  In economics and psychology, delay discounting is often used to characterize
how individuals choose between a smaller immediate reward and a larger delayed
reward. People with higher delay discounting rate (DDR) often choose smaller
but more immediate rewards (a "today person"). In contrast, people with a lower
discounting rate often choose a larger future rewards (a "tomorrow person").
Since the ability to modulate the desire of immediate gratification for long
term rewards plays an important role in our decision-making, the lower
discounting rate often predicts better social, academic and health outcomes. In
contrast, the higher discounting rate is often associated with problematic
behaviors such as alcohol/drug abuse, pathological gambling and credit card
default. Thus, research on understanding and moderating delay discounting has
the potential to produce substantial societal benefits.
