Göllner Lars M, Ballhausen Nicola, Kliegel Matthias, Forstmeier Simon
Department of Education Studies and Psychology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Front Psychol. 2018 Jan 25;8:2304. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02304. eCollection 2017.
The delay of gratification (DoG) in children is widely investigated with an experimental procedure originally called the "marshmallow test," whereas the studies on self-regulation (SR) in adolescents and adults usually use self-report questionnaires. Delay discounting (DD) measures simplify the DoG procedure and focus on monetary rewards. The aim of this study was to investigate age differences in DoG and DD from childhood to old age using a test that is suitable for both children and adults. Furthermore, investigations were conducted on the association between DoG/DD and two future orientation constructs [future time perspective (FTP) and episodic future thinking (EFT)] as well as age differences in these constructs. Participants from five age groups (9-14, 18-25, 35-55, 65-80, 80+) participated in the study ( = 96). While we found no age difference for DoG, DD was the lowest [i.e., self-control (SC) was the highest] in young/middle adults; however, it was the highest (i.e., SC was the lowest) in children and old/oldest adults. Furthermore, we found significant age differences for DD and FTP. As predicted, there were strong correlations between DoG and FTP and between DD and FTP, but not between DoG/DD and EFT. These results indicate that age differences in SR vary across the measures used. Individuals who generally think and act in a future-oriented manner have a stronger ability to delay gratification.
儿童的延迟满足（DoG）已通过最初被称为“棉花糖测试”的实验程序得到广泛研究，而对青少年和成年人自我调节（SR）的研究通常使用自我报告问卷。延迟折扣（DD）测量简化了延迟满足程序，并专注于金钱奖励。本研究的目的是使用一种适用于儿童和成年人的测试，调查从童年到老年的延迟满足和延迟折扣方面的年龄差异。此外，还对延迟满足/延迟折扣与两种未来取向结构[未来时间视角（FTP）和情景未来思维（EFT）]之间的关联以及这些结构中的年龄差异进行了调查。五个年龄组（9 - 14岁、18 - 25岁、35 - 55岁、65 - 80岁、80岁以上）的参与者参与了该研究（ = 96）。虽然我们发现延迟满足方面没有年龄差异，但延迟折扣在青年/中年成年人中最低[即自我控制（SC）最高]；然而，在儿童以及老年/高龄成年人中它最高（即自我控制最低）。此外，我们发现延迟折扣和未来时间视角存在显著的年龄差异。正如预测的那样，延迟满足与未来时间视角之间以及延迟折扣与未来时间视角之间存在很强的相关性，但延迟满足/延迟折扣与情景未来思维之间不存在相关性。这些结果表明，自我调节的年龄差异因所使用的测量方法而异。一般以未来为导向进行思考和行动的个体具有更强的延迟满足能力。
