As we might expect, research shows that children and young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit more pronounced hyperbolic discounting and a stronger preference for immediate rewards than those who do not have the disorder. If we extrapolate these findings, how might they apply to adults who do not have attention deficit disorder (ADD), but experience “pseudo-ADD” because of the pressure of multitasking? Is modernity with its ubiquitous productivity-enhancing technology tools turning us into a society of hyper-hyperbolic discounters?
