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Zhao H, Zhang T, Cheng T, Chen C, Zhai Y, Liang X, Cheng N, Long Y, Li Y, Wang Z, Lu C. Neurocomputational mechanisms of young children's observational learning of delayed gratification. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:6063-6076. [PMID: 36562999 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to delay gratification is crucial for a successful and healthy life. An effective way for young children to learn this ability is to observe the action of adult models. However, the underlying neurocomputational mechanism remains unknown. Here, we tested the hypotheses that children employed either the simple imitation strategy or the goal-inference strategy when learning from adult models in a high-uncertainty context. Results of computational modeling indicated that children used the goal-inference strategy regardless of whether the adult model was their mother or a stranger. At the neural level, results showed that successful learning of delayed gratification was associated with enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) between children and the adult models in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex but was not associated with children's own single-brain activity. Moreover, the discounting of future reward's value obtained from computational modeling of the goal-inference strategy was positively correlated with the strength of INS. These findings from our exploratory study suggest that, even for 3-year-olds, the goal-inference strategy is used to learn delayed gratification from adult models, and the learning strategy is associated with neural interaction between the brains of children and adult models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
| | - Tengfei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
| | - Tong Cheng
- Research Center for Child Development, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, P.R. China
| | - Chuansheng Chen
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, United States
| | - Yu Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
| | - Xi Liang
- Research Center for Child Development, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, P.R. China
| | - Nanhua Cheng
- Research Center for Child Development, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, P.R. China
| | - Yuhang Long
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Ying Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
| | - Zhengyan Wang
- Research Center for Child Development, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, P.R. China
| | - Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, No. 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, P.R. China
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Shimoni E, Berger A, Eyal T. Your pride is my goal: How the exposure to others’ positive emotional experience influences preschoolers’ delay of gratification. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 217:105356. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Mehsen V, Morag L, Chesta S, Cleaton K, Burgos H. Hot Executive Function Assessment Instruments in Preschool Children: A Systematic Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:95. [PMID: 35010356 PMCID: PMC8750992 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 12/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The study aimed to systematically analyze the empirical evidence that is available concerning batteries, tests or instruments that assess hot executive functions (EFs) in preschoolers, identifying which are the most used instruments, as well as the most evaluated hot EFs. For the review and selection of articles, the systematic review methodology PRISMA was used. The article search considered the EBSCO, Web of Science (WoS), SciELO and PubMed databases, with the keywords "Hot executive function", "Assessment", "test", "evaluation", using the Boolean operators AND and OR indistinctly, between 2000 and April 2021. Twenty-four articles were selected and analyzed. The most commonly used instruments to assess hot EFs in preschool children were the Delayed Gratification Task, the Child's Play Task, and the Delayed Reward Task. Amongst those analyzed, 17 instruments were found to assess hot EFs in preschoolers. The accuracy and conceptual clarity between the assessment of cognitive and emotional components in EFs is still debatable. Nevertheless, the consideration of affective temperature and reward stimulus type, could be an important influence when assessing EFs in this age range. Evidence of the possible involvement of cortical and subcortical structures, as well as the limbic system, in preschool executive functioning assessment has also been incorporated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Héctor Burgos
- Escuela de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, Temuco 4801043, Chile; (V.M.); (L.M.); (S.C.); (K.C.)
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Waiting for the better reward: Comparison of delay of gratification in young children across two cultures. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0256966. [PMID: 34478467 PMCID: PMC8415579 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Delay of gratification-a form of self-control-is the ability to forsake immediately available rewards in order to obtain larger-valued outcomes in future, which develops throughout the pre-school years. The majority of previous research in this area has been conducted with Western populations, therefore knowledge of Eastern children's performance is scarcer. Here, utilising on a recently published dataset of British children (n = 61), we further tested delay of gratification in 3 to 5-year-old Chinese children (n = 75) using Bramlett et al.'s (2012) delay choice paradigm. The paradigm was previously used in non-human primates and it featured a mechanized rotating tray that sequentially moves rewards within reach. Additionally, we administered 3 inhibitory control tasks and 1 standardised delay choice task to Chinese pre-schoolers (British children were not tested). We aimed to investigate the influence of culture, reward type and reward visibility on pre-schoolers' ability to delay gratification. We found significant age-related improvements in delay of gratification ability in both countries and children performed better when presented with rewards varying in quality than quantity. Consistent with previous cross-cultural literature, Chinese children showed better overall performance than their British peers when reward visibility was manipulated (though reward visibility itself had no significant effect on performance). There were significant correlations in Chinese children's performance in Bramlett et al.'s (2012) delay choice paradigm and performance in some (though not all tested) inhibitory control tasks. We discuss these results in relation to task demands and the broader social orientation of self-control. We concluded that the intuitive comparative assessment of self-control task taps into children's delay of gratification ability. Our results emphasize the importance of testing for socio-cultural influences on children's cognitive development.
