title: I want it all and I want it now: Delay of gratification in preschool children.
abstract: On the delay-of-gratification choice paradigm, 4-year-olds typically choose the larger, delayed reward, exhibiting delay of gratification, whereas 3-year-olds typically choose the small, immediate reward. Despite this highly replicated finding, the cognitive mechanism(s) underlying 3-year-olds' failure on the choice paradigm remain unclear. Recently, several researchers have proposed the involvement of the "hot" affective system and the "cool" cognitive system in pre-schoolers' performance on the choice paradigm. Using this "hot" and "cool" systems framework, we tested 112 3- and 4-year-olds on a modified choice paradigm that was designed to help young children better utilize their "cool" system, allowing them to make more mindful and future-oriented decisions. In the modified paradigm, 3-year-olds made choices consistent with those of 4-year-olds, exhibiting delay of gratification. These findings have important implications for previous theoretical accounts of 3-year-old children's failure to delay gratification. Additionally, they highlight the critical role that the method plays in young children's performance on cognitive paradigms.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imuta
authors.forename: Harlene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayne
authors.forename: Damian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scarf
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D065786:Delay Discounting / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward
keywords: choice paradigm; delay of gratification; episodic foresight; future-oriented decision making; hot/cool systems; pre-schoolers