Content uploaded by Monica Larrea Rodriguez
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Monica Larrea Rodriguez
Content may be subject to copyright.
Delay of Gratification in Children
Abstract
To function effectively, individuals must voluntarily postpone immediate gratification and persist in goal-directed behavior for the sake of later outcomes. The present research program analyzed the nature of this type of future-oriented self-control and the psychological processes that underlie it. Enduring individual differences in self-control were found as early as the preschool years. Those 4-year-old children who delayed gratification longer in certain laboratory situations developed into more cognitively and socially competent adolescents, achieving higher scholastic performance and coping better with frustration and stress. Experiments in the same research program also identified specific cognitive and attentional processes that allow effective self-regulation early in the course of development. The experimental results, in turn, specified the particular types of preschool delay situations diagnostic for predicting aspects of cognitive and social competence later in life.
... Por otro lado, el autor incluye una explicación no mentalista cuando explica la ausencia de diferencia en autocontrol en función de la presencia parental en los niños Negro de más edad de la Isla Trinidad: esto se debería a que, a medida que el individuo crece, comienza a participar en otros entornos sociales más allá del hogar familiar (Mischel, 1961b). Además, los autores apuntaron posteriormente que un entorno familiar temprano en el cual se fomenta y se modela la auto-imposición de demoras puede también promover otros tipos de conducta que faciliten la adquisición de habilidades sociales y cognitivas, hábitos de estudio, o actitudes que se asocien con obtener mejor rendimiento académico (Mischel, Shoda, & Rodriguez, 1989). ...
... Además, los propios autores criticaban el uso de ciertas conductas como indicadores de fortaleza yoica y su trato como rasgos relativamente estables generales e independientes de la situación, afirmando que éstas pueden estar en gran medida determinadas por contingencias situacionales (Mischel & Staub, 1965). En una posterior revisión de resultados, los autores señalaban que los conceptos como fuerza de voluntad o fortaleza yoica aportan poco más que etiquetas para los fenómenos a los que apuntan (Mischel et al., 1989). ...
La prueba del malvavisco fue desarrollada por el psicólogo Walter Mischel como una forma de medir el auto-control en niños. El experimentador deja al niño solo en una habitación con dos posibles recompensas comestibles, siendo una de ellas preferida por el participante. El infante es informado de que si es capaz de esperar a que el experimentador regrese, podrá comer su favorita, pero si le llama para interrumpir la espera, tendrá que conformarse con la otra. En el presente artículo se revisan de manera crítica las principales investigaciones realizadas por el autor señalado, poniendo especial énfasis en las modificaciones experimentales que mostraron ser factores relevantes en el comportamiento de auto-control. La crítica aparece al mostrar los argumentos de corte cognitivo empleado en las distintas investigaciones y se ponen a debate con explicaciones de carácter conductual.
... We report a dataset acquired as part of an effort to understand the construct of self 37 regulation, which refers to the processes or abilities that are used to serve long-term goals. Self 38 regulation has been shown to relate to a variety of real-world outcomes, including economic 39 choices, health outcomes, and academic achievement [1][2][3] . We operationalized self-regulation as 40 a large heterogeneity of constituent processes that may be interrelated, including attention, set 41 ...
We describe the following shared data from N=103 healthy adults who completed a broad set cognitive tasks, surveys, and neuroimaging measurements to examine the construct of self-regulation. The neuroimaging acquisition involved task-based fMRI, resting fMRI, and structural MRI. Each subject completed the following ten tasks in the scanner across two 90-minute scanning sessions: attention network test (ANT), cued task switching, Columbia card task, dot pattern expectancy (DPX), delay discounting, simple and motor selective stop signal, Stroop, a towers task, and a set of survey questions. Subjects also completed resting state scans. The dataset is shared openly through the OpenNeuro project, and the dataset is formatted according to the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) standard.
