The Impact Of Spatial Distance On Intertemporal Decision-making

Advances in technology have eliminated the barriers caused by spatial distance in activities,allowing people to interact with people or things in a wider range of distance.Decision outcomes are also more likely to occur in the distance.Nowadays,will the spatial distance still have impact on individuals' decision-making preferences,especially preferences in intertemporal decision-making?In order to answer this question,four studies were designed to examine the impact of spatial distance on intertemporal preferences both in the scenario of investment and winning a prize.Furthermore,the psychological mechanism underlying this effect was investigated from the perspective of sense of control.The first study explored the influence of spatial distance on individuals ' intertemporal preferences in the investment scenario.It was found that participants were more impatient with investment returns when the investment project was located farther away.In other words,they preferred smaller-sooner(SS)returns in intertemporal decision-making.The second study explored the psychological mechanism of spatial distance affecting intertemporal preferences from the perspective of sense of control in the investment scenario.We found that participants' sense of control over the investment project mediated the relationship between spatial distance and intertemporal preferences.In addition,it was found that participants with a higher desire for control were more likely to choose the SS returns than those with a lower desire for control,and the desire for control moderated the mediating effect of sense of control.The third study examined the impact of priming different levels of control on individuals'intertemporal preferences in the investment scenario.The results showed that participants'impatience for investment returns in investments with different spatial distances could be remedied by giving them generalized control.That is,participants primed with higher control were more inclined to choose the larger-later(LL)investment returns.The fourth study further examined the above findings in the scenario of winning a prize.It was found that participants were more likely to choose the SS rewards when the rewards were farther away.Moreover,the relationship between spatial distance and intertemporal preferences was mediated by individuals' sense of control.These findings were consistent with findings in the investment scenario.However,we found that the desire for control had no significant effect on individuals' intertemporal preferences,and did not moderate the mediating effect of sense of controlThe findings of the current research provided new evidence for studies regarding the impact of spatial distance on intertemporal decision-making and also provided a new explanation for why spatial distance influencing intertemporal preferences.Furthermore,this research provided new theoretical insight into existing studies regarding the psychological mechanism of other dimensions of psychological distance affecting decision making.In addition,this research verified that increasing sense of control,even a general sense of control that is not directly related to investment projects,can nudge investors to make long-term-oriented decisions,which has practical implications.