Cultures Crossing: The Power of Habit in Delaying Gratification.

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Cognitive Processes

Abstract

Delay of gratification measured by the classic marshmallow test has drawn many researchers’ and educators’ attention because childhood delay gratification predicts later important outcomes such as academic success, health, and economic status (Duckworth, Tsukayama, & Kirby, 2013; Mischel, Shoda & Rodriguez, 1989). Previous studies have revealed that cognitive factors (e.g., executive functions) and social factors (e.g., trustworthiness) support children’s delay of gratification. The current study tested another, under-explored possibility: Habits drive children to delay gratification. Children’s history of everyday experiences of waiting for rewards may become ingrained, shaping their subsequent resistance of immediate rewards. These habits may be specific to learned contexts, leading to variations in delaying of gratification based upon unique histories of waiting for certain types of rewards. To test these possibilities, we capitalized upon cultural differences in dining habits: Japanese children acquire the habit of waiting to start eating until others are served both at school and in the home (Omori & Kurokawa, 2012), whereas this custom is not prevalent for American children. We compared Japanese and American children’s delay of gratification for a food item (marshmallows) or a non-food item (wrapped gift boxes containing a toy). We furthermore investigated the role of individual differences (the strength of the dining habit of waiting to eat, inhibitory control, and sensitivity to social norms) in children’s delaying gratification.
58 American children and 80 Japanese children were randomly assigned to either food- or gift-based conditions of the delay of gratification test and completed the social conventions questionnaire. Their parents completed survey measures of their children’s dining habits of waiting to eat and inhibitory control (Child Behavior Questionnaire).
According to parents’ reports, Japanese children have the stronger dining habits than American children (F (1, 134) = 32.97, p <.001). Our preregistered Cox regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between culture and reward (χ2(1) = 9.99, p = .002, Figure 1). According to pairwise comparisons, Japanese children were more likely to wait longer for delayed rewards in the food condition than in the gift condition, hazard ratio = 0.68, χ2(1) = 6.48, p = .011, CI = [0.51, 0.92]. In contrast, American children showed the reverse pattern: they were more likely to wait longer for delayed rewards in the gift condition, hazard ratio = 1.37, χ2(1) = 3.87, p = .049, CI = [1.00, 1.87]. Furthermore, in both Japanese and American children, waiting time in the delay of gratification task was significantly associated with children’s inhibitory control (hazard ratio = 0.69, χ2(1) = 8.29, p =.004, CI = [0.54, 0.89]) and sensitivity to social norms (hazard ratio = 0.62, χ2(1) = 7.35, p =.007, CI = [0.44, 0.86]), while the interaction between culture and reward remained significant.
We provide the first evidence that delaying gratification in young children is supported by a habit accumulated in an everyday context as well as inhibitory control and sensitivity to social conventions. Our findings highlight the power of cultural learning in self-control, and suggest new directions for understanding children’s delay of gratification and associated life outcomes.

Authors

• Kaichi Yanaoka, The University of Tokyo
  Presenting Author

• Laura Michaelson, American Institutes for Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ryan Guild, University of Colorado Boulder
  Non-Presenting Author

• Grace Dostart, University of Colorado Boulder
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jade Yonehiro, University of California - Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Satoru Saito, Kyoto University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yuko Munakata, University of California - Davis
  Non-Presenting Author