Delay of gratification: mothers' predictions about four attentional techniques

Mothers' predictions about the ability of their own children to delay gratification using different techniques were investigated. Fifty-one mothers of children 4 to 6 years old were asked to evaluate distraction, thinking about the incentive, tasting the incentive, and a control. These conditions were derived from the research of Mischel and his associates (1974), who demonstrated the effectiveness of distraction in aiding children's delay behavior. Parents were predicted to expect delay to be enhanced by the distraction technique and hampered by the thinking about the incentive and tasting the incentive techniques, with the latter being the least effective. Contrary to our predictions, mothers failed to predict effectiveness of distraction compared with the two incentive-focused techniques. Reasons are advanced for more research on parents' knowledge and valuing of metacognitive strategies appropriate for their children.