The impact of pandemic threats on intertemporal choices in Chinese and Americans

Intertemporal decisions are crucial to survival, especially when humans are exposed to ecological threats. However, it remains unclear whether and how pandemic threats impact intertemporal choices across cultures. We conducted two studies in two cultural contexts (N = 1180). Study 1a found that Chinese who perceived more pandemic threats showed higher temporal discounting rates (i.e., preferred immediate smaller over delayed larger rewards), and this relationship was mediated by negative emotions. Study 1b, using threat priming, revealed that Chinese participants primed with a high-threat condition (depicting a pandemic threat) showed higher temporal discounting rates compared to those primed with a low-threat condition (describing the flu). Differently, Study 2a revealed that perceived pandemic threat levels of Americans did not directly predict temporal discounting rates. Using similar threat priming, Study 2b further confirmed that Americans in the high-threat priming condition showed no significant differences in temporal discounting rates compared to those in the low-threat priming condition. The current research deepens the understanding of the cultural difference in the impact of pandemic threats on intertemporal decision-making and further informs the development of interventions that promote individual future-oriented thinking in the face of pandemics.