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NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript
Figure 14.
The subjective value of delayed gains and losses (expressed as a proportion of their nominal
amount: $500) plotted as a function of the time until receipt of the reward or payment of the
cost. The curved lines represent the hyperbola-like discounting function (Equation 3) fit to the
data. Note that although the absolute subjective value of a loss is negative, subjective value
expressed as a proportion of the nominal loss is positive because, in this case, subjective value
is the ratio of two negatives. Data are from Table 3 of “Delayed Reward and Cost Discounting,”
by J. G. Murphy, R. E. Vuchinich, and C. A. Simpson, 2001, Psychological Record, 51, p. 583.
Copyright 2001 by Kenyon College. Reprinted with permission.
Psychol Bull. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2006 February 24.