Cultural Neuroeconomics of Intertemporal Choice

Statistical Computing). We note here that larger kq and smaller q correspond
to more impulsive and inconsistent temporal discounting. The major results are
summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Impulsivity and inconsistency in temporal discounting for gain and
loss: Americans (N =27, Estle et al., 2006) discounted delayed outcomes more
steeply and inconsistently than Japanese (N =21).

For both gains and losses, Americans discounted the delayed outcomes more
steeply (larger kq ) and inconsistently (smaller q < 1 values). The present
observations are consistent with predictions from cultural neuroeconomic theory,
combining findings from behavioral neuroeconomics, cultural neuroscience, and
social psychology.

6 Discussions and future directions

This study is the first one to (i) propose a cultural neuroeconomic theory of
intertemporal choice based on cultural neuroscience theory of attention and
neuroeconomics, and (ii) it demonstrates that Westerners tend to discount de-
layed outcomes more rapidly and inconsistently than Easterners. Our present
findings are in line with (i) the reported role of attention allocation in neu-
rocomputational processes involved in intertemporal choice and with (ii) the
effects of attention allocation strategies (i.e., ”analytic” versus ”holistic”) on
temporal discounting. Although a previous study examined cross-cultural dif-
ferences in discounting behavior by American, Chinese, and Japanese students
in the United States, the study did not analyze time-consistency and impulsivity
separately (Wanjiang, Green, & Myerson, 2002).

Incorporating cultural differences in neuroeconomic decision processes may
be important for establishing more efficient economic policies, because the world
has become a highly multicultural place these days. Within the context of
the ongoing expansion of the European Union, future studies should focus on
measurements and models of temporal and probability discounting in Western,
Central, and Southeast European countries. One could thereby monitor the
differences in impulsivity and inconsistency in inter-temporal choice behavior
between the individuals coming from the old EU member states, from the re-
cently included countries, and those who still have the status of a candidate
member. The estimated values of k_q and q parameters would then provide the
relevant information about the cross-cultural differences in impulsivity and in-
consistency in choice behavior in Europe. This information could further be
used when extending other computational models, such as neural networks, so
as to enable process-based, continuous modeling of cultural aspects of economic
decision making in Europe, and moreover, to provide more details on how these

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