Delay of Gratification Task

The Delay of Gratification task aims to measure self-regulation by presenting the child with the choice between a small reward in the short-term and a larger reward in the long-term. The classic implementation of the Delay of Gratification task is the Marshmallow experiment, in which a child is presented with one marshmallow right now and is instructed that if they manage to wait for the researcher to return before eating it, they will receive multiple marshmallows later on. Multiple implementations of the Delay of Gratification task exist, with different reward types and suitable for different populations.

In RADAR G3, the waiting task measures self-control. The child is given an attractive object (gift & raisins) on the table in front of them and is asked to wait before they touch the object for 1 minute. The researcher and parent do not look at or talk to the child, for example, pretend that they are reading something while the child is trying to wait.

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Keywords
Constructs
Waves
  • Third Generation

  • G3 - T2
  •   C
    24 months - 32 months   From 2015-01-01 (ongoing)

    Mode of collection Observation
    Analysis unit Individual
    Instrument name Delay of Gratification Task
    Alternate name Raisin/gift task
    Measure name Self-regulation/ Behavioral Control
    References
    You can also access this dataset using the API (see API Docs).