Review
The behavioral economics of will in recovery from addiction

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Abstract

Behavioral economic studies demonstrate that rewards are discounted proportionally with their delay (hyperbolic discounting). Hyperbolic discounting implies temporary preference for smaller rewards when they are imminent, and this concept has been widely considered by researchers interested in the causes of addictive behavior. Far less consideration has been given to the fact that systematic preference reversal also predicts various self-control phenomena, which may also be analyzed from a behavioral economic perspective.

Here we summarize self-control phenomena predicted by hyperbolic discounting, particularly with application to the field of addiction. Of greatest interest is the phenomenon of choice bundling, an increase in motivation to wait for delayed rewards that can be expected to result from making choices in whole categories. Specifically, when a person's expectations about her own future behavior are conditional upon her current behavior, the value of these expectations is added to the contingencies for the current behavior, resulting in reduced impulsivity. Hyperbolic discounting provides a bottom–up basis for the intuitive learning of choice bundling, the properties of which match common descriptions of willpower. We suggest that the bundling effect can also be discerned in the advice of 12-step programs.

Section snippets

Limitations of rational choice theory

A great deal of research has been done on addictions and their treatment, but the reason why addictions occur in the first place is still unclear. One undeniable element common to addictions is the addict's inability to escape when she wants to, that is, the persistence and frequent alternation of contradictory preferences about her addictive activity. Her inability to make her choices consistent over time is what compels her to seek treatment. Indeed two of the seven defining criteria for

Hyperbolic discounting as a factor in addictive behavior

The immediacy of reward associated with drug use clearly has some importance in understanding why quitting can be difficult. The rewards from drug use are immediate and the adverse consequences tend to be delayed; were the reverse true – if the high from smoking crack did not arrive till weeks later, but the bad feelings associated with all the personal loss came on as soon as blood carried the drug to the brain – it is unlikely there would be problem drug use. As Samual Butler remarked “If the

The self as population

Hyperbolic discounting transforms what has been modeled as a unitary self into a population of competing agents. The elementary agents are no longer individuals, but motivated processes within the individual – call them interests – which compete to be “her” choice on the basis of the shifting values of the rewards on which these interests are based. Allowing for hyperbolic discounting in economic utility functions radically changes behavioral economic modeling in ways that have so far received

Intertemporal bargaining in 12-step recovery

A 12-step treatment for addiction appears to be, at least in some circumstances, more effective than an equivalent amount of either cognitive behavioral therapy or supportive expressive therapy (Crits-Christoph et al., 1999). Interestingly, evidence suggests that the advantage of 12-step treatment (in terms of abstinence rates) over other therapies is most apparent during periods in which particularly high craving is experienced (Weiss et al., 2003). In other words, individuals in 12-step seem

The status of hyperbolic discounting as a factor in addiction and recovery

The theory of hyperbolic discounting implies a need for radical changes in RCT. It has been reasonable for authors to question whether these changes are necessary. This discussion has been ongoing in a number of areas (Ainslie, 2005 and its commentaries), but two suggestions seem important to discuss here: doubt stemming from the great variability of discounting rates in humans, and the possible adequacy of classical conditioning as an alternative mechanism for the pathogenesis and treatment of

Can intertemporal bargaining be studied empirically?

It might be contended that intertemporal bargaining does not fit the framework of empirical science. As discussed above, the fundamental building block of the model is the recursive interplay between current preference and expectation of future behavior. What are the prospects of doing quantitative behavioral economic modeling of a hypothesized system with a recursive feedback loop between components that are not directly measurable?

With varying degrees of success, we and others, have looked

Acknowledgement

Financial support for this work was provided by NIDA DAK01515 (JM).

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