Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions.

Variations of the self-imposed delay-of-gratification situation in preschool were compared to determine when individual differences in this situation may predict aspects of cognitive and self-regulatory competence and coping in adolescence. Preschool children from a university community participated in experiments that varied features of the self-imposed delay situation. Experimental analyses of the cognitive–attentional processes that affect waiting in this situation helped identify conditions in which delay behavior would be most likely to reflect relevant cognitive and attentional competencies. As hypothesized, in those conditions, coherent patterns of statistically significant correlations were found between seconds of delay time in such conditions in preschool and cognitive and academic competence and ability to cope with frustration and stress in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Father-absence and delay of gratification.

The present study adds to the gradually increasing number of investigations on the effect of the degree of presence of father in the familial configuration and personality functioning. In this study, capacity to choose a larger but temporally remote gratification as opposed to a lesser immediate one was investigated in 2 West Indian (Trinidad) Negro subcultures characterized by the general absence of father. Ss were of 2 age groups (8-9 and 11-14). The hypothesis that father absence would be related to preference for immediate gratification was found in the younger, but not the older group. Results are discussed in comparison to other research in this area. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4FG16M. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

More on determinants of delay of gratification.

Comments on D. C. Funder and M. J. Harris's (see record 1986-21971-001) reanalysis of W. Mischel's (see record 1985-06679-001) data relating to the comparative strength of dispositional and situational determinants of delayed gratification by suggesting that Funder and Harris may have underestimated the strength of situational effects and overestimated the strength of dispositional effects obtained in Mischel's experiments and by noting other discrepancies in Funder and Harris's reanalysis. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exposure to rewards and the delay of gratification.

Gave 111 children aged 6, 7, 8, and 9 yrs old a choice between an immediate reward and a larger, delayed reward. Half of the Ss in each age group saw the rewards before choosing, while the other half did not. Exposure to the rewards led to more choices of delayed reward for 7 yr olds. The 6 yr olds predominantly chose immediate rewards regardless of exposure, while the 8 and 9 yr olds predominantly chose the delayed reward regardless of exposure. 2 explanations are offered for the results for the 7 yr olds. In one, the results are attributed to the effect of exposure on value and/or expectancy of the delayed reward. In the other, it is suggested that exposure orients attention to the value, rather than the immediacy, of the alternatives. In this view, delay of gratification in young children reflects a form of decentration. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental effects and person effects in delay of gratification.

Elaborates on findings included in W. Mischel's (see record 1985-06679-001) article regarding the effect of personality factors and experimental manipulations on delayed gratification by presenting a meta-analysis of experimental studies related to delay of gratification and by suggesting that broad range effect sizes are larger and more important than they are generally considered to be. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Maintaining children's ongoing delay of gratification through other-oriented consequences.

Expanding on W. Mischel's (1974) model of delay behavior, the influence of other-oriented consequences on ongoing delay behavior was explored with 48 White, predominantly middle-class children (mean age 5 yrs 8 mo). Three aspects of other-oriented consequences were examined: (a) knowing that one's behavior has consequences for others, (b) having a social relationship with affected others, and (c) having potential future social consequences for the individual. In addition to delay time, an obesity index was calculated, and the Social Reaction Interview and the Forced-Choice Sociometric Interview were administered to each S. Teachers' judgments were also obtained. Ss' ongoing delay was increased through experimentally manipulated other-oriented consequences. Results are discussed in terms of the consequences producing an incentive motivation to continue delay behavior. Of the other dependent measures only the obesity index showed a significant association with delay time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some ego functions associated with delay of gratification in male delinquents.

Compared 2 groups of 20 institutionalized adolescent delinquent males, matched for age and IQ, on measures of (a) foresight and planning ability, (b) impulsiveness, (c) verbal delay of gratification, (d) internal vs. external control, and (e) adjustment ratings, using the nonverbal Porteus Maze Tests. The experimental group consisted of Ss who had chosen to live in a special cottage and attend public school even though this choice was made with the understanding that it would delay their release from the institution. The control group consisted of Ss from the remaining cottages. The 2 groups differed in the hypothesized direction on measures of impulsiveness, verbal delay of gratification, and internal vs. external control, but not on measures of foresight and planning ability or adjustment ratings. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age and self-verbalization on children's ability to delay gratification.

Examined the effects of overt self-verbalizations on the ability to delay gratification in 80 kindergartners and 3rd graders. Ss were instructed to verbalize a statement that focused on task-oriented, reward-oriented, or irrelevant statements (counting) about the delay period. Results indicate that only in a no-verbalization control condition were 3rd-grade children better able to endure the delay period than kindergarten children. Task-oriented self-statements facilitated delay behavior for children of both ages while reward-oriented self-statements inhibited delay behavior of the 3rd graders and had no effect on kindergartners. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and personality factors in the delay of gratification of hemodialysis patients.

