The Hindu Business Line : Delaying gratification

My friend, a cricket fan, wanted to watch the T-20 matches played in South Africa. He, however, had to take a certification course which could help him get a fancy salary hike. What did he do? He skipped the T-20 matches but promised himself that he would watch the World Cup, if he passed the certification. Psychologists call this as delayed gratification. How is this relevant to economics?

Years ago, a psychologist conducted an experiment with a group of children in a nursery school. He offered them marshmallows but with a condition. The children would get only one if they ate the marshmallows immediately. But they could have another one if they waited for 15 minutes without eating the first one. Some children who could not bear the sight of the marshmallow in their hands ate it immediately. Others waited patiently and got to eat two. Much later, the psychologist followed their progress in life. And what he found was interesting.

Battling with problems

The children who waited patiently did very well in high school, and later in their careers. Those who popped the sugary cube into their mouth immediately were found to be irritable, sulky and battling with emotional problems.

Now, what is the connection between delaying gratification and being (economically) successful in life? The researchers found that the children who delayed gratification did so by diverting their attention from the marshmallows to playing toys and singing songs. And that is what made them successful in later years. How?

Towards achieving goals

You can achieve your objectives if you can deal with self-control; research shows that intelligence is important for success but self-control is more important. The children at the nursery school were displaying their attitude towards achieving their goals (getting two marshmallows) at a very young age.

You and I can live on a healthy diet and delay the mouth-watering desserts for the weekend. We can also delay our extravagant spending and instead concentrate on our retirement savings. All of which means that delaying gratification pays, economically.

(The author is a self-styled investment psychologist. He can be reached at enhancek@gmail.com)

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