Impulsivity and self-control as timeless concepts: a conceptual analysis of intertemporal choice

Intertemporal choice tasks are used to measure how people make decisions between outcomes occurring at different time points. Results from these tasks are typically used to study impulsivity and self-control, concepts central in theories and empirical research concerning addiction, criminology, psychopathology, and organizational behavior, among many. Accordingly, preferences for smaller rewards received sooner, over larger rewards received later, have been linked to higher impulsivity and less self-control. This article is a critique of that approach. We first provide a historical overview of research on time preferences tracking the origins of the theoretical link between intertemporal choice, impulsivity, and self-control. Our subsequent conceptual analysis reveals that impulsivity concerns a lack of reflection on one’s choices, not a lack of concern with the future, and self-control concerns internal conflict due to temptation, rather than future-orientedness. We draw attention to the fact that people may, and do, use self-control to choose a “smaller-sooner” reward or impulsively select a “larger-later” reward. We also address technical limitations about intertemporal choice tasks’ reliability and external and predictive validity. We conclude that impulsivity and self-control cannot be measured using a standard intertemporal choice task. We canvass possible future directions for decision-making models in this area, providing the basis for a new understanding of how impulsivity, self-control, and time preferences influence behavior across different domains. We suggest that to study impulsivity and self-control in a temporal context, more information is needed about agents’ motivation, affect, and deliberative process.