Delay of gratification task - Present 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.

The Present task in TRAILS Next was conducted during a home visit. Children were instructed to wait for one minute with touching a present that was presented in front of them (a cardboard booklet wrapped in paper). This task followed the Raisin task, and was only executed if the child had not started crying during the Raisin task.

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Keywords
Constructs
Waves
  • The Next Generation

  • NEXT - T3
  •   OC
    30 months - 36 months   From 2016-01-01 (ongoing)

    Mode of collection Observation
    Analysis unit Individual
    Instrument name Present task
    References
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