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)