We seem to have a disproportionate number of sayings and heuristics making us less impulsive and making our time horizons longer. That might have developed as a way of sustaining the long-term discounting we humans have in comparision to other animals; http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mnkylab/publications/animalcommunication/constraints.pdf
has a nice diagram (figure 3) showing the difference between human (slowest), rats and pidgeons (fastest discounting). Slow discounting might be linked to our foraging lifestyle, http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mnkylab/publications/animalcommunication/constraints.pdf
but since human societies have developed quickly recently the benefits of discounting have risen faster than evolution could have adapted (or impulsive individuals have a fitness advantage by having children earlier).
So maybe we have a culturally transmitted bias towards slow discounting and persistence, that normally counteracts our too fast discounting. But in some individuals it becomes maladaptive, perhaps because they already are naturally stubborn.
We seem to have a disproportionate number of sayings and heuristics making us less impulsive and making our time horizons longer. That might have developed as a way of sustaining the long-term discounting we humans have in comparision to other animals; http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mnkylab/publications/animalcommunication/constraints.pdf has a nice diagram (figure 3) showing the difference between human (slowest), rats and pidgeons (fastest discounting). Slow discounting might be linked to our foraging lifestyle, http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~mnkylab/publications/animalcommunication/constraints.pdf but since human societies have developed quickly recently the benefits of discounting have risen faster than evolution could have adapted (or impulsive individuals have a fitness advantage by having children earlier).
So maybe we have a culturally transmitted bias towards slow discounting and persistence, that normally counteracts our too fast discounting. But in some individuals it becomes maladaptive, perhaps because they already are naturally stubborn.