Good morning everyone and welcome back to The Growing Seed newsletter. I hope you have had a good week, even if you have been writing exams.

I went down a bit of a research rabbit hole earlier this week on the topic of present bias and asked in our WhatsApp group if I should write about it. Many of you responded that I should. So, today’s newsletter will take a more scientific approach on something that influences our everyday lives and how we can apply this knowledge to reach our goals and live in obedience to the Lord. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and that it doesn’t feel too much like additional study work.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on this topic. The biological, economic, and psychological concepts, as well as the applications I mention, are not my original ideas. I obtained much of my information from Grok.AI, which aligned with my prior knowledge of biology, psychology, and economics. I will list all the sources Grok pulled from.

Present bias is a concept that describes the tendency of people to focus on their current situation and prioritize immediate benefits over long-term gains in decision-making. This leads us to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards. It plays a role in procrastination and seeking instant gratification and is often discussed in relation to financial decisions and health choices, like smoking or exercise.

From an evolutionary perspective, present bias increased the likelihood of survival in ancient times. If food or shelter was found, it would have been wiser to prioritize immediate gain over anticipating greater future rewards. This may have influenced our brains to value instant gratification disproportionately.

From a neural perspective, specific regions in the brain are responsible for instant and delayed gratification responses. The primary area for instant gratification is the limbic system, which plays a role in our reward and emotional response, while the primary area for delayed gratification is the prefrontal cortex, which controls complex thinking, planning, and self-control. These systems work in opposition when it comes to present bias, and the emotional limbic system’s response often overrides the logical prefrontal cortex’s response.

One of the systems these regions interact with is the system of hormones and neurotransmitters (the endocrine system). This system creates drives that lead to specific responses in the body, such as pleasure when dopamine is released or a stress response when cortisol is released. These two hormones also impacts our present bias. Dopamine drives us to seek pleasure constantly, favoring current enjoyment over long-term gain. Stress narrows our perspective and focuses on resolving immediate threats.

In economics, there is a model called hyperbolic discounting. This model attempts to explain consumers’ decision-making based on their perception of how time impacts the value of an outcome. Like the shape of a hyperbola, there is a steep decrease in perceived value initially, which flattens over time. This means that if you were offered R50 today or R100 in a month’s time, you would likely value the immediate R50 more than the R100. However, if you were offered R150 in six months’ time or R200 in a year’s time, you would be more likely to perceive the value of the R200 as higher.

The main psychological driver in this model is known as the immediacy effect. This states that immediate or short-term rewards feel more important and tangible, while distant rewards feel abstract and less compelling. This leads to time-inconsistent preferences, where choices made now conflict with future intentions. (In a month’s time, you would rather have chosen the R100.)

Our problem-solving ability allows us to mentally process short-term rewards more vividly, while future outcomes are harder to imagine. (The enjoyment of cake right now feels more tangible than the benefits of long-term health.) This can lead us to misjudge how we will feel in the future by underestimating the regret we might feel after making a decision and overestimating how much joy that choice will bring us. Think about the temptation of sin. It initially seems appealing and like it will bring us joy, but when we fall for that temptation, we often end up feeling guilty and regretful. Additionally, we perceive the immediate “loss” of missing an immediate reward as more painful than the future gain of our decision. In general, losses are psychologically weighed more heavily than equivalent gains, according to a study done by Kahneman and Tversky.

As briefly mentioned earlier, emotions contribute to present bias. Excitement or happiness can override logical decision making. Anxiety and sadness, may lead us to seek immediate relief from our feelings. An example of this is emotional eating.

Like many other desirable characteristics, self-control and decision-making are limited resources that can be depleted. When our self-control capacity is depleted from making many decisions, the prefrontal cortex’s ability to override impulsive urges weakens, leading to a stronger likelihood of present bias. If you told yourself you would go for a run in the evening but have been disciplined in studying all day, you may struggle to stay disciplined in sticking to the run at the end of the day.

Many scriptures tell us to avoid present bias. We are called to run the race laid before us with endurance by fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2), to set our minds on things above (Colossians 3:2), and that self-control as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Living in obedience to Christ means denying ourselves and our immediate fleshly desires for much greater eternal gain (Matthew 16:24). I believe that by becoming aware of how present bias affects our thoughts and decisions, we can actively work to counteract its effects by God’s grace. Knowing how God designed us and how our minds work can help us understand Him and His commands in a deeper way. We can then apply this knowledge to be more faithful to Him and live for the eternal rewards he promises us.

Pre-commitment:
Limiting the decisions you can make in the moment reduces your ability to make irrational decisions. If you already have barriers set for yourself, it is harder for you to cross them. This can look like having app blockers on your phone which limits your ability to satisfy the instant gratification from distractions like social media. Meal prepping, setting aside specific time for reading scripture, and automating savings transfers can also remove the option of making time-inconsistent choices.

Visualization:
Vision boards and visualizing can help make future outcomes feel more realistic and tangible as well as reminds us of our long term vision. Thinking about what the future benefits will feel like, the emotions associated with it and the details of the rewards you will get can increase its perceived value and decrease hyperbolic discounting.

Gamify and Break Down Long-Term Goals:
We can leverage our dopamine response for long-term goals by making the process enjoyable and breaking down big goals into smaller steps that help us feel accomplished and motivated. Setting milestones with rewards, social accountability, and habit tracking are effective ways to encourage yourself to act in accordance with your goals.

Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation:
These practices help reduce our reactivity to limbic system impulses and strengthen the prefrontal cortex’s control over decision-making. Recognize that you will have emotional impulses but you don’t have to respond to them. Scripture tells us to take our thoughts captive to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). I think this is a big thing for me in prayer. My mind may wonder and I may feel tempted to get stuck into my daily to do list but I can recognize that thought and not allow my actions to follow it. Pausing, reflecting and journaling are ways to strengthen your self-control, weaken your limbic system’s dominance and stay grounded in your long term perspective.

Evaluate Your Environment:
Try to create environments that minimizes distractions and cognitive effort to make it easier for you to make the right choices. Decluttering, designing daily routines (making behaviors automatic), and surrounding yourself with people who prioritize long-term gain are effective strategies.

Learn from Past Choices:
Reflecting on how past decisions made you feel and their consequences can help reduce our tendency to overestimate pleasure and underestimate the negative impact of a choice. Try regret journaling, where you write about how you felt after making a decision you regretted in comparison to decisions that made you feel good afterward. Future-self dialogue (reminding yourself of future benefits) and tracking outcomes can also minimize present bias.

I hope this newsletter wasn’t too long and you gained some valuable information from it. If you want to receive these newsletters on WhatsApp or if you want some social accountability with other young women, click on the button below to become part of the community.

Have a blessed rest of your Saturday and we’ll chat soon, Cailyn x

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