A general theory of intertemporal decision-making and the perception of time

TL;DR

This paper introduces the TIMERR theory, a unified framework explaining how animals perceive time and make intertemporal decisions by optimizing reward rates over a limited window, linking time perception with decision-making behavior.

Contribution

The TIMERR theory is the first comprehensive model that explains both intertemporal decision-making and time perception within a single mathematical framework.

Findings

Past integration interval influences temporal discounting

The theory derives a mathematical expression for subjective time perception

Unified explanation for decision-making and time perception phenomena

Abstract

Animals and humans make decisions based on their expected outcomes. Since relevant outcomes are often delayed, perceiving delays and choosing between earlier versus later rewards (intertemporal decision-making) is an essential component of animal behavior. The myriad observations made in experiments studying intertemporal decision-making and time perception have not yet been rationalized within a single theory. Here we present a theory-Training--Integrated Maximized Estimation of Reinforcement Rate (TIMERR)--that explains a wide variety of behavioral observations made in intertemporal decision-making and the perception of time. Our theory postulates that animals make intertemporal choices to optimize expected reward rates over a limited temporal window; this window includes a past integration interval (over which experienced reward rate is estimated) and the expected delay to future reward. Using this theory, we derive a mathematical expression for the subjective representation of time. A unique contribution of our work is in finding that the past integration interval directly determines the steepness of temporal discounting and the nonlinearity of time perception. In so doing, our theory provides a single framework to understand both intertemporal decision-making and time perception.