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Zonca J, Folsø A, Sciutti A. I'm not a little kid anymore! Reciprocal social influence in child-adult interaction. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:202124. [PMID: 34457324 PMCID: PMC8385353 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Human decisions are often influenced by others' opinions. This process is regulated by social norms: for instance, we tend to reciprocate the consideration received from others, independently of their reliability as information sources. Nonetheless, no study to date has investigated whether and how reciprocity modulates social influence in child-adult interaction. We tested 6-, 8- and 10-year-old children in a novel joint perceptual task. A child and an adult experimenter made perceptual estimates and then took turns in making a final decision, choosing between their own and partner's response. We manipulated the final choices of the adult partner, who in one condition chose often the child's estimates, whereas in another condition tended to confirm her own response. Results reveal that 10-year-old children reciprocated the consideration received from the partner, increasing their level of conformity to the adult's judgements when the partner had shown high consideration towards them. At the same time, 10-year-old children employed more elaborate decision criteria in choosing when trusting the adult partner compared to younger children and did not show egocentric biases in their final decisions. Our results shed light on the development of the cognitive and normative mechanisms modulating reciprocal social influence in child-adult interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Zonca
- Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies (CONTACT) Unit, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genoa, Italy
| | - Anna Folsø
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alessandra Sciutti
- Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies (CONTACT) Unit, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Enrico Melen, 83, 16152 Genoa, Italy
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Moriguchi Y. Relationship between cool and hot executive function in young children: A near-infrared spectroscopy study. Dev Sci 2021; 25:e13165. [PMID: 34327776 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
A theoretical distinction exists between the cool and hot aspects of executive function (EF). At the neural level, cool EF may be associated with activation in the lateral prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas the orbitofrontal cortex may play a key role in hot EF. However, some recent studies have shown that young children show activity in the lateral prefrontal regions during hot EF tasks, suggesting that the distinction between hot and cool EF may not be as marked. Nevertheless, few neuroimaging studies have directly examined the relationship between cool and hot EF. In this study, preschool children (N = 46, mean age = 66.1 months) were given both cool (Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) and Stroop-like tasks) and hot (delay of gratification) EF tasks, and neural activation during these tasks was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Correlational analyses and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to assess the relationship between cool and hot EF. At the behavioral level, a moderate correlation was found between DCCS and Stroop-like tasks, but no correlation emerged between cool and hot EF tasks. At the neural level, prefrontal activations during the cool EF tasks did not correlate with those during the hot EF task. Further, children showed stronger prefrontal activations during the DCCS tasks compared to the delay of gratification tasks. The results suggest that the neural basis of hot and cool EF may differ during early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Moriguchi
- Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Yoshidahoncho, Kyoto, Japan
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Anzman-Frasca S, Singh A, Curry D, Tauriello S, Epstein LH, Faith MS, Reardon K, Pape D. Evaluating a Board Game Designed to Promote Young Children's Delay of Gratification. Front Psychol 2020; 11:581025. [PMID: 33262729 PMCID: PMC7686572 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Delay of gratification, or the extent to which one can resist the temptation of an immediate reward and wait for a larger reward later, is a self-regulatory skill that predicts positive outcomes. The aim of this research was to conduct initial tests of the effects of a board game designed to increase children's delay of gratification via two experimental studies. METHODS Preschool children were randomized to play the study game or a control game. In Study 1, there were 48 children in the analytic sample, with a mean age of 4.81 ± 0.55 years; Study 2 included 50 children (M = 4.02 ± 0.76 years). Delay of gratification was assessed during the study game, as well as before and after game play sessions using the Marshmallow Test. RESULTS In both studies, the intervention group's likelihood of delaying gratification during the study game increased across game-play sessions (p < 0.05). In Study 1, the intervention group also increased wait times during the Marshmallow Test versus controls (p = 0.047). In Study 2, there was no effect on Marshmallow Test wait times. CONCLUSION Results provide some initial evidence supporting potential efficacy of a board game designed to increase delay of gratification. Future research can clarify: (1) which components of game play (if any) are linked with broader changes in delay of gratification, (2) impacts of this intervention in more diverse samples, and (3) whether experimental manipulation of delay of gratification affects outcomes like achievement and weight, which have been linked to this skill in observational studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Anzman-Frasca
- Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
- Center for Ingestive Behavior Research, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Anita Singh
- Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Derek Curry
- College of Arts, Media and Design, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Sara Tauriello
- Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Leonard H. Epstein
- Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
