Abstract Have children's ability to delay gratification decreased since the past? We analyze the past 50 years of data on the Marshmallow test of delay of gratification; where children must wait to get two preferred treats of their choosing; if they cannot wait, they only get one. Here we provide comprehensive evidence on whether children's ability to delay gratification has truly been decreasing, as theories of technology or a culture of instant gratification have predicted. Before analyzing the data, we polled 260 experts in cognitive development, 84% of who believed children are getting worse or are no different than those of the past. Contrary to this prediction, we show delay of gratification times are increasing over the past 50 years, corresponding to a fifth of a standard deviation increase in ability per decade. This mirrors the magnitude of secular gains in IQ seen over decades.

中文翻译：

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这些天的孩子们！过去 50 年中儿童延迟满足能力的增加

摘要 孩子的延迟满足能力是否比过去有所下降？我们分析了过去 50 年关于延迟满足的棉花糖测试的数据；孩子们必须等待才能获得他们选择的两种首选款待；如果他们不能等待，他们只会得到一个。在这里，我们提供了全面的证据，证明儿童延迟满足的能力是否真的像技术理论或即时满足文化所预测的那样下降。在分析数据之前，我们对 260 位认知发展方面的专家进行了调查，其中 84% 的人认为孩子们的情况越来越糟，或者与过去的孩子没有什么不同。与这一预测相反，我们发现在过去 50 年中延迟满足时间正在增加，对应于每十年能力标准差增加的五分之一。