Your wish is my command! Influence of symbolic modelling on preschool children’s delay of gratification

Abstract

17Children's ability to delay gratification is correlated with a range of positive outcomes in adulthood, showing 18 the potential impact of helping young children increase their competence in this area. This study investigated the 19influence of symbolic models on 3-year-old children's self-control. Eighty-three children were randomly 20 assigned to one of three modelling conditions: personal story-telling, impersonal story-telling, and control. 21Children were tested on the delay-of-gratification maintenance paradigm both before and after being exposed to 22 a symbolic model or control condition. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed no significant differences between 23 the two story-telling groups and the control group, indicating that the symbolic models did not influence