Asymmetric impacts of ingroup behaviors on delay of gratification in preschoolers

Abstract

Research has examined factors underlying the individual differences in delay gratification as childhood delay gratification predicts later life outcomes. Recent studies have focused on group behavior as a critical social factor affecting delay gratification. Here, our three preregistered experiments investigated whether ingroup behaviors encouraged and/or discouraged young children from selecting delayed options in a delay choice gratification test. Experiments 1 and 3 consistently found that 3–6-year-olds were less likely to select delayed choices when they believed that ingroup members selected immediate choices compared to when they had no information on members' behavior. In contrast, their performance on delaying gratification did not differ when they were informed that ingroup members select delayed choices versus when they had no ingroup information. However, these patterns were not observed in Experiment 2, which targeted 5- to 6-year-olds. Furthermore, Experiment 3 found that 3–6-year-olds did not change their evaluation of delay of gratification (e.g., preferred new individuals who delayed), even if ingroup members selected either immediate or delayed choices. Although these findings were supported by weak to moderate evidence with Bayesian analyses, we showed the asymmetric impact of ingroup behaviors on delay gratification in preschoolers. The current study potentially contributes to the understanding of how social factors shape delayed gratification in children.