Delay of Gratification In order to assess children’s ability to delay gratification, researchers often devise tasks that require children to hold their desires and impulses in check in order for the children to get a reward. The following clips, recorded in the laboratory of Gazyna Kochanska, illustrate one such task, as well as the striking individual differences that researchers frequently observe among children.

Delay of Gratification Tasks like this one are usually quite difficult for toddlers, especially boys, who at this age show less ability to pay attention and exercise restraint than do girls. Import video number 135_06delay.mpg here. Instructions for importing these files can be found in the ‘Readme’ on this CD-ROM