- Center for Ingestive Behavior Research, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Myles S. Faith
- Center for Ingestive Behavior Research, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
- Department of Counseling, School, and Educational Psychology, Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Kaley Reardon
- Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
| | - Dave Pape
- Department of Media Study, College of Arts and Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States
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Ma F, Zeng D, Xu F, Compton BJ, Heyman GD. Delay of Gratification as Reputation Management. Psychol Sci 2020; 31:1174-1182. [PMID: 32840460 DOI: 10.1177/0956797620939940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Although delay-of-gratification tasks have long been used as measures of self-control, recent evidence suggests that performance on these tasks is also driven by rational decision processes. The present research examined whether the effects of rational decision processes extend beyond costs and benefits embedded in the task itself to include anticipated consequences for the child's reputation. Across two studies, 3- and 4-year-olds from China (N = 273) were assigned to a standard delay-of-gratification condition or to a reputation condition in which they were told that their teacher or a peer would find out how long they had waited. Children waited longer in the reputation conditions and longer in the teacher condition than in the peer condition. This is the first evidence that children's performance on a delay-of-gratification task is sensitive to reputational concerns and to the identity of potential evaluators of their behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fengling Ma
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
| | - Dan Zeng
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
| | - Fen Xu
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
| | - Brian J Compton
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego
| | - Gail D Heyman
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego
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Protzko J. Kids These Days! Increasing delay of gratification ability over the past 50 years in children. INTELLIGENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2020.101451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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11
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Moriguchi Y, Shinohara I, Todo N, Meng X. Prosocial behavior is related to later executive function during early childhood: A longitudinal study. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2019.1628737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Moriguchi
- Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Graduate School of Education, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Japan
| | - Ikuko Shinohara
- Guidance and Counseling Research Center, National Institute for Educational Policy Research of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Naoya Todo
- Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Xianwei Meng
- Department of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Barragan-Jason G, Atance CM, Hopfensitz A, Stieglitz J, Cauchoix M. Commentary: Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Early Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes. Front Psychol 2019; 9:2719. [PMID: 30687175 PMCID: PMC6335313 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cristina M Atance
- Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Psychology, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Astrid Hopfensitz
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France.,Toulouse School of Economics, Toulouse, France
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Rung JM, Madden GJ. Experimental reductions of delay discounting and impulsive choice: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Exp Psychol Gen 2018; 147:1349-1381. [PMID: 30148386 DOI: 10.1037/xge0000462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 164] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Many behaviors posing significant risks to public health are characterized by repeated decisions to forego better long-term outcomes in the face of immediate temptations. Steeply discounting the value of delayed outcomes often underlies a pattern of impulsive choice. Steep delay discounting is correlated with addictions (e.g., substance abuse, obesity) and behaviors such as seatbelt use and risky sexual activity. As evidence accumulates suggesting steep delay discounting plays a causal role in these maladaptive behaviors, researchers have begun testing methods for reducing discounting. In this first systematic and comprehensive review of this literature, the findings of 92 articles employing different methodologies to reduce discounting are evaluated narratively and meta-analytically. Although most of the methods reviewed produced significant reductions in discounting, they varied in effect sizes. Most methods were ideal for influencing one-off choices (e.g., framing and priming manipulations), although other successful manipulations, such as episodic future thinking, could be incorporated into existing therapies designed to produce longer-lasting changes in decision-making. The largest and longest-lasting effects were produced by learning-based manipulations, although translational research is needed to determine the generality and clinical utility of these methods. Methodological shortcomings in the existing literature and suggestions for ameliorating these issues are discussed. This review reveals a variety of methods with translational potential, which, through continued refinement, may prove effective in reducing impulsive choice and its associated maladaptive decisions that negatively impact quality of life. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Moriguchi Y, Shinohara I, Yanaoka K. Neural correlates of delay of gratification choice in young children: Near‐infrared spectroscopy studies. Dev Psychobiol 2018; 60:989-998. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.21791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2018] [Revised: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusuke Moriguchi
- Graduate School of Education Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
- Department of Education Joetsu University of Education Joetsu Japan
