Rates of delay and probability discounting of northern plains American Indians discounting Indian and majority culture-specific outcomes.

Discounting occurs when the value of an outcome changes because its delivery is delayed or uncertain. Discounting provides insight into how individuals make decisions, with rates of discounting being related to a number of behavioral disorders. In this study, 39 American Indians (AIs), 29 female, were recruited from the psychology department participant pool at a university in the Northern Plains to complete an acculturation inventory and delay- and probability-discounting tasks related to money, health care, and education reform. Results from ANOVAs showed that participants did not differentially discount the delayed outcomes, but discounted the probabilistic monetary outcomes to a greater extent than probabilistic outcomes involving education reform, suggesting that participants were more risk averse with the monetary, than the education, outcomes. Differences in discounting were not observed as a function of whether the outcome would occur on or off a tribal reservation. Results from regression analyses showed that participants' affiliation with the majority culture was also related to how they discounted probabilistic monetary outcomes. The present study represents the first attempt to measure probability discounting in AI participants and is the first to show differences in this type of decision making. The results, therefore, represent a step forward in understanding when risk-averse versus risk-prone decisions (i.e., a small but certain outcome vs. a better but uncertain outcome) may be made, and how those decisions are related to acculturation in AIs.