Based on W. Mischel's (see record 1985-06679-001) social learning analysis of the process of delayed gratification in children and A. Bandura's (see record 1977-25733-001) self-efficacy theory, the present authors developed a model of delayed gratification in adults and tested it on 53 20–68 yr old dialysis patients who were required to comply with a stringent regimen of fluid-intake to remain alive. It was hypothesized that Ss' self-evaluations of their past compliance and their efficacy expectations would be associated with their actual delay behavior. Underlying these process-regulating cognitions would be stable competencies, such as learned resourcefulness. Ss evaluated their fluid intake compliance, their efficacy expectations, and their health beliefs. Resourcefulness was assessed by a self-control schedule. Actual fluid-intake compliance was reliably assessed by the mean body-weight increase between dialyses during the 3 mo prior to the study and during 2 follow-up periods. Results support the model and show that self-efficacy expectations were related to persistence with the fluid diet and to Ss' self-evaluation of their past adherence behavior and resourcefulness. Although the path model suggested a causal pattern, the correlational nature of the study precluded any conclusions on a cause–effect relationship. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of ego-control, ego-resiliency, and IQ in delay of gratification in adolescence.

The delay-of-gratification behavior of 104 14-yr-old Ss was assessed in an experiment in which each S chose between immediate monetary payment and larger, delayed payment on 5 occasions. Personality data were obtained on these adolescents in the form of California Adult Q-Set ratings made by several research examiners who were blind to the Ss' delay behavior. The number of delayed payments chosen was strongly correlated with these personality ratings, within both sexes. Ss who exhibited the most delay of gratification tended to be independently described as responsible, productive, ethically consistent, interested in intellectual matters, and overly controlled. They tended not to be described as unable to delay gratification, rebellious, unpredictable, self-indulgent, or hostile. Delay behavior in both sexes was also correlated positively with IQ and with Q-sort-derived indexes of ego resiliency and ego control. The relationship between ego control and delay behavior was particularly strong after both IQ and ego resiliency were partialled. These results were interpreted as reflecting the fundamental importance of both cognitive skillfulness and impulse control for adaptive delay behavior in situations that contain strong motivational inducements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategic attention deployment for delay of gratification in working and waiting situations.

Two studies examined whether the detrimental effects of attention to rewards on delay of gratification in waiting situations holds-or reverses-in working situations. In Study 1, preschoolers waited or worked for desired delayed rewards. Delay times increased when children worked in the presence of rewards but, as predicted, this increase was due to the distraction provided by the work itself, not because attention to rewards motivated children to sustain work. analysis of spontaneous attention deployment showed that attending to rewards reduces delay time regardless of the working or waiting nature of the task. Fixing attention on rewards was a particularly detrimental strategy regardless of the type of task. Study 2 showed that when the work is not engaging, however, attention to rewards can motivate instrumental work and facilitate delay of gratification as long as attention deployment does not become fixed on the rewards. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive person variables in the delay of gratification of older children at risk.

The components of self-regulation were analyzed, extending the self-imposed delay of gratification paradigm to older children with social adjustment problems. Delay behavior was related to a network of conceptually relevant cognitive person variables, consisting of attention deployment strategies during delay, knowledge of delay rules, and intelligence. A positive relationship was demonstrated between concurrent indexes of intelligence, attention deployment, and actual delay time. Moreover, attention deployment, measured as an individual differences variable during the delay process, had a direct, positive effect on delay behavior. Specifically, as the duration of delay and the frustration of the situation increased, children who spent a higher proportion of the time distracting themselves from the tempting elements of the delay situation were able to delay longer. The effect of attention deployment on delay behavior was significant even when age, intelligence, and delay rule knowledge were controlled. Likewise, delay rule knowledge significantly predicted delay time, even when age, attention deployment, and intelligence were controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: Dynamics of willpower.

A 2-system framework is proposed for understanding the processes that enable—and undermine—self-control or "willpower" as exemplified in the delay of gratification paradigm. A cool, cognitive "know" system and a hot, emotional "go" system are postulated. The cool system is cognitive, emotionally neutral, contemplative, flexible, integrated, coherent, spatiotemporal, slow, episodic, and strategic. It is the seat of self-regulation and self-control. The hot system is the basis of emotionality, fears as well as passions—impulsive and reflexive—initially controlled by innate releasing stimuli (and, thus, literally under "stimulus control"); it is fundamental for emotional (classical) conditioning and undermines efforts at self-control. The balance between the hot and cool systems is determined by stress, developmental level, and the individual's self-regulatory dynamics. The interactions between these systems allow explanation of findings on willpower from 3 decades of research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delinquency, delay of gratification, recidivism, and the Porteus Maze Tests.

