background -marsh mellow test - correct answers Mitchel investigated the ability to defer gratification -
able to resist temptation. he used 'marshmallow test' to test temptation.
-studied 300 between 4-6, child seated at table in the room with a researcher..
-researcher offered the child one marshmallow but could have 2 if they waited 15 minutes.
-reacher left the room and returned after 15 mins.
2/3 of the children had eaten the marshmallow.
background - brain regions - correct answers-indicated that the inferior frontal gyrus in the prefrontal
cortex is involved in resolving interference in no/go tasks.
-emotional Brian regions associated with more choice and rewards.
background - testing adults - correct answerswhat counts as 'alluring stimuli' changes with age, they can
control not eating a marshmallow but have to use cognitive control not ask where you press a Botton
when given a 'go' instructor but refrain from pressing if the instruction is 'nogo'
aims - correct answers-aimed to see if the ability to delayer or not was a consistent personality trait.
-Also a follow on study to see if the ability to delay gratification in childhood predicts impulse control
later in life.
method - design - correct answers-longitudinal study, over 40 years.
-two quasi experiments.
-IV was weather participants were low delayers or high delayers.
sample - correct answers-participants selected form a pool of people initially tested on delayed
gratification when they were aged 4-6, and tested again in their 20s,30s and 40s.
-experiment 1; 59 participants were selected whose self control abilities were consistent in all 3 previous
assessments.
, -experiment 2; 27 of the participants in experiment 1 agreed to take part in the study of brain activity.
one participants excluded (26 participants)
materials/apparatus - correct answers-social stimuli used, people faces displaying emotion (drawn from
nimstim set of facial characteristics)
-two sets of male and female faces used(neutral faces and emotional faces)
-experiment 1; tested participants using pre-programmed laptop sent to participants home.
-experiment 2; involved the use of fMRI scanner to asses Brian activity.
procedure - experiment 1 - correct answers1. particpants tested by a laptop with pre loaded software,
sent to heir home.
2. participants had to undergo go/nogo task. they were presented with target eg female face
photograph. they were then shown on each trail a female or male photograph. participants instructed to
press a bottom if photograph matched large (go task) and resist action if the photograph didn't match
(nogo task).
3. participants asked to respond as quickly and accurately as possible.
4.photos show for 500 milliseconds and there was 1 second between each photo.
5. total of 160 trails were presented pre run in random order
6. each participant took part in two 'runs' a hot and a Cool version. in hot version participants saw faces
with emotional expression and second run faces neutral.
procedure -experiment 2 - correct answers-only the hot version was run, there was 70 go and 26 no go
trails for each expression.
-a Brain scan was used to asses brain activity while participants engaged in this task using instructions
and stimuli exactly the same as experiment 1.
results - experiment 1 - correct answers1. participants who had been able to delay gratification as a
child, had a greater ability to suppress impulse control as an adult.