The Flexible Waiting Game: A New Tool for Delay Discounting

Are you impatient? Do you prefer getting things now rather than later? This tendency is called delay discounting (DD). It's how we devalue rewards based on how long we have to wait for them. DD can be messed up in various health issues and changes as we grow. Many current tests for DD are protected by copyright and mostly designed for English speakers. This makes them hard to change and access. So, we set out to create something better. We made an open-source software called "The Waiting Game. " It's like a game, but it tests your DD. You can change the language, rewards, and wait times using an Excel spreadsheet. The software also scores your DD automatically. We wrote a handy manual to go with it and asked cognitive assessment experts to check everything out. The Waiting Game has three tasks. In the first, you imagine waiting (no real wait or reward). In the second, you wait for real and get real rewards. The third combines real waits with imagined rewards. Experts reviewed the software and said it works well. We made a few tweaks based on their feedback. Know what's cool? The Waiting Game is free, easy to use, and works in many cultures. It's a great tool for studying how we value rewards over time.