Delay of gratification: decisional self-control and experience with delay intervals.
Actual and verbally reported decisional self-control choices (e.g., 1 penny now or 2 pennies in 1 minute) were obtained from 40 retarded adolescents who participated in a sheltered workshop. Prior to each of their eight choices, one-half of the students experienced the same time interval that was included in the choice for that day (e.g., 1 minute). Analysis of the number of actual and reported delay choices yielded a significant effect for experience, with the treatment group making more delay choices. In addition to suggesting that decisional self-control can be facilitated by prior exposure to delay intervals, the results indicated that verbally reported choices can be used as a reliable and valid indication of actual choices.
D000293:Adolescent; D001290:Attitude; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013998:Time Perception; D014705:Verbal Behavior