delayed gratification

(noun)

The act of denying one's self an immediate reward in return for a better reward in the future.

Related Terms

  • personality signature
  • social cognitive theory

Examples of delayed gratification in the following topics:

  • Mischel's Cognitive-Affective Model of Personality and the Person-Situation Debate

    • Self-regulation refers to the ability to set and work toward goals; it is often described as willpower and often relates to the ability to delay gratification.
    • Delayed gratification is the concept of denying oneself a reward in the present to get a better reward in the future.
    • Mischel's now-famous Stanford marshmallow experiment examined the processes and mental mechanisms that enable a young child to forego immediate gratification and wait for a better, but delayed, reward.
  • Arousal Theory of Motivation

    • ., the ability to withstand frustrating situations without getting upset), delay of gratification, and inhibition vs. impulsivity.
  • Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders

    • Habits and patterns associated with addiction are typically characterized by immediate gratification (short-term reward), coupled with delayed deleterious effects (long-term costs).
  • Temporal Motivation Theory

    • Expectancy, or self-efficacy, is the likelihood of success; value is the reward associated with the outcome; impulsiveness is the individual's ability to withstand urges; and delay is the amount of time until the realization of the outcome (i.e., the deadline).
    • At the beginning of the student's study period (where there is a long delay before the deadline), the reward of studying is not immediate (and therefore has low value); therefore, the motivation to study is lower than the motivation to socialize.
    • With the exam still a month away (long delay), the student's motivation to study is likely to be low, and he will play the video game instead.
    • As the exam date approaches (shorter delay), his motivation to study may increase, leading him to put the video game away.
    • Explain the relationship among expectation, value, impulsiveness, and delay according to temporal motivation theory
  • Freudian Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality

    • The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is concerned with instant gratification of basic physical needs and urges.
  • Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders

    • Kleptomania is characterized by an impulsive urge to steal purely for the sake of gratification.
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder

    • These disorders are characterized by social deficits and communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors and interests, sensory issues, and in some cases, cognitive delays.
    • Asperger syndrome was distinguished from autism in the earlier DSM-IV by the lack of delay or deviance in early language development.
    • Additionally, individuals diagnosed with Asperger syndrome did not have significant cognitive delays.
  • Intellectual Disabilities

    • ., lead or mercury), can cause intellectual disability if medical care is delayed or inadequate.
    • For example, children with autism who also experience developmental delays may be prescribed antipsychotics or mood stabilizers to help with their behavior.
  • Intellectual Disabilities

    • It is typically associated with physical growth delays, a particular set of facial characteristics and a severe degree of intellectual disability.
    • Individuals with intellectual disabilities may experience difficulty learning social rules, deficits in memory, difficulty with problem solving, and delays in adaptive behaviors (such as self-help or self-care skills).
  • Perceiving Motion

    • The motion-sensing neurons detect a change in luminance at one point on the retina and correlate it with a change in luminance at a neighboring point on the retina after a short delay.
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