... Future-orientated cognition comprises of several facets. While a debate about a common taxonomy is ongoing, the following components have been in the focus of previous research (e.g., Szpunar et al., 2014): episodic foresight/ episodic future thinking (ability to mentally project oneself into a future situation; Atance and Neill, 2001), delay of gratification (voluntary postponement of immediate gratification for the sake of greater future gains; Mischel et al., 1989), saving behavior (ability, to reserve resources in the present for the sake of future enjoyment; Metcalf and Atance, 2011), prospective memory (ability to remember to carry out future intentions; Kliegel and Theodor, 2007), planning (constructing plans/goals and envisioning the actions necessary to achieve those future goals; Shapiro and Hudson, 2004). Current research has particularly focused on episodic foresight/episodic future thinking (EFT) because it appears to have explanatory value for the other future-oriented facets of cognition and behavior (for a review: Atance and O'Neill, 2005). ...
Future-oriented cognition plays a manifold role for adults’ mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between future-oriented cognition and mental health in N = 191 children aged between 3 and 7 years. Parents completed an online-questionnaire including children’s future-oriented cognition (e.g., episodic foresight; Children Future Thinking Questionnaire; CFTQ), children’s mental health problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ), and wellbeing (Parent rated Life Orientation Test of children; PLOT and Positive-Mental-Health Scale; PMH). More externalizing problems (especially hyperactivity) related to lower future oriented cognition. For mental wellbeing, higher levels of optimism were associated with higher episodic foresight. Future oriented cognition increased with age cross sectionally. This increase was flatter at higher levels of wellbeing (indicated by lower pessimism). Results are discussed considering findings on the role of future-oriented cognition for mental health in adults and adolescents. Suggestions for future work are presented regarding the direction of the observed links and underlying mechanisms.
... This speech excluded other types of taskrelevant private speech, such as speech focused on the bag/ gift itself that did not reference the goal of not looking or touching. In line with this, Mischel et al. (1989) discussed how focusing on the reward was associated with poorer self-regulation during delay tasks, but that the strategy of self-instruction was associated with better self-regulation. Furthermore, Leonard et al. (2014) also supported this finding as children who used self-distraction behaviors waited longer to eat a desired candy than those who did not self-distract. ...
Self-regulation includes the ability to control one’s behavior as needed to meet social expectations and is associated with adaptive developmental outcomes. One tool for self-regulation is private speech; however, research has not examined if children’s private speech is consistent across cognitively-focused and emotionally-focused contexts and if it is associated with regulatory abilities in similar ways. The goal of this study was to investigate relations between children’s private speech and their regulation in three contexts with varying emotional and cognitive demands with children’s age examined as a moderator of the association of private speech to regulation. Preschool-aged children’s (n = 122) private speech (vocalizations, inaudible muttering, task-irrelevant, negatively valenced, and facilitative) was transcribed and coded in three contexts: selective attention where children matched pictures according to certain rules, emotion regulation where children’s persistence in attempting to overcome an obstacle to achieve a goal was observed, and inhibitory control where the children were instructed to wait to color. Using linear mixed modeling, private speech did not significantly predict children’s regulatory abilities in the selective attention task; however, meaningful associations were found between private speech and regulation in the emotion regulation and inhibitory control contexts. Furthermore, age moderated the association of private speech to regulation in the inhibitory control context. Our findings that associations between private speech and regulation outcomes differed across contexts highlight the importance of examining self-regulation as a multidimensional construct and emphasize the importance of considering both cognitive and emotional demands for supporting children’s optimal self-regulation.
... It serves as a predictor for the later development of executive functions (EF), which include working memory, mental flexibility, and inhibitory control (Jones et al., 2016). Early development of self-regulation helps children become more persistent in achieving goals and develop the ability to delay gratification (Mischel et al., 1989). ...
