Glossary
Intertemporal Choice
What is intertemporal choice?
Intertemporal choice involves outcomes at different times. Examples include allocating a budget between present and later use, or choosing when to complete a task with both immediate and future consequences.
What shapes a choice?
A major review by Frederick and colleagues distinguishes preference for earlier utility from other influences on delayed choices, such as uncertainty and changing tastes. Immediate needs and available options also matter.
Examples of intertemporal choice
Saving for retirement trades spending now against resources later. Exercise can involve present effort and hoped-for later benefits. These choices also have immediate needs and benefits, so the shorter-term option is not automatically a mistake.
Choosing $50 today over $60 later does not by itself establish impatience or present bias. The person may need the money now or doubt the later payment. The timing, alternatives, and relevant constraints must be specified.
Models and measurement
Discounted-utility models offer one representation of choices over time. Hyperbolic discounting describes a pattern in which discounting is steeper over nearer delays, while present bias gives special weight to an immediate outcome. A preference reversal requires a defined comparison across decisions; a single preference for an earlier outcome is insufficient. Researchers must distinguish a descriptive model from a claim about what the person should choose.