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Casey, et al (2011) Behavioural and Neural Correlates
of Delay of Gratification 40 Years Later. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 108 (36):14998-
15003
Context
There are individual differences in our capacity to resist temptation.
Hare et al., 2005 found that our ability to resist or delay immediate
gratification is challenged by such factors as how alluring a stimulus
is. Shoda and Rodriguez sought out why this may occur and founded
‘The Delay of Gratification’ tasks that would measure how long
young children can resist an immediate reward (e.g. a cookie) in
order to receive a comparatively better but delayed reward (e.g. two
cookies).
Psychologists like Eigsti et al., 2006, then found that we use
‘Cognitive Control’ to create strategies to delay gratification and
prevent us from immediately acting on our impulses. Cognitive
control is the act of suppressing inappropriate thoughts or actions
(like immediately eating the cookie) which interfere with appropriate
ones (wait for another). Eigsti et al., 2006 found that young children
who focus only on the rewarding aspects of the alluring situation
found it harder to suppress inappropriate action in tasks of cognitive
control.
A strategy to delay gratification is known as ‘Cooling’. This involves
directing one’s attention away from ‘hot’ (appealing features like
taste) and focusing on ‘cool’ features (like shape or weight –
cognitive factors). Eigsti et al., 2006 found that people did this
naturally anyway, but some people do it more or less. Although
, natural, like breathing, we can develop into breathing heavily or
quietly. This explains the difference in people. But this could be
related to other factors like ‘Social’. (Casey can be criticized in this
sense as he reduces the Delay of Gratification to biology and does
not look at the wider reaching possibilities of what may cause this –
he is a Reductionist).
Metcalfe and Mischel et al. (1999) suggested that ‘cool’ and ‘hot’
patterns of thought each involve their own neurocognitive system.
‘Cool’ being based on cognitive control whereas ‘hot’ was related to
desires. Casey et al., 2002 then linked the Inferior
Frontal Gyrus to ‘cool’ situations and Ventral Striatum
to ‘hot’ situations.
Casey used the marshmallow test to start off with in
the early 60s and 70s. This was done on 562 children
aged 4 years old, at Stanford Bing Nursery School.
Summary (context)
Casey studied the Delay of Gratification. For example,
how we resist it and how we let it in.
One way in which we may resist gratification is called Cognitive
Control: this prevents us from immediately acting on our impulses –
it suppresses inappropriate thoughts or
actions. A strategy of doing Cognitive
Control is called ‘Cooling’. This directs one’s
attention away from ‘hot’ appealing
features like taste, but focusing on ‘cold’
features like the shape or weight. When this
is done, people are able to resist the stimuli
response to a sweet taste for example.
The Ventral Striatum located in the middle
of the brain. This is related to a ‘hot’ situation as it releases an
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