Is It Really Self-Control? Examining the Predictive Power of the Delay of Gratification Task

Abstract

This investigation tests whether the predictive power of the delay of gratification task (colloquially known as the “marshmallow test”) derives from its assessment of self-control or of theoretically unrelated traits. Among 56 school-age children in Study 1, delay time was associated with concurrent teacher ratings of self-control and Big Five conscientiousness—but not with other personality traits, intelligence, or reward-related impulses. Likewise, among 966 preschool children in Study 2, delay time was consistently associated with concurrent parent and caregiver ratings of self-control but not with reward-related impulses. While delay time in Study 2 was also related to concurrently measured intelligence, predictive relations with academic, health, and social outcomes in adolescence were more consistently explained by ratings of effortful control. Collectively, these findings suggest that delay task performance may be influenced by extraneous traits, but its predictive power derives primarily from its assessment of self-control.

Does Trauma Impair Self-Control? Differences in Delaying Gratification Between Former Indentured Child Laborers and Nontraumatized Controls

“…It is probable that those with a better education had a well-paying profession, and therefore, the amount of money in the delay discounting task is irrelevant. In addition, in previous studies, significant small (Renn, Allen, & Huning, 2011) to large (Duckworth, Tsukayama, & Kirby, 2013) positive relationships between delay of gratification and conscientiousness have been reported. This finding contradicts the data reported in this study, similarly to another investigation that failed to find a significant relationship between delay discounting and conscientiousness (Miller, Lynam, & Jones, 2008).…”

Preterm Toddlers' Inhibitory Control Abilities Predict Attention Regulation and Academic Achievement at Age 8 Years

“…As a direct and standardized measure of early human selfcontrol behavior, the Raisin Game is not only more reliable and objective than questionnaires [16], it also has higher ecological validity than many other experimental paradigms. Such tasks have however been criticized as longer waiting times may not always indicate that a child exerted higher self-control but also that he or she was simply less tempted by the treat (i.e., raisin) [16] or too shy to reach for the cup. Individual children's preferences and situational affects may have influenced their inhibitory control abilities, i.e., waiting times.…”

“…One highly reliable indicator of early self-control is an individual's ability to inhibit undesirable behaviors, e. g., wait for a treat instead of instantly grabbing it [16]. The inhibition of such behaviors that are driven by emotions has been coined "hot" effortful control.…”

Self-Control in School-Age Children

“…Although instructional methods have since evolved, diminishing emphasis on rote practice and memorization, current evidence for self-control as a determinant of academic outcomes is stronger than for any other aspect of personality or temperament (Duckworth & Allred, 2012;Duckworth & Carlson, 2013). For example, in prospective longitudinal studies, students who are better able to regulate their attention, emotion, and behavior earn higher teacher-assigned course grades (Duckworth, Tsukayama, & May, 2010), standardized achievement test scores (Blair & Razza, 2007;Duckworth, Tsukayama, & Kirby, 2013;) and high school diplomas (Vitaro, Brendgen, Larose, & Tremblay, 2005).…”