Background and Aim: The early stage of childhood is a crucial period that significantly impacts a child's learning and growth trajectory. Research has shown a strong connection between cognitive ability, developmental milestones during this phase, and future outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Therefore, it is imperative for preschool learning programs to prioritize age-appropriate and holistic development. To enhance the intellectual capabilities of preschoolers, an integrated learning activity program was implemented and analyzed for its effectiveness in improving young learners' intellectual and other developmental factors. Material and Methods: This study used pre- and post-test experimental designs. Through a multi-stage random sampling procedure, 113 preschoolers were chosen from five sub-district centers in Nai Faai, Nai Sineun, Ban Lao, Tha Hinong, and Huen. Developmental Assessment Scales, developed by the researcher, were used to compare cognitive abilities and development levels of children aged 24, 36, and 48 months before and after the 8-week Integrated learning program. The reliability of the scales was 0.85, 0.80, and 0.83, respectively. The t-test was employed for comparison analysis. Results: The results indicated that the motor skills, language, problem-solving, and personal-social awareness of preschoolers aged 24, 36, and 48 months significantly improved at the .01 level after participating in the integrated learning activities. Conclusions: Integrated learning activities could effectively support and enhance intellectual capacities and age-appropriate development.
... Specht et al., 2011), but also they are powerful predictors of important life outcomes (Roberts et al., 2007). This is a point that even staunch detractors-who tend to emphasize instability and the power of the situation-indeed acknowledge (Mischel et al., 1989;Shoda et al., 1990). Moreover, traits have been predictive of health behavior (e.g., Roberts et al., 2007;Schlam et al., 2013). ...
Which individual differences accurately predict one's decision to get tested for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and do individuals who have regular short-term sex get tested at higher rates? Two studies-one lab study (total valid N = 69, with n = 20 who were tested) and one involving a student health center (valid N = 250, n = 4 who were tested)-involved participants (total valid N = 319, with n = 24 who got tested) taking a number of personality and individual difference measures, including the dark triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). Then, in both studies, participants had the opportunity to actually get tested for HIV. After analyzing data from Study 1, for Study 2 we preregistered the prediction that narcissistic participants would tend to (a) show disinclination to get tested for HIV, and (b) show proclivity for unrestricted short-term sexual behavior, manifesting in (c) a significant difference between these two correlations. As predicted, such a difference in correlations was evident for narcissism as well as psychopathy (the latter, however, was not predicted), suggesting that such individuals are not likely to seek HIV diagnostic information, but are taking more sexual risks. A research synthesis was consistent with these ideas (although controlling for demographic factors diminished the effects). Narcissistic and psychopathic individuals may be undetected hubs in the network of sexually active individuals with HIV. These results are silent on whether the typical HIV patient is narcissistic or psychopathic; the results merely implicate narcissistic and psychopathic traits in the spread of the virus. HIV and AIDS continue to be major public health concerns in the United States, with 1.
Metacognition is important for self‐regulated learning, and it has recently been argued that it may play an important role in self‐control more generally. We studied multiple aspects of metacognition in self‐control, namely metacognitive knowledge including a person's repertoire (“toolbox”) of different self‐regulatory strategies, metacognitive regulation (planning, monitoring, and evaluation), and polyregulation (using more self‐regulatory strategies in a single self‐control conflict) as predictors of people's self‐control success in daily life. In a preregistered experience sampling study, N = 503 participants reported their self‐control conflicts up to eight times per day for 10 days, yielding 9,639 reports of daily self‐control conflicts. Analyses showed that higher levels of metacognitive knowledge, planning, monitoring, evaluation, and polyregulation as well as a larger strategy repertoire were associated with higher levels of success in resolving daily self‐control conflicts. Additionally, higher levels of trait self‐control were associated with higher levels of metacognitive knowledge, planning, and monitoring. These findings highlight the importance of metacognition and polyregulation for successful self‐control.
