Waiting for the Right Wave: The Delay of Gratification

Georgann Zachary Willis, Ph.D.Assistant Professor of Psychology

Umpqua Community College

Stanford Marshmallow Experiment• Walter Mischel’s late 60s/early 70s studies using

Bing Nursery School children (4-6 yrs old)• Presented children with a choice of one small,

visible reward immediately or two small rewards if they waited for a short period (15 minutes) a visible treat was placed on a plate in front of them and they were left alone in the room

• If they delayed gratification by not eating the treat, they get two treats when the researcher returns

Http://youtu.be/QX_oy9614HQ

Benefits of Delaying Gratification

Longitudinal studies revealed children who were able to wait longer for preferred rewards tended to have more positive life outcomes– Better academic performance– Earn and save more money– Better physical health and greater happiness– Less likely to go to jail– Less likely to be overweight/obese– Less likely to use drugs

SES and Delay of Gratification• Mischel originated his idea while studying different

groups in Trinidad where he found the lower SES group were less likely to delay gratification

• While delay of gratification has often been described as a “middle class value” it most likely comes down to the stability and reliability of the environment a child experiences growing up

• When people are unreliable and having enough resources is not guaranteed a mental script developed that the best course of action is to live for today and use it before it gets taken away

SES and Delay of Gratification • Mental scripts developed early in life are hard to

break, even if the environment changes • 78 out of 100 NFL players are bankrupt within three

years of retirement• 60 out of 100 NBA players go completely broke

within five year of retirement• Winning the lottery if you are low SES doubles your

chances of bankruptcy • High levels of personal debt and bankruptcy in

middle SES are driving a reconsideration of hypothesized middle class delay of gratification

Learning Self-Control• Self-control is the ability to control emotions and

behavior to limit our impulses• One of the most replicated findings is that self-

control is finite, we only have a limited amount and it gets depleted as we use it

• The strategy then is to increase the amount of resources we have to draw on to exert self-control

Learn How to Manage Your Stress• Being under stress uses up our stored energy and

make us choose short-term outcomes over long term goals

Change Your Perception • Cool the hot aspects of your environment (remove

emotion from it)• Change “I can’t” to “I don’t” • “I can’t” limits you and reminds you that you are

being forced• “I don’t” is a self-affirmation which shows you are in

control of the situation and making an active choice to stick to your plan

Get Enough Sleep• Lack of sleep creates a chronic stress that impairs the

body and the brain, this leaves the prefrontal cortex impaired

• Noted sleep researcher Daniel Kripke found people who sleep between 6.5 and 7.5 hours a night live the longest, are happier and most productive

• Women tend to need a bit more sleep than men (20 minutes on average)

Learn to Meditate• As little as 8 weeks of brief daily meditation will

improve attention, increase focus, lower stress and increase self-awareness

Better Exercise and Nutrition• Your brain may only be 3% of your body weight but it

needs 20% of your oxygen and glucose to run it efficiently

• Exercise increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain• Both mindful, relaxing exercise such as yoga and

intense physical training provides benefits• A healthy diet increases energy levels which allow

the brain to work more efficiently

Not Now, But Later• We are less tormented by temptation when we

eventually receive a reward• This also helps to cool our hot environment, we are

not victims who “can’t” but people who “can, but not right now”