Why Superman Can Wait: Cognitive Self-Transformation in the Delay of Gratification Paradigm
Abstract
We examined middle-class Israeli preschoolers' cognitive self-transformation in the delay of gratification paradigm. In Study 1, 66 un-caped or Superman-caped preschoolers delayed gratification, half with instructions regarding Superman's delay-relevant qualities. Caped children delayed longer, especially when instructed regarding Superman's qualities. In Study 2 with 43 preschoolers, with the respective relevant superhero qualities emphasized (i.e., patient vs. impulsive), Superman-caped children tended to delay longer than Dash-caped children. In Study 3, 48 preschoolers delayed gratification after being instructed to pretend to be Superman or a child with the same patient qualities, or after watching a video of Superman, with or without pretend instructions. Invoking Superman led to longer delays and instructions regarding Superman's qualities tended to lead to longer delays than watching the Superman video. In accounting for the data, we differentiated cognitive transformations of the reward's consummatory value and cognitive transformations as basic intellectual processes.
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Children's performance on laboratory self-control tasks can be boosted by situational intervention.
“For example, the finding that children's performance on laboratory self-control tasks can be boosted by situational intervention (e.g., Karniol et al. 2011) seems to clash with the finding that childhood variation on such self-control measures predicts health, wealth, employment, and crime decades later (Moffitt et al. 2011).”
From The Psychology of Change: Self-Affirmation and Social Psychological Intervention (2014) · cites this paper as Karniol et al. 2011
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References 60 · Cited by 48
- Authors
- Karniol, R., Galili, L., Shtilerman, D., Naim, R., Stern, K., Manjoch, H., & Silverman, R.
- Affiliations
- Tel Aviv University (IL)
- Corresponding author
- Karniol, Rachel
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2011-02-28
- Volume
- 40
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 307-317
- ISSN
- 1537-4416 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-4424
- OpenAlex
- W2000518749
- Cited by
- 48
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- delay of gratification, Superman, superheroes, preschool children, self-control, pretend play, cognitive development
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Humans, Imagination, Impulsive Behavior, Male
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