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One the most important problems of our day is delaying gratification. Delaying gratification means to give up on the activities and facilities which will provide immediate gratification for the sake of certain long term rewards. Delaying gratification is associated with the majority of public health problems such as obesity, risky sexual behavior and drug abuse. Current measurements for delaying gratification are criticized due to limitations of competence, reliability and structure validity. Therefore a valid and reliable measurement tool is required. The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale to be used to determine the levels of delaying gratification of university students. The study group composes of 336 students, 184 females and 152 males, studying in Sakarya University Faculty of Education in 2013-2014 education year. In selection of the students, voluntary participation random sampling method was used. Expert opinion was obtained for the face validity and content validity in validity studies of the scale. The scale organized according to the opinions of the experts was applied to the students in the study group for the structure validity. Exploratory factor analysis was performed for the structure validity. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, it was determined that the scale was composed of 33 items and five factors. For the reliability of the scale, Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated. The internal consistency coefficients of the scale were calculated as .63, .75, .78, .94, and .85 respectively. When the scale is considered as a whole, its consistency coefficient was found as .94. These values that were obtained indicate that the psychometric properties of the scale are within acceptable ranges.

Istraživanje je realizovano sa ciljem da se utvrdi odnos kapaciteta za odlaganje zadovoljstva i veština neophodnih za uspostavljanje socijalnih odno- sa (saradnje sa drugim osobama, asertivne komunikacije i samokontrole). Uzorkom su obuhvaćene 32 osobe sa umerenom intelektualnom ometenošću (UIO) (IQ od 34 do 69 jedinica), oba pola, uzrasta od 18 do 42 godine života (M=33,16, SD=6,86). Nivo socijalne kompetencije utvrđen je primenom Skale za procenu interakcija (Short Version of the Interaction Rating Scale Advanced, IRSA) koja sadrži tri sub- skale: Saradnja sa drugim osobama, Asertivnost i Samokontrola. Podaci o kapa- citetima za odlaganje zadovoljstva dobijeni su primenom probe Poklon. Utvrđeno je da kod odraslih osoba sa UIO, opšti nivo socijalne kompetencije (p=0,02, r=0,43), kao i nivo asertivnog ponašanja (p=0,05, r=0,36), statistički značajno, umereno i pozitivno koreliraju sa nivoom razvijenosti kapaciteta odlaganja zadovoljstva. Veštine odlaganja zadovoljstva i asertivnog zastupanja sopstvenih prava predstavljaju komponente koje je potrebno inkorporirati u sadržaje programa čiji je cilj usmeren na ostvarivanje višeg nivoa socijalne kompetencije osoba sa UIO. The research was carried out with the aim of determining the relationship of capacities for delaying gratification and skills necessary for the establishment of social relations (cooperation with other persons, assertive communication and self-control). The sample included 32 persons with moderate intellectual disability (MID) (IQ from 34 to 69 units), of both sexes, 18 to 42 years of age (M=33.16, SD=6.86). The level of social competence was determined by application of the Interaction Rating Scale (Short Version of the Interaction Rating Scale Advanced, IRSA) which contains three subscales: Cooperation with other people, Assertiveness and Self-control. The data on the capacities for delaying gratification were obtained by application of a Gift task. It was found that in adults with MID, the general level of social competence (p=0.02, r=0.43), as well as the level of assertive behavior (p=0.05, r=0.36), statistically significantly, moderately and positively correlate with the level of capacity to delay gratification. The skills of delaying gratification and assertive representation of one’s own rights are components that need to be incorporated into the contents of the program aimed at achieving a higher level of social competence of persons with MID.

Namen pričujoče raziskave je bil raziskati koncepta situacijske ter dispozicijske samokontrole ter preveriti učinke implicitnih teorij (prepričanj o moči volje) na pojav ego izčrpanosti in posledično samokontrolo. Bolj specifično nas je zanimalo, ali bodo implicitna prepričanja o (ne)omejenosti virov samokontrole ublažila učinke različnih stopenj ego izčrpanosti na samokontrolo. Dodatno smo preverili tudi, kako se dispozicijska samokontrola povezuje s študijsko uspešnostjo študentov. V eksperimentu je sodelovalo 111 študentov (98,2 % žensk) prvega letnika različnih smeri Filozofske ter Pedagoške fakultete Univerze v Mariboru. Udeležence smo naključno razdelili v tri skupine eno kontrolno ter dve eksperimentalni skupini. Eksperimentalni skupini sta med eksperimentom reševali več nalog, ki so zahtevale samokontrolo, medtem ko so udeleženci kontrolne skupine reševali naloge, ki samokontrole niso zahtevale. Situacijska samokontrola je bila ocenjena s pomočjo Stroopove interference ter številom točk na nalogi sposobnosti odložitve nagrade. Poleg tega so vsi udeleženci rešili še kratko lestvico samokontrole ter lestvico prepričanj o moči volje. Rezultati so pokazali, da imajo prepričanja o moči volje različne učinke ob različnih stopnjah ego izčrpanosti. Pri skupini z zmerno ego izčrpanostjo so prepričanja o moči volje ublažila učinke ego izčrpanosti na posledično samokontrolo, medtem ko pri skupini z visoko ego izčrpanostjo teh učinkov ni bilo. Hkrati smo ugotovili tudi, da se prepričanja o moči volje v skupini z visoko ego izčrpanostjo pomembno znižajo tekom eksperimenta. Dodatno smo ugotovili še, da se dispozicijska samokontrola pozitivno povezuje z akademsko uspešnostjo. Ugotovitve kažejo, da imajo psihološki faktorji, kot so prepričanja o moči volje, pomembno vlogo pri sposobnosti samokontrole, vendar le ob zmerni ego izčrpanosti. Ob visoki ego izčrpanosti psihološki faktorji, kot so prepričanja o moči volje, več ne omilijo negativnih učinkov ego izčrpanosti na samokontrolo. The aim of the study was to gain insight into the concepts of situational and dispositional self-control and to examine the effects of implicit theories (beliefs about willpower) on ego depletion and subsequent self-control. More specifically, we wanted to examine whether the beliefs about willpower could attenuate the effects of ego depletion at different levels. Additionally, we also examined the relationship between dispositional self-control and academic performance of the students. We included 111 (98.2% females) first year students of the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Education, University of Maribor, into the study. Students were randomly assigned to one of the three groups one control group and two experimental groups. The participants in the experimental groups solved several tasks that required self-control. The tasks completed by the participants in the control group did not require self-control. Situational self-control was assessed with interference on the Stroop task and a delayed gratification task. Additionally, all of the participants completed the short scale of self-control and the willpower beliefs scale. Based on our results we concluded that the beliefs about willpower have different effects at different levels of ego depletion. In the group with mild ego depletion, the effects of beliefs about willpower indeed attenuated the effects of ego depletion on self-control. On the other hand, when ego depletion was high, the protective effects of beliefs about willpower were no longer present. Furthermore, we found that, when ego depletion is high, the beliefs about unlimited willpower significantly diminish during the experiment. Moreover, the results also showed that dispositional self-control is associated positively with academic performance. Our findings show that psychological factors, such as beliefs about willpower, have an important role in self-control ability, but only when ego depletion is mild. In the case of extensive ego depletion, those factors do not attenuate the negative effects of ego depletion on self-control any longer.