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?