The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a strong sense of uncertainty worldwide, which may lead to short-sighted behaviors. This study aimed to examine the impact of uncertainty induced by COVID-19 on intertemporal choice, as well as its underlying mechanisms, by conducting four experiments. Study 1a verified the causal relationship between uncertainty and intertemporal choice by showing that participants who feel more uncertain are more likely to choose smaller and sooner gains. Study 1b further confirmed this finding by conducting field experiments, which improved the ecological validity of the results. Study 2 not only replicated the results of Study 1 but also investigated the mediating role of future orientation between uncertainty and intertemporal choice. In Study 3, all participants experienced high uncertainty by recalling their own experiences related to COVID-19. The results showed that increasing future orientation reduced their preferences for smaller and sooner gains, further confirming the mediating role of future orientation. Overall, these findings indicate that uncertainty may lead to a present orientation, which in turn fosters preferences for immediate gains.

冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 大流行在全球范围内引发了强烈的不确定感，这可能会导致短视行为。本研究旨在通过进行四个实验来检验 COVID-19 引起的不确定性对跨期选择的影响及其潜在机制。研究 1a 通过表明感觉更不确定的参与者更有可能选择更小和更早的收益来验证不确定性和跨期选择之间的因果关系。研究 1b 通过进行野外试验进一步证实了这一发现，提高了结果的生态有效性。研究二不仅复制了研究一的结果，还考察了未来取向在不确定性和跨期选择之间的中介作用。在研究 3 中，通过回忆自己与 COVID-19 相关的经历，所有参与者都经历了高度的不确定性。结果表明，未来导向的增加降低了他们对更小和更快收益的偏好，进一步证实了未来导向的中介作用。总的来说，这些发现表明不确定性可能会导致当前的方向，这反过来又会促进对即时收益的偏好。