- Japan Science and Technology Agency, PRESTO/Sakigake Kawaguchi Japan
| | - Ikuko Shinohara
- National Institute for Educational Policy Research of Japan Tokyo Japan
| | - Kaichi Yanaoka
- Graduate School of Education Kyoto University Kyoto Japan
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Watts TW, Duncan GJ, Quan H. Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Early Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1159-1177. [PMID: 29799765 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618761661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
We replicated and extended Shoda, Mischel, and Peake's (1990) famous marshmallow study, which showed strong bivariate correlations between a child's ability to delay gratification just before entering school and both adolescent achievement and socioemotional behaviors. Concentrating on children whose mothers had not completed college, we found that an additional minute waited at age 4 predicted a gain of approximately one tenth of a standard deviation in achievement at age 15. But this bivariate correlation was only half the size of those reported in the original studies and was reduced by two thirds in the presence of controls for family background, early cognitive ability, and the home environment. Most of the variation in adolescent achievement came from being able to wait at least 20 s. Associations between delay time and measures of behavioral outcomes at age 15 were much smaller and rarely statistically significant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler W Watts
- 1 Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University
| | - Greg J Duncan
- 2 School of Education, University of California, Irvine
| | - Haonan Quan
- 2 School of Education, University of California, Irvine
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Ma F, Chen B, Xu F, Lee K, Heyman GD. Generalized trust predicts young children’s willingness to delay gratification. J Exp Child Psychol 2018; 169:118-125. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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17
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Leimgruber KL. The developmental emergence of direct reciprocity and its influence on prosocial behavior. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 20:122-126. [PMID: 29486397 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Revised: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Humans are a remarkably cooperative species, and one behavior thought to play an important role is that of reciprocal altruism. By ensuring that the immediate costs associated with performing a prosocial action will be recouped in the long-run, reciprocal interactions support the emergence and maintenance of group-level cooperation. Existing developmental research suggests that a tendency toward selective prosocial behavior and an understanding of direct reciprocal interactions emerge in early childhood, but much less is known about the interplay between these two behaviors. In this paper, I review the existing literature supporting the notion that reciprocity mediates early prosocial tendencies and suggest that a greater understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying reciprocity is needed. Finally, I propose two social cognitive capacities related to prospection that I believe may help to shed light on the psychology of strategic reciprocal interactions and their role in prosocial behavior more broadly.
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18
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Rivière J, Stomp M, Augustin E, Lemasson A, Blois-Heulin C. Decision-making under risk of gain in young children and mangabey monkeys. Dev Psychobiol 2017; 60:176-186. [PMID: 29152731 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Accepted: 10/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In contrast to human adults, risk proneness in the gain domain is usually observed in both young children and non-human primates. It is currently unclear what mechanism might be underlying such economic preferences. We investigated decision-making under risk of gain in toddlers and monkeys. The choices of 2.5-year-old children and red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus torquatus) were examined in a gambling task for food reward in which participants have to choose between two options, a secure option and a risky option. In contrast to monkeys, toddlers showed a strong preference for the risky option over the safe option. In order to test the hypothesis that risky choices in participants reflect inhibitory control difficulties, toddlers and mangabeys were presented in Experiment 2 with a situation analogous to that used in Experiment 1 except for the fact that the opaque cover under which was placed the secure option was replaced by a transparent cover. In this second experiment, toddlers continued to show a preference for the risky option over the safe option. In contrast, mangabeys showed a preference for the safe option over the risky option in Trial 1 but they shifted their economic preferences in Trial 2. We argue that decision-making strategies under risk of gain in both toddlers and mangabeys (a) do not reflect poor behavioral control and (b) are not reducible to perception-action couplings.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Rivière
- Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, CRFDP (EA 7475), Rouen, France
| | - Mathilde Stomp
- UMR 6552 Ethos « Ethologie Animale et Humaine », Université de Rennes 1-CNRS Station biologique, Paimpont, France
| | - Elisa Augustin
- Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, CRFDP (EA 7475), Rouen, France
| | - Alban Lemasson
- UMR 6552 Ethos « Ethologie Animale et Humaine », Université de Rennes 1-CNRS Station biologique, Paimpont, France
| | - Catherine Blois-Heulin
- UMR 6552 Ethos « Ethologie Animale et Humaine », Université de Rennes 1-CNRS Station biologique, Paimpont, France
