Abstract
Delaying gratification can be difficult, especially for children. Social factors such as group norms influence whether children delay gratification and may shape their life trajectories. However, such influences have been tested experimentally only in American contexts and may not generalize, given differences among cultures in personal connections and group dynamics. We tested the influences of groups and personal connections on delaying gratification in 106 Japanese preschoolers. Extending previous findings with American preschoolers, Japanese children also delayed gratification and valued delaying gratification more if they believed that their group delayed gratification (and an outgroup did not) than if they believed that their group did not delay gratification (and an outgroup did). Group identity shifted toward the outgroup when Japanese children had a personal connection to the outgroup, but they nonetheless followed the behavior of their ingroup in delaying gratification. These findings highlight similarities and potential differences in social influences across cultures, and underscore the importance of cross-cultural work for theories of development.
Highlights
Many theories of delaying gratification and its predictive validity have focused on the role of executive functions, which support the ability to override impulsive actions in the service of goal-relevant behavior (Casey et al, 2011; Duckworth et al, 2013; Eigsti, Zayas, Mischel, Shoda, Ayduk et al, 2006; Mischel & Ayduk, 2004)
Given the power of social influences and potential cultural differences in how social factors shape fundamental aspects of behavior, the current preregistered study extended prior work with American children to test the influence of groups and personal connections on delaying gratification in Japanese children
Our preregistered plan was to use ordinary least squares regression to test our confirmatory hypothesis of an interaction between group behavior and personal connection, unless one or more assumptions of this test were violated
Summary
Many theories of delaying gratification and its predictive validity have focused on the role of executive functions, which support the ability to override impulsive actions in the service of goal-relevant behavior (Casey et al, 2011; Duckworth et al, 2013; Eigsti, Zayas, Mischel, Shoda, Ayduk et al, 2006; Mischel & Ayduk, 2004). Some Western cultures may emphasize categorical distinctions between social groups, defining groups and their role within the group in terms of features shared among prototypical group members, while some Eastern cultures may focus more on relationships among individuals, defining groups and their role within the group in terms of interpersonal networks among group members (Abrams, Ando, & Hinkle, 1998; Brewer & Gardner, 1996; Watkins, Adair, Akande, Gerong, McInerney, Sunar, et al, 1998; Yuki & Takemura, 2014) Both American and Japanese adults trust members of their group more than members of a different group; Japanese adults care more about personal connections with these group members than do Americans (Yuki & Takemura, 2014). Given the power of social influences and potential cultural differences in how social factors shape fundamental aspects of behavior, the current preregistered study extended prior work with American children to test the influence of groups and personal connections on delaying gratification in Japanese children. Children’s delaying of gratification was measured on the same delay-choice task that they had just learned about the other children completing
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