Casey's study of Gratification Delay Flashcards
(12 cards)
Theory of Casey’s study
Children who can delay gratification are more likely to achieve personal and financial success in later life, compared to children who cannot
Background of Casey’s study? (Pre-Casey)
Metcalfe and Mischel suggest:
People have 2 neural systems involving in resisting temptation.
1. Cool system - allows the person to decide whether to resist or not - in the inferior frontal gyrus (decision making)
2. Hot system - linked to emotions, reward, desire, and an inability to resist an alluring item - in the ventral striatum
Aim of Casey’ study?
To find out whether delay of gratification in childhood could predict impulse self-control abilities in adulthood
Research method of Casey’s study
Quasi
Longitudinal design: Studies the behaviors of the same P’s over time, looking for changes and development. The same P’s were studied from age 4-40
IV: High or low delayer (classified through the marshmallow test in childhood)
DV: P’s performance on an impulse control task. Reaction time and accuracy
Data collection in Casey’ study
- Accuracy and reaction time data was collected by a computer for all tasks.
- FMRI was used to collect data about brain activity
Sample of Casey’s study?
562 4y children completed the marshmallow. Some went on to do the self-control scales in their 20s and 30s.
59 P’s in their 40s agreed to participate in experiment 1. 27 P’s took part in experiment 2.
Procedure of Casey’s study?
Marshmallow test:
- As children
- Classified into high/low delayers based on whether they wait not to eat the marshmallow for another one, or eat it immediately without rewards
Experiment 1:
- Tested whether low delayers as children would show less impulse control when trying to suppress hot cues vs cool cues in their 40s
- Stimulus shown for 500ms with 1 second between each picture
- Cool task: Must press button when seeing the stimulus of a gender. e.g. Female as a ‘go’ stimulus. Cannot press button when seeing no-go stimulus
- Hot no-go task: Happy and fearful faces were used as stimuli. Happy face considered to be rewarding. Adults are more tempted by social relationships and acceptance rather than sweets. Cannot press button when shown the happy face
Experiment 2:
- FMRI examined brain activity in high/low delayers
- Stimulus shown for 500ms but with 2-14,5 seconds between each picture
Findings of Casey’s study
Experiment 1:
Reaction times- There was no difference between the high delayers and low delayers in reaction time to the correct ‘go’ trials
Accuracy-
Low and high delayers performed similarly on the cool task (‘go’ trials)
High delayers were more accurate than low delayers on hot tasks (‘no-go’ trials): low delayers showed more false alarms
Findings of Casey’s study?
Experiment 2:
Reaction times- There was no difference between the high delayers and low delayers in the reaction time to correct ‘go’ trials
Accuracy-
Accuracy rates for the hot tasks were all high for ‘go’ trials. High delayers were more accurate than low delayers on hot ‘no-go’ trials: low delayers showed more false alarms
=> Results were consistent in the second experiment
Brain imaging results
- Right inferior frontal gyrus was involved in accurately withholding a response
- Low delayers showed lower activity in the inferior frontal gyrus than the high delayers on no-go trials
- Low delayers showed higher activity in the ventral striatum than the high delayers, specifically when happy faces were the no-go stimuli
Conclusions of Casey’s study
- Being able or unable to resist temptation is a characteristic which remains stable over the lifespan e.g. those who were LDs at 4y also had difficulties resisting the temptation to press the button in ‘hot’ no-go trials
- LDs are not poor at all in forming cognitive control, only have problems suppressing their response to an alluring ‘hot’ stimulus
EVALUATION:
Research method
(+) A computer was used in experiment 1 to record reaction time and accuracy during the go/no-go task. Human error could not act as an extraneous variable. HIgh in internal validity
(-) The use of a computer task made the study low in ecological validity. Go/no-go task not true to life because not the way in which we normally experience facial expression.
(-) The use of FMRI made it low in ecological validity. People do not carry out tasks in a brain scanner. Could have slowed down their reactions, affecting their performance
(-) Longitudinal studies suffer from attrition. Meaning P’s were lost from the study over time. Make sample biased , not representative,
EVALUATION:
Data type
(+) Quantitative data: Easy to compare accuracy of P’s in each condition of go/no-go task. E.g. Allowed to see more false alarm errors were made by LDS in the hot task than the cool task.
