Richard Yi, Ph.D.
- Professor, Department of Psychology
- Director, Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment
- Interim Chair, Department of Economics
Contact Info
Lawrence
1000 Sunnyside Ave
Lawrence, KS 66045
Personal Links
Biography —
Richard Yi is Professor in the Department of Psychology, the Director of the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment, and Interim Chair in the Department of Economics.
Education —
Research —
Richard Yi employs behavioral economic approaches to examine basic decision and behavioral processes associated with health, with focus on valuation of delayed outcomes (delay discounting) and dynamic inconsistency as principal factors in addiction and relapse. His research also explores approaches to remediate accelerated delay discounting associated with health-compromising behaviors. He is broadly interested in the intersection of intertemporal and interpersonal decision-making.
Selected Publications —
Kurnellas, R., Sutton, C., Gelino, B., Taylor, H., Smith, A. P., Reed, D., & Yi, R. (2025). Projected alcohol demand in college students with heavy drinking. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 123(3), 389-399. doi: 10.1002/jeab.70006
Hudson, J. E., Grunevski, S., Sebelius. J., & Yi, R. (2024). Art-delivered episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting: A proof-of-concept trial. Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, 158, 209255. doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209255
Foxx, R. K., Taylor, H., Castro, Smith, A. P., Yurasek, A. M., & Yi, R. (2022). Single- and cross-commodity delay discounting of cannabis. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 84(1), 58-66. doi: 10.15288/jsad.21-00321
Grunevski, S., Smith, A., & Yi, R. (2022). Are you sure? Preference and ambivalence in delay discounting. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 5, 782991. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.782991
Roth, M. A., Loya, J. M., & Yi, R. (2022). Social value orientation and delay discounting of shared outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences, 187, 111401. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111401
Felton, J. W., Collado, A., Ingram, K. M., Doran, K., & Yi, R. (2019). Improvement of working memory is a mechanism for reductions in delay discounting amongst mid-age individuals in an urban medically underserved area. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 53(11), 988-998. doi: 10.1093/abm/kaz010. PMCID: PMC6779071
Selected Presentations —
When we will and won’t accept unfairness: Choice in a three-player ultimatum game. Keynote Address for the annual meeting of the Nevada Association for Behavior Analysis. Virtual. October 2020.
The nuts and bolts of delay discounting assessment, and its relevance for substance use research. Workshop on Epidemiology and Public Health Research Methods at the annual meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. Minneapolis, MN. June 2022.
Is addiction rational? University of Vermont Annual T32 Retreat. Vergennes, VT. August 2023.
Valuation of delayed alcohol and hyper-palatable food: caveats to Reinforcer Pathology Model? University of Florida Center for Behavioral Economic Health Research (CBEHR), Virtual. February 2025.
Environmental contexts that impact intertemporal decision making and substance misuse. University of Nebraska Rural Drug Addiction Research Center (RDAR). Lincoln, NE. April 2025.
Awards & Honors —
Fellow, American Psychological Association Division 28 (2021)
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
Improving Decision Making to Prevent Substance Misuse among Adolescents from Traditionally Underserved Communities (NIH/NIDA R34 DA056732-01)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Julia Felton)
An Examination of the Joint Contributions of Socioeconomic Disadvantage, Genetics, and COVID-19 on the Development of Delay Discounting and Substance Use across Adolescence (NIH/NIDA R01 DA057552-01)
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Jill Rabinowitz)
Novel Intervention Strategies to Increase Physical Activity Need to Reduce Barriers to Exercise and Increase Adherence to Achieve Optimal Health Benefits (NIH/NIA R61/R33 AG078087-01)
Role: Co-Investigator (PI: Laura Martin)
Service —
- Associate Editor, Behavioural Processes (2017-2020)
- Awards Chair, APA Division 28 (2019-2024)
- Mentor, KU TRIO McNair Scholars program (2020-2025)
- Standing Member, IPTA study section, NIH (2021-2025)
Memberships —
- American Psychological Association (APA): Division 25, 28, 50
- Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)
- College on Problem of Drug Dependence (CPDD)
- Society for the Quantitative Analysis of Behavior (SQAB)