The delay of gratification: resisting urges

Let's imagine that we are children and they put a candy or a piece of candy in front of us, they tell us how good it is and that we can eat it if we want to. However, the person who offers it to us tells us that he has to go out for a moment, and that if when he returns we have not eaten it, he will give us another one in addition to the one that is already present. When the person leaves the room, we continue to have the treat in question in front of us.

What do we do, eat it now or wait and get a bigger reward later? This situation is what Walter Mischel used to observe the delay capacity of gratification In children. In this article we are going to delve deeper into this important concept that largely explains many of our abilities and behaviors.

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Reward delay - what is it?

The term graph delay refers to the ability of human beings to inhibit their behavior and their current desires in order to obtain a greater or more attractive advantage or benefit in the future. It is an element clearly linked to motivation and goal setting.

Although the experiment referred to in the introduction may seem like an unimportant concept, the truth is that it has great relevance in our lives. The ability to delay gratification allows us to control our basic impulses and adjust our behavior to our goals and expectations.

In the same way, it has been found that it correlates positively with better academic, work and social performance, a higher perceived self-efficacy and self-esteem and in general a better adaptation to the environment, increasing our competence, self-esteem and self-efficacy. It allows us to manage ourselves and deal with crisis situations, assess the pros and cons of taking an action and its consequences before doing it, deal with uncertainty and frustration, and establish and follow plans.

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Aspects that affect this ability

The gratification delay depends on the individual's self-control, from the ability to manage his cognitive and emotional resources.

Variables such as the amount of delay in obtaining the jackpot, the value given to each of the reinforcers, the status of need or deprivation of the subject (if they offer you 1000 euros today or 10,000 in three months, you may take the first if you need the money tomorrow) or the possibility of moving away physically or mentally from the reinforced present from the beginning are very relevant when explaining whether the subject is capable or not to wait. The same can be said of whether obtaining results after waiting is reliable or just a possibility.

Also keep in mind that gratification delay does not occur only in the face of physical stimuli, but this delay also appears in cognitive, emotional and behavioral elements (for example, not exploit with someone who has enraged us so as not to harm the relationship or manage the situation correctly).

Likewise, it must be taken into account that a subject will not always want to delay gratification, without therefore having a lower delay capacity than those who do decide to wait. For example, the result of the wait may not be appetizing for the subject, or it may be sufficiently satisfactory the immediate reward (if with a candy I already satisfy my hunger, for I want two?).

Or on the contrary, a subject can wait because the initial stimulus is not sufficiently appetizing by itself if it is not accompanied by more (it is not the same that they offer me five cents than twenty euros). That is why when studying this phenomenon it is necessary to take into account the various variables involved in order to be able to take into account whether the presence or absence of delay is due to the subject being able to endure and manage her impulses or due to lack of these.

At the brain level

If we think about the delay of gratification at the neurological level, we must have that the existence of this capacity is linked to impulse control, decision-making ability, motivation, and the perception of pleasure and reward.

Thus, we are going to find that the frontal lobe plays an important role in whether or not there is a gratification delay: both behavior inhibition and decision-making are linked to the dorsolateral prefrontal, being executive functions mediated by this. In fact, individuals with prefrontal lesions tend to have a lower ability to delay gratification because show less behavioral inhibition.

Likewise, a link has also been found between said ability and the brain's reward system (especially important are the nucleus accumbens and the caudate nucleus of the basal ganglia and the limbic system), elements linked to the uptake of the reinforcing or inhibitory value of stimuli, emotion and the motivation.

A trainable ability

Self-control and the ability to delay gratification, although they exist both in humans and in other animals such as primates, are not developed from the moment of birth. In fact, in the same experiment that started the article, Mischel observed that as a general rule children under the age of four were unable to delay seeking satisfaction. This is due, among other things, to the lack of development of the frontal lobe, which does not reach its maximum level of development until adulthood.

Also, although there is a certain innate component, it has been observed that it is a skill that can be trained. For example, techniques can be taught to distract attention from the desired stimulus and delay its acquisition, to move away from the stimulation itself or to assess the advantages and disadvantages before Act. The modeling.

Educational practices and various therapeutic programs can lead to children and adults with self-control problems (for example a child hyperactive or with behavioral problems or a substance addict) are better able to get delayed gratification. The use of metaphors, of self-instructions and the exposition in imagination can also be of use.

Bibliographic references:

• Cloninger, S. (2002). Personality theories. Third edition. Pearson Education. Spain.

• Hernangómez, L. and Fernández, C. (2012). Personality and differential psychology. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 07. CEDE: Madrid.

• Mischel, W.; Shoda, Y. & Rodríguez, M.L. (1992). Delay of Gratification in Children. In Lowenstein, G. & Elster, J. Choice Over Time. Russell Sage Foundation. pp. 147 - 64.