Delay of Gratification for Procrastination

(DAISY Trial)

Overseen By Rachel Foster, B.S.

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of California, Davis

Disqualifiers: Developmental disorders

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 3

200 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Delay of Gratification for procrastination?

Research shows that the ability to delay gratification is linked to better academic and social skills, as well as improved stress management. Additionally, stimulating certain brain areas can increase willingness to complete tasks by making them seem more rewarding, which may help reduce procrastination. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Is the delay of gratification treatment safe for humans?

The research does not provide specific safety data for the delay of gratification treatment in humans, but it does not report any adverse effects related to the treatment. ^{4 6 7 8 9}

How does the treatment 'Delay of Gratification' differ from other treatments for procrastination?

The 'Delay of Gratification' treatment is unique because it focuses on enhancing self-control and planning skills to manage procrastination, rather than using medication or traditional behavioral therapies. It emphasizes the ability to wait for long-term rewards by controlling impulses and strategically deploying attention, which is different from other approaches that might not specifically target these cognitive and behavioral components. ^{1 2 5 7 10}

What is the purpose of this trial?

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the associations of young children's early life experiences with delaying behaviors and links with later life outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Do experiences with waiting in early childhood predict delaying behavior in context-specific ways? * Are links between delaying behavior and life outcomes impacted by social conventions, effort and choices around delaying, or other behaviors? Participants will: * Complete two delaying tasks with either a sweet or wrapped gift * Complete three "Simon says"-like games that measure inhibition, cognitive flexibility and proactive control * Answer a set of questions about academic readiness * Answer a set of questions about social conventions * Complete a waiting game on the computer while a camera records eye movements * Parents will answer questions about their child's behaviors and experiences at home * Participants will return after 1 year to repeat a subset of these measures

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for young children to explore how early experiences with waiting affect their ability to delay gratification and the impact on later life outcomes. It involves tasks like delaying treats, playing 'Simon says'-like games, and answering questions about academic readiness and social norms.

Inclusion Criteria

My child is developing typically without any diagnosed delays.

Exclusion Criteria

Participants will be pre-screened for developmental disorders.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Initial Assessment

Participants complete delaying tasks, inhibition games, and questionnaires. Parents complete behavioral and demographic questionnaires.

1-2 weeks

2 visits (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants and parents repeat a subset of initial measures to assess changes over 1 year.

1 year

1 visit (in-person)

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Delay of Gratification

Trial Overview The study tests if early waiting experiences predict delaying behavior in specific situations and how this relates to life outcomes. Children will perform various tasks involving self-control and parents will provide information on home behaviors.

Participant Groups

Group I: Delay of Gratification - Treat Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Reward presented is a sweet treat.

Group II: Delay of Gratification - Gift Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Reward presented is a wrapped gift.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of California, Davis

Lead Sponsor

Trials

958

Recruited

4,816,000+

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Collaborator

Trials

2,103

Recruited

2,760,000+

Findings from Research

A study involving 95 children assessed their ability to delay gratification in preschool and found that this ability was linked to positive parental personality ratings a decade later, indicating long-term benefits of self-control.

Children who could wait longer in preschool were rated by their parents as more competent in academics and social situations during adolescence, showing that early delay of gratification is associated with better cognitive and emotional skills later in life.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., Peake, PK.[2022]

A study involving 386 Chinese elementary school children found that the ability to delay gratification in academic settings is positively linked to higher motivation and better metacognitive skills.

The use of effective self-regulated learning strategies, such as cognitive strategies and resource management, plays a crucial role in mediating the relationship between academic delay of gratification and improved grades.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Causal relationships among academic delay of gratification, motivation, and self-regulated learning in elementary school children. Zhang, L., Maruno, S.[2019]

High procrastinators (HP) show lower flexibility in learning tasks, particularly when faced with punishment, which may hinder their ability to correct procrastination behaviors.

Impaired learning from errors and punishments in HP individuals suggests a potential underlying mechanism that could also relate to other self-regulation disorders, highlighting the importance of addressing these learning deficits.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Self-regulation and learning from failures: Probabilistic reversal learning task reveals lower flexibility persisting after punishment in procrastinators. Przetacka, J., Droździel, D., Michałowski, JM., et al.[2022]

Active stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) significantly increased participants' willingness to execute tasks, suggesting a direct role of this brain region in reducing procrastination.

