Influence of televised modeling and verbalization on children's delay of gratification

Voluntary delay of gratification in 9-year-old children was assessed 4 weeks prior to, immediately after, and 4 weeks subsequent to exposure to one of four televized films. The modeling group observed an adult female model exemplify high-delay behavior. The persuasion group observed the model verbalize good reasons for waiting. The persuasion-modeling group observed the model exemplify high-delay behavior and verbalize reasons for waiting. Subjects in each of the treatment groups emitted more delay choices on the posttest than control group subjects who observed the model exhibit neutral behavior. The greatest magnitude of change occurred when modeling and persuasive cues were combined. Treatment effects were still in evidence for the modeling and the persuasion-modeling groups after a period of 4 weeks.