Further Application of Delay Discounting on Special Educator Decision-Making

Special education teachers often make decisions about interventions to help reduce student problem behavior. The length of time to reduce problem behavior may affect how special education teachers decide the type of behavioral treatment to use. This study examined the effects of delays to treatment outcomes on special education teacher decision making. Participants completed an online hypothetical delay discounting task based on the behavioral economic theory that the value of an outcome (e.g., treatment outcome) diminishes as the delay to that outcome increases over time. Our results indicate that most special education teachers discount delays in treatment effects, suggesting that special education teachers may prefer interventions that result in more immediate behavior change. Implications for future research and consultative practice are discussed.