Delay of Reinforcement Development.

Preschool, third-, and sixth-grade children classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged or nondisadvantaged were subjects in a voluntary-delay-of-reinforcement paradigm. Following the first day's "work" session, subjects were given the option of selecting a toy costing 3 tokens then and paying the remaining 2 tokens when they had earned them or waiting until they had saved, up enough to buy the toy. Results indicated a shift from preference for immediate reinforcement in preschool to deferred selection in sixth grade for both socioeconomic groups. Relations between the present 1:1 value ratio and the ratio of <1 represented by traditional delay-of-gratification investigations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]