Delay of Gratification by Preschoolers: Evidence for the Validity of the Choice Paradigm

Abstract

SCHWARZ, J. CONRAD; SCHRAGER, JANET B.; and LYONS, ANDREA E. Delay of Gratification by Preschoolers: Evidence for the Validity of the Choice Paradigm. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1983, 54,620-625. This study replicated a preliminary study and supported the validity of choice tasks as measures of delay of gratification with preschoolers. 4 choices between an immediate reward and a delayed reward of higher value were presented to 66 children 3, 4, and 5 years of age who had been randomly assigned to short (7 hours) or long (1 day) conditipns of delay. As predicted, with a long delay, children were less likely to choose the delayed reward; the effect was the same for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Choice across the 4 pairs was of moderate internal consistency. Contrary to psychoanalytic theory and research on older children but consistent with previous research on preschoolers, choice of the delayed reward was unrelated to age or vocabulary IQ. Children as young as 3 years choose to delay gratification to maximize reward and, like adults, are sensitive to the anticipated length of the delay.