Does future time reference framing increase temporal discounting? Evidence from English monolinguals

Josie I. Chen, Yue Han and Tai-Sen He

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2025, vol. 107, issue C

Abstract: Despite growing support for the linguistic-savings hypothesis (LSH), direct causal evidence remains limited. Recent research has investigated whether future time reference framing affects intertemporal decision-making, particularly in languages with weak future-time-reference (w-FTR) distinctions, though these studies have largely yielded null results. One critique of these null results is that speakers of w-FTR languages may be insensitive to the subtle language framing intended to prime distinctions between present and future, unlike speakers of strong future-time-reference (s-FTR) languages. To address this gap, the present study re-examines the framing effect within English, an s-FTR language, using a sample of nearly 600 monolingual participants. Consistent with previous findings, the results provide no evidence supporting the LSH in the context of future time reference framing.

Keywords: Time preference; Framing; Future time reference; Linguistic-savings hypothesis; English monolingual (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:107:y:2025:i:c:s016748702500008x

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2025.102796

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