Two principal scores are derived from an S's performance on the Porteus Maze Test: Test Age (TA) and Qualitative (Q) score. It was originally thought that a person's delinquent tendencies could be predicted on the basis of the relationship between his/her TA and IQ, but a careful review of the literature does not support this view. Reanalysis of previous studies shows that the Q score was specifically developed to identify delinquents and appears to do so very well. When Q scores of delinquent and normal groups are compared, the differences are consistent and highly significant. When the established cutoff points are used, Q score correctly identifies about 70% of delinquents sampled, as well as 70% of normals. Additional Q score findings within delinquent and nondelinquent groups are also discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature, assessment, and treatment of adolescent self-injury.

Reviews the book, Adolescent self-injury: A comprehensive guide for counselors and health care professionals by Amelio A. D'Onofrio (see record 2007-02689-000). To date there have been few publications in the professional literature addressing the needs of school personnel in regards to self-injury in school-age populations. This book attempts to address this gap in the literature. According to the author, the intent of the book is to assist "frontline professionals in developing a working understanding of the nature, meaning, and function of adolescent self-injurious behavior." In doing so, the author presents information from the research literature in such disparate areas as psychology, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, and feminist studies. Although written for both school and health care professionals, there is a strong focus in the book on school-based practice. The book is divided into three parts that together provide an overview of self-injury, strategies for assessment and treatment, and information on related issues. The text is well-written and provides practical, evidence-based information that should prove highly useful to school psychologists and other professionals responding to and working with adolescents who engage in self-injury. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of strategic attention deployment in development of self-regulation: Predicting preschoolers' delay of gratification from mother–toddler interactions.

Toddlers' use of effective attention deployment strategies to cope with separation from the mother and with maternal behavior predicted the use of effective delay-of-gratification strategies at age 5, even though the contexts, measures, and manifest behaviors were different. Toddlers who used distraction strategies during a brief separation from the mother were able, at age 5, to delay immediate gratification longer for more valued rewards. Toddlers who explored at a distance from a controlling mother when she tried to engage the child also delayed longer and used more effective delay strategies at age 5, compared with toddlers who did not distance themselves. Toddlers whose mothers were not controlling showed the opposite pattern: Those who did not distance themselves from the mother's bids had longer preschool delay times and more effective strategies. Strategic attention deployment was shown to be an enduring self-regulatory skill visible in early development across domains, measures, and over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delay of gratification, motivation for the prohibited gratification, and responses to temptation.

Yielding to temptation, in a situation in which attainment of achievement rewards is contingent upon deviant (cheating) behavior, was conceptualized to be a function of (a) the strength of the motivation to attain the prohibited gratification, and (b) the inability to delay immediate gratification. 6th-grade boys participated in an experimentally controlled "shooting gallery" game of skill in which attainment of achievement rewards (prizes) was contingent upon the child's falsifying his own scores. Motivation for the prohibited gratification was inferred from "n Achievement" scores: preference for immediate, smaller (ImR) or delayed, larger (DelR) rewards in choice situations was the index of the ability to delay gratification. Achievement motivation was related to the S's producing sufficiently deviant scores to obtain an achievement reward, and preference for DelR was related negatively to the amount of cheating and positively to the latency of cheating, i.e., the number of trials before the occurrence of the 1st deviation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prevalence, stability and significance of developmental language delay in preschool children

A sample of 937 children in Dunedin, New Zealand, was assessed at ages three and five years in order to estimate the nature, prevalence, stability and significance of developmental language delays in three-year-olds. Assessments included language development, intelligence, and fine and gross motor-co-ordination. Detailed results are given which described three types of language delay at age three: delayed verbal comprehension only, delayed verbal expression only, and delayed development in both aspects of language. Follow-up testing at age five indicated that the specific language delays were not highly stable, whereas delays in both aspects were highly stable. A large proportion of the latter children gained very low scores on the measures at age five, and they accounted for 84 per cent of all children with very low intelligence. The implications of the results for a screening programme to identify three-year-old children at high risk of later developmental delays are considered.     

The nature and methods of learning by doing.

This presentation reviews some of the psychological research on learning by doing and discusses the role that learning-by-doing approaches can play in education and training. It includes a discussion of the author's implementations of this approach and the lessons learned from these implementations. Improved forms of learning by doing now can be supported by information technologies, and there are prospects for extensions to group learning by doing and group learning from examples in the near future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delay of gratification: Some longitudinal personality correlates.

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) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)