Kids These Days! Increasing delay of gratification ability over the past 50 years in children

John Protzko

Intelligence, 2020, vol. 80, issue C

Abstract: Have children's ability to delay gratification decreased since the past? We analyze the past 50 years of data on the Marshmallow test of delay of gratification; where children must wait to get two preferred treats of their choosing; if they cannot wait, they only get one. Here we provide comprehensive evidence on whether children's ability to delay gratification has truly been decreasing, as theories of technology or a culture of instant gratification have predicted. Before analyzing the data, we polled 260 experts in cognitive development, 84% of who believed children are getting worse or are no different than those of the past. Contrary to this prediction, we show delay of gratification times are increasing over the past 50 years, corresponding to a fifth of a standard deviation increase in ability per decade. This mirrors the magnitude of secular gains in IQ seen over decades.

Keywords: Self-regulation; Metascience; Prediction; Flynn effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:intell:v:80:y:2020:i:c:s0160289620300295

DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2020.101451

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