Abstract: Most previous studies have shown that positive emotions could reduce the delayed discount rates and make individuals prefer long-term rewards, while the effect of negative emotions are opposite. Awe is a complex emotion of both respect and fear. How does awe affect an individual's intertemporal choice? Previous studies showed that awe experiences involve changes in time perception, such as ‘I had the sense that a moment lasted longer than usual.’ Awe alters people's perception of time, and individuals feel they have more time available. Does awe affect an individual's intertemporal choice by altering their perception of time? With Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Delay-Discounting-Task (DDT) and Affective priming task, the current study aims to explore the influence mechanism of awe on inter-temporal choice, as well as the role of time perspective and temporal distance sensitivity. One hundred and thirty-one college students took part in this experiment, males accounting for 45.1%. Participants completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (two time sub-dimensions: Present-Hedonistic Orientation and Future-Orientated) before entering the lab. Subsequently, the participants were randomly assigned to watch an emotional initiation video (awe, joy and neutral) about 5 minutes, which was a short video clip used in previous studies, just as the Planet Earth and Walk on the Wild Side from BBC. After watching the video, the participants reported their current feelings (angry, awe, sad, happy, calm, bored, excited, afraid; 1 = not at all, 7 = very much). Finally, all participants completed the Delay-Discounting-Task. The original and variant paradigm of the Delay-Discounting-Task had 54 trails, which were presented randomly. The results indicate that: (1) compared with the participants under the neutral condition, the discount rates of the participants under the condition of awe were larger; (2) the discount rates under the awe condition decreased more significantly than that of under the neutral condition, implying that, from the original paradigm to the variant paradigm, participants under the awe condition were more sensitive to the difference of the "time" dimension, and thus preferred delayed reward more; (3) for the future-oriented participants, the discount rates under the awe condition were larger than that of under the neutral condition; (4) for the present-oriented, the discount rates under the awe condition decreased more significantly than that of under the neutral condition, suggesting that, from the original paradigm to the variant paradigm, the present-oriented under the awe condition were more sensitive to the difference of the "time" dimension, and thus preferred delayed reward more. In conclusion, compared with participants under the neutral condition, participants under the awe condition were more inclined to immediate rewards. When the difference in the "time" dimension was perceived subliminally decreasing, individuals were more tend to larger and delayed rewards. Compared with the neutral condition, the awe condition also had a greater effect on time distance sensitivity and intertemporal choice. By influencing the time-distance sensitivity, awe can, to a certain extent, balance the future earnings preference of the future-oriented in intertemporal choice. Both awe and pleasure had positive effects on preference of the present-oriented in intertemporal choice, which made them pay more attention to long-term goals.

Key words: awe, intertemporal choice, time perspective, temporal distance sensitivity, emotional effect

摘要： 本研究考察了情绪(敬畏、愉悦和中性)对跨期选择的影响机制，以及时距敏感度和时间洞察力在其中的作用。结果显示：(1)相比中性，敬畏情绪下个体的折扣率更大；(2)相比中性，敬畏情绪下折扣率降幅更大；(3)对于未来取向者，敬畏情绪下折扣率比中性条件下更大；(4)对于现在取向者，敬畏情绪下折扣率降幅比中性条件下更大。结果表明，敬畏情绪通过未来时距的敏感度影响跨期选择偏好，使个体更加偏好延迟奖赏，同时，个体的时间取向在其中起调节作用。

关键词: 敬畏, 跨期选择, 时间洞察力, 时距敏感度, 情绪效应