About This Game

The Science: Delay Discounting

This game is a practice tool for Delay Discounting. This is the term for our natural tendency to prefer a smaller, sooner reward over a larger, later reward. A strong impulse for “now” is a key feature of many challenges, from digital overuse to cravings and procrastination.

This game works by forcing you to practice the opposite. By choosing the “Large, Later” reward, you are doing two things:

1. Cognitive Choice: You actively select the long-term, more valuable option.
2. Behavioral Delay: The game then makes you wait for the reward, training the mental “muscle” of patience and distress tolerance.

By practicing this, you are strengthening the neural pathways that favor long-term goals.

Scientific Effectiveness

This is an evidence-informed skills trainer. Research shows that practicing delay discounting tasks can help people make more future-oriented decisions, which is beneficial for digital wellbeing, health goals, and managing impulses.

References:

• Bickel, W. K., et al. (2012). The behavioral and neuro-economic process of temporal discounting. *Journal of Neuroscience, 32*(36).
• Koffarnus, M. N., & Bickel, W. K. (2014). A computerized, brief, and personalized intervention for discounting of delayed rewards. *Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior, 101*(1).