Author(s)

Shoko Yamane, Taiki Takahashi, Akiko Kamesaka, Yoshiro Tsutsui, Fumio Ohtake

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Recent studies in behavioral economics and neuroeconomics have revealed that emotion affects impulsivity in intertemporal choice. We examined the roles of socio-emotional status (i.e., perceived stress, depression, quality of sleep, loneliness) in temporal discounting behavior by Japanese non-smokers in a generation-specific manner (20 - 70 s) with a relatively large sample size (N = 3450). We observed that 1) both men and women are the most impulsive in their 60 s; 2) education has a negative impact on impulsivity in men aged 40 - 49 and women aged 50 - 59; 3) perceived stress has a negative impact on impulsivity in men aged 60 - 69; and 4) sleeplessness has negative and positive impacts on impulsivity in men aged 40 - 49 and women aged 30 - 39, respectively. Biological and social factors underlying observed findings are discussed.

Time Discounting; Impulsivity; Stress; Depression; Emotion; Behavioral Economics

Yamane, S. , Takahashi, T. , Kamesaka, A. , Tsutsui, Y. & Ohtake, F. (2013). Socio-Emotional Status, Education, and Time-Discounting in Japanese Non-Smoking Population: A Multi-Generational Study. Psychology, 4, 124-132. doi: 10.4236/psych.2013.42018.