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Character & Virtue
Delayed Gratification
Delayed gratification—the ability to resist immediate desires for greater long-term rewards—varies across demographic groups. People with positive childhood experiences, such as good health, financial stability, frequent religious service attendance, and strong family relationships, tend to exhibit greater self-control in adulthood. While these patterns hold across cultures, some country-specific differences emerge.
Researchers
Dorota Maria Weziak-Bialowolska
Kozminski University (Poland), Economics/Sociology
Poland
Piotr T. Bialowolski
Kozminski University (Poland), Economics
Richard Cowden
Harvard University, Psychology
South Africa
Sung Joon Jang
Baylor University, Sociology
Matt Bradshaw
Baylor University, Sociology
Israel
Noah Padgett
Harvard University, Epidemiology
Byron R. Johnson
Baylor University, Institute for Studies of Religion/Sociology
Tyler VanderWeele
Harvard University, Epidemiology / Biostatistics
The Question:
How do levels of delayed gratification differ across countries, demographic groups (such as age, gender, education, employment, marital status, religious participation, and immigration status), and childhood experiences?