Tener cuerpo entraña un ceñido vínculo de procesos psicofisiológicos por medio del cual una persona siente y se percata de múltiples estados de su organismo: sus posturas y movimientos, su tensión o relajación, su vigor o fatiga, su bienestar o malestar. Tales experiencias no se confinan al tiempo presente, pues las señales advertidas se cotejan tácitamente con las huellas y funciones del cuerpo almacenadas en una densa memoria somática. Esta corporalidad dinámica, sincrónica (actual) y diacrónica (temporal) es una indispensable base funcional del yo, es decir, de la autoconciencia. Pero, además de su cuerpo y de sus actos, la persona también siente y advierte sus percepciones, emociones, pensamientos, creencias, recuerdos, sueños o intenciones como algo suyo, es decir, como eventos mentales que le ocurren sólo a ella, y por ello le pertenecen. Tales experiencias de posesión constituyen un dispositivo central de la subjetividad, pues los procesos corporales y mentales conscientes no sólo son cualitativos y se sienten, sino que al mismo tiempo son propios y se tienen. En efecto, las experiencias conscientes no se dan por sí mismas ni en un vacío: le suceden a alguien, son sus experiencias y de nadie más.
This entry reviews the history of the study of impulsivity, primarily as a psychological concept, noting its multifaceted nature and wide‐ranging implications for externalizing behavior problems, especially in adolescents. The concept was originally studied as a personality disposition but was then made more precise by researchers using animal models who distinguished between impulsive action and impulsive choice. This distinction is used to organize the vast literature on this topic as it has evolved. This entry considers how impulsivity differs from the related concept of novelty or reward seeking and how it intersects with research on executive function. The entry reviews its connection with various adolescent risk behaviors and suggests potential avenues for future research to reduce its adverse effects in children and adolescents.
When offered a choice (Choice Y) between a small immediate reward (2-sec exposure to grain) and a large reward (4-sec exposure to grain) delayed by 4 sec, pigeons invariably preferred the small, immediate reward. However, when offered a choice (Choice X) between a delay of T seconds followed by Choice Y and a delay of T seconds followed by restriction to the large delayed reward only, the pigeon's choice depended on T. When T was small, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to Choice Y (and then chose the small, immediate reward). When T was large, the pigeons chose the alternative leading to the large delayed reward only. The reversal of preference as T increases is predicted by several recent models for choice between various amounts and delays of reward. The preference for the large delayed alternative with long durations of T parallels everyday instances of advance commitment to a given course of action. Such commitment may be seen as a prototype for self-control.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
This chapter provides an overview of research on choice preferences for delayed, larger versus immediate, smaller gratifications. In spite of the widespread recognition of the important role of delay of gratification in human affairs, previous experimental research on the topic has been limited. At the empirical level, extensive experimental work has been done on delay of reward in animals. Surprisingly, although voluntary delay behavior has been assumed to be a critical component of such concepts as “ego strength,” “impulse control,” and “internalization,” prior to the present research program relatively little systematic attention had been devoted to it in empirical work on human social behavior. The chapter presents, in greater detail, selected studies that focus on the role of cognitive processes during self-imposed delay. Many theorists have paid tribute abstractly to the importance of cognition for the phenomena of personality in general and for self-regulatory processes in particular. These tributes have been accompanied by some correlational research that explores, for example, the links between intelligence, self-control, cognitive styles, and other dispositional. The chapter offers a further theoretical analysis of the determinants of delay behavior.
The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
In a comparative test of the relative efficacy of live and symbolic models for modifying delay-of-reward behavior, groups of children with marked preferences for either immediate but less valued rewards, or more valuable delay reinforcers, were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 experimental conditions. 1 group observed live models who exhibited delay behavior that was counter to the children's pattern; a 2nd group was presented essentially the same modeling cues except in symbolic verbal form; while a 3rd group had no exposure to any models. Changes in Ss' delay-of-reward behavior were measured immediately following exposure to the modeling procedures, and reassessed approximately 1 mo. later within a different stimulus situation. Both live and symbolic models produced substantial modifications in delay-of-reward behavior within the immediate social-influence setting, but the changes induced in high-delay children through exposure to symbolic models were less stable over time. (27 ref.)
