), or "weakness of will". The opposite is [delayed gratification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_gratification) - also see the [Marshmallow experiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment).

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I agree with your answer, but I think the term "instant gratification" can be used : see wiki [instant and delayed gratification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratification#Instant_and_delayed_gratification).  Also sometimes is reffered to as immediate gratification.  

---

