PSYCH Exam 2 - Self Control

delayed gratification

- Children have to resist a strong temptation to receive a later reward - Ability to resist increases with age

temperament

- General behavioral response style and characteristic mood - Response threshold → amount of stimulation required to get a response from the child - Intensity of reaction → how intense the emotional/behavioral response is once it's triggered - Quality of mood → baseline emotions - Variability are evident in first few months of life

disappointing gifts

- Good self-control: children can regulate and control emotions in face of disappointment - Some variability rooted in biology

working memory

- ability to hold information in mind while you manipulate that information - Weighing pros and cons - Dimensional card sort --> Skills improve dramatically between 3 & 5, Skills continue to improve with age

effects of poverty on self-control

- less opportunities, exposure to stress → affects temperament - Economic status correlates with performance on gratification tasks and later successes in life - Possible that SES isn't stunting children's self-control, but rather changes what is adaptive - Take what they can when it's available - Not to trust adults

self control

Ability to control attention, emotion, behavior, challenges, temptations, and impulses in order to achieve a goal

poor self control in ADHD

Struggle with multi-step activities Difficulties sitting still Blurt out things Hard to succeed in school Hard to establish appropriate social interactions

inhibition

ability to block out irrelevant information from attention focus

Better performance on gratification tasks predicted...

better SAT scores and ability to cope with challenges

how parents can help with delayed gratification

distraction

early self control -->

success in school and adult qualities such as jobs