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Boden H, Labuschagne LG, Hinten AE, Scarf D. Episodic foresight beyond the very next event in 3- and 4-year-old children. Dev Psychobiol 2017; 59:927-931. [PMID: 28731582 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Testing episodic foresight in children generally involves presenting them with a problem in one location (e.g., Room A) and, after a spending a delay in a different location, telling them they will be returning to Room A. Before they go, children are presented with a number of items, one of which will allow them to solve the problem in Room A. At around 3 to 4 years of age children display episodic foresight, selecting the item that will allow them to solve the problem. To date, however, no study has assessed whether 3- and 4-year-old children can plan beyond the very next event, selecting the correct item when there is a delay before returning to Room A. Here, we show that 3- and 4-year-old children can pass when a delay is imposed but that their performance is significantly worse than when they are planning for an immediate event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Boden
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | | | - Ashley E Hinten
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Damian Scarf
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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20
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Abstract
Patience in children has usually been studied using delay of gratification paradigms. However, another important aspect of patience that has not been well documented is the ability to adjust one's behavior while waiting without an explicit reward as a motivator (e.g., sitting in the doctor's waiting room). To examine this aspect of patience, video-recordings of sixty-one 3- and 4-year olds waiting for two separate 3-min periods were examined and coded for children's spontaneous behaviors. We found that 4-year olds displayed more patient (i.e., staying still) behaviors than 3-year olds during this "waiting paradigm." Interestingly, we also found that children who displayed less patient behaviors during the waiting paradigm were also those who succeeded on a future-thinking task. These findings have important implications for measuring patience in young children and highlight the potential impact of spontaneous behaviors on children's performance in cognitive tasks such as those assessing future-oriented cognition.
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21
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Labuschagne LG, Cox TJ, Brown K, Scarf D. Too cool? Symbolic but not iconic stimuli impair 4-year-old children's performance on the delay-of-gratification choice paradigm. Behav Processes 2016; 135:36-39. [PMID: 27908662 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2016] [Revised: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A common method of improving the performance of children and non-human primates on the delay-of-gratification maintenance paradigm and measures of executive function (e.g., the Less is More task) is to represent the rewards subjects can acquire symbolically. This method, known as symbolic distancing, is thought to lower activation of the "hot" impulsive system and allow the "cool" rational system to dominate processing. Surprisingly, in contrast to its impact on the measures noted above, recent developmental and comparative studies have reported that symbolic distancing has a null or negative impact on performance on the delay-of-gratification choice paradigm. Here, we add to this literature by demonstrating that 4-year-old children's performance on the choice paradigm is impaired when symbolic stimuli, but not iconic stimuli (i.e., pictures of the rewards), are used to represent rewards. These data add to a growing body of comparative work demonstrating task manipulations have a similar impact on children and non-human primates and also support other research suggesting different decision making processes may underlie performance on the delay-of-gratification choice and maintenance paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa G Labuschagne
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Taylor-Jane Cox
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Kaitlyn Brown
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
| | - Damian Scarf
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
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Bulley A, Henry J, Suddendorf T. Prospection and the Present Moment: The Role of Episodic Foresight in Intertemporal Choices between Immediate and Delayed Rewards. REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1037/gpr0000061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Humans are capable of imagining future rewards and the contexts in which they may be obtained. Functionally, intertemporal choices between smaller but immediate and larger but delayed rewards may be made without such episodic foresight. However, we propose that explicit simulations of this sort enable more flexible and adaptive intertemporal decision-making. Emotions triggered through the simulation of future situations can motivate people to forego immediate pleasures in the pursuit of long-term rewards. However, we stress that the most adaptive option need not always be a larger later reward. When the future is anticipated to be uncertain, for instance, it may make sense for preferences to shift toward more immediate rewards, instead. Imagining potential future scenarios and assessment of their likelihood and affective consequences allows humans to determine when it is more adaptive to delay gratification in pursuit of a larger later reward, and when the better strategy is to indulge in a present temptation. We discuss clinical studies that highlight when and how the effect of episodic foresight on intertemporal decision-making can be altered, and consider the relevance of this perspective to understanding the nature of self-control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Bulley
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland
| | - Julie Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland
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23
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Imuta K, Hewitt J, Scarf D. Gollin's (1965) levels-by-levels approach: the importance of manipulating the task dimension when assessing age-related changes and individual differences in decision making. Front Psychol 2015; 6:541. [PMID: 25983712 PMCID: PMC4415303 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kana Imuta
- Department of Psychology, University of QueenslandBrisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Josh Hewitt
- Department of Psychology, University of OtagoDunedin, New Zealand
| | - Damian Scarf
- Department of Psychology, University of OtagoDunedin, New Zealand
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