Research Interests
People typically prefer rewards that are larger, sooner, and more certain, but everyday decisions involve trade-offs among these attributes. When choosing between immediate and delayed rewards, individuals discount the value of the delayed reward as the delay to its receipt increases (delay discounting). Similarly, when choosing between certain and uncertain rewards, individuals discount the value of the uncertain reward as the odds against its receipt increase (probability discounting). How steeply people discount delayed rewards is a widely used behavioral index of impulsivity, and how steeply they discount probabilistic rewards reflects their risk preferences. My research examines how both types of discounting change across the adult lifespan, and how financial resources, cognitive ability, and personality shape these age differences. In addition, people are complex and the decisions they face are often complicated. I also study multi-attribute choices in which outcomes are both delayed and probabilistic, and how older and younger adults weigh the attributes of such decisions.