Present bias
Present bias is the tendency for people to value smaller, sooner rewards more than larger, future rewards, but reversing this preference when there is an equal delay. This bias is greatly related to hyperbolic discounting, which describes an individual's tendency to reduce the value of a future reward by a factor that increases with the length of the delay. A common example of present bias is smoking addictions. Regardless of the fact that smokers know that they would benefit from quitting in the long run, they prioritize the immediate gratification of smoking cigarettes in the present.
Relevant Academic Papers
- Bickel, W. K., Odum, A. L., & Madden, G. J. (1999). Impulsivity and cigarette smoking: delay discounting in current, never, and ex-smokers. Psychopharmacology, 146(4), 447-454.
- O'Donoghue, T., & Rabin, M. (1999). Doing it now or later. American economic review, 89(1), 103-124.
