The role of social value orientation on delay discounting in a group context

Two studies examined the role of social value orientation (SVO) on group-context delay discounting (GDD). SVO classifications were determined from responses on the Decomposed Prisoner's Dilemma game. GDD was assessed with a version of the Monetary Choice Questionnaire, where participants indicated preference between immediate and delayed hypothetical monetary rewards for themselves and an “Other.” Study 1 compared GDD among the three SVO classifications. Results found that Competitors had the highest rate of GDD with no difference between Prosocials and Individualists ( η p 2 = 0.0488). Given unbalanced distribution of SVO classifications, Study 2 incorporated valence (e.g., like versus dislike) as a factor for the “Other” in the SVO and GDD tasks. Having a “disliked Other” in the SVO task resulted in a more equal distribution across SVO classifications, and comparison of GDD between these groups replicated the finding from Study 1 that Competitors exhibited higher GDD compared to Prosocials ( η p 2 = 0.0193). Overall, these findings suggest that SVO is an important individual-level factor that moderates the impact of group context on delay discounting. • SVO may moderate the effect of group context on delay discounting. • Prosocials exhibited lower group context DD compared to competitors. • SVO should inform group context strategies that might impact DD.