The study found that this stimulation decreased the perceived aversiveness of tasks and increased their outcome value, indicating that enhancing the DLPFC's activity can help individuals overcome procrastination by making tasks seem more rewarding.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Stimulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhances willingness for task completion by amplifying task outcome value. Xu, T., Zhang, S., Zhou, F., et al.[2023]

Delay of gratification consists of two distinct components: Controlling-Impulse and Planning-and-Waiting, as identified through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in studies involving adult participants.

Controlling-Impulse is a significant predictor of both long-term and creative performance, while Planning-and-Waiting is linked to various personality traits and self-efficacy, highlighting the different roles these components play in achievement.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Generalizability of delay of gratification: dimensionality and function. Liu, X., Wang, L., Jiang, J.[2015]

The study introduces a temporal decision model that explains procrastination as a result of people perceiving tasks as less aversive when scheduled for the future, while expecting greater utility from the outcomes of those tasks later on.

Results show that individuals are likely to procrastinate when the perceived aversiveness of a task outweighs the expected utility of its outcome, and they are more inclined to complete the task when the aversiveness and utility become comparable.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Modeling procrastination: Asymmetric decisions to act between the present and the future. Zhang, S., Feng, T.[2020]

In preschoolers, working in the presence of rewards increased their delay times for gratification, but this was due to distraction from the work rather than motivation from the rewards themselves.

When the work was not engaging, focusing on rewards could actually help motivate children to work and delay gratification, as long as their attention did not become overly fixated on the rewards.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Strategic attention deployment for delay of gratification in working and waiting situations. Peake, PK., Mischel, W., Hebl, M.[2019]

High school students who opted for an immediate monetary reward displayed more self-regulatory issues, including higher involvement with substances like cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana, as well as poorer academic performance.

A similar pattern was observed in middle-school students, suggesting that the tendency to choose immediate rewards over delayed ones is linked to negative behaviors and self-concept across different age groups.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Delay of gratification: impulsive choices and problem behaviors in early and late adolescence. Wulfert, E., Block, JA., Santa Ana, E., et al.[2022]

In a study of Canadian arbitration cases, trait procrastination was found to significantly predict delays in decision-making, with highly procrastinating arbitrators taking an average of 83 days to write decisions compared to 26 days for those with lower procrastination traits.

A follow-up study with American arbitrators confirmed that procrastination is influenced by factors like expectancy and value, suggesting that procrastination is a common issue in the workplace that can lead to serious negative consequences.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Self-Regulation of Slippery Deadlines: The Role of Procrastination in Work Performance. Steel, P., Taras, D., Ponak, A., et al.[2023]

The study examined delayed gratification in a sample of children of color from low-income families, finding that those who preferred immediate gratification showed better executive function and were rated more positively by teachers.

Choosing immediate gratification was linked to higher achievement in the short term, but this relationship diminished when accounting for executive function, suggesting that understanding these choices requires more nuanced research in underrepresented groups.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Choosing immediate over delayed gratification correlates with better school-related outcomes in a sample of children of color from low-income families. Duran, CAK., Grissmer, DW.[2020]

References

1. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification. [2022]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Causal relationships among academic delay of gratification, motivation, and self-regulated learning in elementary school children. [2019]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Self-regulation and learning from failures: Probabilistic reversal learning task reveals lower flexibility persisting after punishment in procrastinators. [2022]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Stimulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex enhances willingness for task completion by amplifying task outcome value. [2023]

5. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Generalizability of delay of gratification: dimensionality and function. [2015]

6. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Modeling procrastination: Asymmetric decisions to act between the present and the future. [2020]

7. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Strategic attention deployment for delay of gratification in working and waiting situations. [2019]

8. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Delay of gratification: impulsive choices and problem behaviors in early and late adolescence. [2022]

9. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Self-Regulation of Slippery Deadlines: The Role of Procrastination in Work Performance. [2023]

10. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Choosing immediate over delayed gratification correlates with better school-related outcomes in a sample of children of color from low-income families. [2020]