The study of “metacognition” has become vigorous in recent years, with extensive research exploring the development of children’s knowledge of effective strategies in attention, comprehension, and memory (e.g., Brown, 1980; Flavell & Wellman, 1977). In contrast, the child’s developing understanding of essential strategies for self-regulation — a core aspect of human functioning, basic to virtually all conceptions of personality — has been neglected. Perhaps this neglect reflects the fact that until recently there were few objective criteria against which one could assess the relative efficacy of various strategies for self-control. Studies of the conditions that enhance or impede successful delay of gratification in children (e.g., Miller & Karniol, 1976a, 1976b; Mischel, 1974, 1981b; Toner, 1981; Toner & Smith, 1977; Yates, Lippett, & Yates, 1981) now provide a basis for assessing the child’s developing understanding against objective criteria of efficacy.
Describes 3 experiments with a total of 92 3-5 yr. olds. Exp. I compared the effects of external and cognitive distraction from reward objects on the length of time which Ss waited for a preferred delayed reward before forfeiting it for a less preferred immediate one. In accord with predictions from an extension of frustrative nonreward theory, Ss waited much longer for a preferred reward when they were distracted from the rewards. Exp. II demonstrated that only certain cognitive events (thinking "fun things") served as effective ideational distractors. Thinking "sad thoughts" produced short delay times, as did thinking about the rewards themselves. In Exp. III the delayed rewards were not physically available for direct attention during the delay period, and Ss' cognitive attention was manipulated by prior instructions. While Ss waited, cognitions about the rewards significantly reduced, rather than enhanced, the length of their delay of gratification. Overall, attentional and cognitive mechanisms which enhanced the salience of rewards shortened the length of voluntary delay, while distractions from the rewards, overtly or cognitively, facilitated delay. Results permit a reinterpretation of basic mechanisms in voluntary delay of gratification and self-control. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Explored the role of attentional processes in voluntary delay of reward by manipulating children's attention to the rewards for which they were waiting in a delay-of-gratification paradigm. 32 preschool children waited for a preferred but delayed reward while facing either the delayed reward, a less preferred but immediately available reward, both rewards, or no rewards. The dependent measure was the amount of time they waited for the preferred outcome before forfeiting it for the sake of the less desired but immediately available one. Results contradict predictions from psychodynamic theory and from speculations concerning self-instructions during time binding. Unexpectedly, but in accord with frustrative nonreward theory, voluntary waiting time was substantially increased when Ss could not attend to rewards during the waiting period. Implications are discussed for a theory of the development of delay of gratification. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the effects of different cognitive representations of the rewards (outcomes) in a delay of gratification paradigm on children's ability to wait for these rewards. Ss were 60 3-5 yr olds in nursery school. It was found that consummatory (arousing) ideation directed at the relevant (contingent) rewards hindered effective delay. In contrast, cognitive transformations of the rewards which focused on their nonconsummatory qualities and associations significantly facilitated delay behavior more than did comparable ideation about similar rewards irrelevant to the delay contingency. Consummatory ideation focused on rewards irrelevant to the contingency also greatly helped to maintain delay. Theoretical implications for the role of fantasy and cognitive appraisal in self-control are examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two brief laboratory tasks measuring delay of gratification in different ways were administered to 116 4-yr-old children. Personality data were available on these children separately at ages 3, 4, 7, and 11 yrs in the form of California Child Q-Set ratings by independent sets of teachers and examiners. The 2 delay-of-gratification measures were used to generate a more broadly based index of delay of gratification, and this index was correlated with the personality ratings available at the 4 ages. Boys who delayed gratification tended to be described as deliberative, attentive, reasonable, reserved, cooperative, and able to modulate motivational and emotional impulse. Boys who did not delay gratification, by contrast, were irritable, restless, aggressive, and generally not self-controlled. Girls who delayed gratification were consistently described as intelligent, resourceful, and competent. Girls who did not delay tended to go to pieces under stress; to be victimized by other children; and to be easily offended, sulky, and whiny. Findings are interpreted in terms of the constructs of ego control and ego resiliency and the differential socialization of the sexes. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)