The power of cultural habits: The role of effortless control in delaying gratification.

What factors lead children to delay gratification, holding out for larger rewards later instead of taking smaller rewards now? Traditionally, delay of gratification has been associated with effortful control and willpower. However, we propose that delay of gratification may be partially supported by effortless control employed through habits shaped within sociocultural contexts. Specifically, in sociocultural contexts where waiting is rewarding and socially valued, children are more likely to wait for larger, delayed rewards and to form associations between these contexts and waiting for rewards.

Transactional Linkages Between Parenting Behaviors and Child Executive Functions and Self-Regulation from Early Childhood to Adolescence.

Research on the development of executive functions (EFs) and self-regulation (SR) has focused heavily on the early childhood years, when these abilities first emerge. Less is known in comparison about how these abilities develop through adolescence, and how contextual factors, such as parenting, influence their development in later years. Using longitudinal data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), we used random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling (RI-CLPM) to examine the bidirectional linkages between three parenting behaviors (i.

Cultures Crossing: The Power of Habit in Delaying Gratification.

Resisting immediate temptations in favor of larger later rewards predicts academic success, socioemotional competence, and health. These links with delaying gratification appear from early childhood and have been explained by cognitive and social factors that help override tendencies toward immediate gratification. However, some tendencies may actually promote delaying gratification.

Does Prior Night's Sleep Impact Next Day's Executive Functioning? It Depends on an Individual's Average Sleep Quality.

Executive functioning (EF) is a series of fundamental goal-directed cognitive abilities that enable effective learning. Differences in daily sleep quality may covary with fluctuations in EF among youth. Most studies linking sleep to EF rely on between-person differences and average effects for the sample.

Intraindividual Fluctuations in Sleep Predict Subsequent Goal Setting in Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to investigate within- and between-person associations between sleep and subsequent goal setting in adolescents. We conducted an intensive repeated measures longitudinal study to assess intra- and inter-individual associations between sleep and goal setting and potential moderators of such associations. Thirty-nine seventh through 12th graders reported on their sleep quality and propensity to set goals in their daily lives several times per week for approximately four months.

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Interventions to Decrease Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization.

Evidence suggests that cyberbullying among school-age children is related to problem behaviors and other adverse school performance constructs. As a result, numerous school-based programs have been developed and implemented to decrease cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Given the extensive literature and variation in program effectiveness, we conducted a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of programs to decrease cyberbullying perpetration and victimization.

The Role of Clearinghouses in Promoting Transparent Research: A Methodological Study of Transparency Practices for Preventive Interventions.

Transparency of research methods is vital to science, though incentives are variable, with only some journals and funders adopting transparency policies. Clearinghouses are also important stakeholders; however, to date none have implemented formal procedures that facilitate transparent research. Using data from the longest standing clearinghouse, we examine transparency practices for preventive interventions to explore the role of online clearinghouses in incentivizing researchers to make their research more transparent.

Executive Functions in Social Context: Implications for Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Supporting Developmental Trajectories.

Success in life is linked to executive functions, a collection of cognitive processes that support goal-directed behaviors. Executive functions is an umbrella term related to cognitive control, self-control, and more. Variations in executive functioning predict concurrent success in schooling, relationships, and behavior, as well as important life outcomes years later.

Same Data Set, Different Conclusions: Preschool Delay of Gratification Predicts Later Behavioral Outcomes in a Preregistered Study.

One simple marshmallow test in preschool children predicts an array of important life outcomes, according to multiple studies spanning several decades. However, a recent conceptual replication casts doubt on these famous findings. We conducted an independent, preregistered secondary analysis to test whether previously observed longitudinal associations between preschool delay of gratification and adolescent outcomes would be conceptually replicated.

Lower general executive function is primarily associated with trait worry: A latent variable analysis of negative thought/affect measures.

This exploratory latent-variable study sought to identify common sources of variance between two multifaceted sets of constructs: executive functions (EFs) and negative thoughts/affect. One-hundred ninety-two college students completed nine tasks representing three types of EFs (inhibition, updating, and shifting) and a set of questionnaires assessing four facets of negative thought/affect (anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, worry, and rumination). Results indicated that, although the four negative thought/affect constructs were substantially correlated with one another, trait worry was the construct uniquely associated with EFs.

Beyond personal control: The role of developing self-control abilities in the behavioral constellation of deprivation.

We agree with Pepper & Nettle that personal control is important in understanding people's willingness to engage in future-oriented behavior. However, this does not imply that self-control abilities play no role, for self-control abilities do influence whether individuals engage in future-oriented behavior. Personal control may also shape the development of self-control abilities, so contrasting the two may be a false dichotomy.

Getting ready to use control: Advances in the measurement of young children's use of proactive control.

A key developmental transition in executive function is in the temporal dynamics of its engagement: children shift from reactively calling to mind task-relevant information as needed, to being able to proactively maintain information across time in anticipation of upcoming demands. This transition is important for understanding individual differences and developmental changes in executive function; however, methods targeting its assessment are limited. We tested the possibility that Track-It, a paradigm developed to measure selective sustained attention, also indexes proactive control.

Trust matters: Seeing how an adult treats another person influences preschoolers' willingness to delay gratification.

Holding out for a delayed reward in the face of temptation is notoriously difficult, and the ability to do so in childhood predicts diverse indices of life success. Prominent explanations focus on the importance of cognitive control. However, delaying gratification may also require trust in people delivering future rewards as promised.

No Evidence of the Ego-Depletion Effect across Task Characteristics and Individual Differences: A Pre-Registered Study.

Ego-depletion, a psychological phenomenon in which participants are less able to engage in self-control after prior exertion of self-control, has become widely popular in the scientific community as well as in the media. However, considerable debate exists among researchers as to the nature of the ego-depletion effect, and growing evidence suggests the effect may not be as strong or robust as the extant literature suggests. We examined the robustness of the ego-depletion effect and aimed to maximize the likelihood of detecting the effect by using one of the most widely used depletion tasks (video-viewing attention control task) and by considering task characteristics and individual differences that potentially moderate the effect.

Less-structured time in children's daily lives predicts self-directed executive functioning.

Executive functions (EFs) in childhood predict important life outcomes. Thus, there is great interest in attempts to improve EFs early in life. Many interventions are led by trained adults, including structured training activities in the lab, and less-structured activities implemented in schools.

Delaying gratification depends on social trust.

Delaying gratification is hard, yet predictive of important life outcomes, such as academic achievement and physical health. Prominent theories focus on the role of self-control, hypersensitivity to immediate rewards, and the cost of time spent waiting. However, delaying gratification may also require trust in people delivering future rewards as promised.