Table_1_Improving Self-Control: The Influence of Role Models on Intertemporal Choices.docx

The ability to delay rewards is one of the most useful qualities one may wish to develop. People who possess this quality achieve more successful careers, display better interpersonal skills and are less vulnerable to psychopathology, obesity or addictions. In the present online studies, we investigated the extent to which delay-of-reward behaviors in female participants can be improved by observing others mastering it. We developed an intertemporal choice (IC) paradigm in which participants had to make fictitious choices between sooner smaller rewards and later bigger ones (e.g., $150 in 1 week vs. $170 in 4 weeks). In Study 1 (N = 186), we found that participants who delayed more had higher socioeconomic statuses and were less likely to procrastinate, smoke or develop obesity. In Study 2 (N = 178), we exposed female participants to a role model who, faced with ICs, chose most of the time the delayed option. Results showed that, although participants were only asked to memorize the model’s decisions, they tended to choose the delayed option more often after than before exposure to the model. In Study 3 (N = 148), we found that the direction of the influence depended on the model’s behavior: our female participants delayed more after having seen a high delay than a low delay model. In Study 4 (N = 370), we confirmed the effect of modeling on ICs in comparison to a control condition and showed that this effect was still significant 3 months after exposure to the model. Altogether, these results speak in favor of a high efficacy of modeling to develop self-control in women.延迟满足（delay of reward）的能力是人们期望培养的最具实用价值的特质之一。拥有该特质者往往能拥有更成功的职业生涯，具备更优异的人际交往能力，且更不易受心理病理障碍、肥胖或成瘾行为的困扰。本研究通过四项在线实验，探究女性被试的延迟满足行为在多大程度上可通过观察掌握该行为的他人得到改善。我们开发了一套跨期选择（intertemporal choice, IC）实验范式，要求被试在小额即时奖励与大额延迟奖励之间做出虚拟选择（例如，1周后获得150美元 vs 4周后获得170美元）。在研究1（N=186）中，我们发现延迟满足倾向更强的被试拥有更高的社会经济地位，且更不易出现拖延、吸烟或肥胖问题。在研究2（N=178）中，我们让女性被试观看一名在跨期选择任务中绝大多数情况下选择延迟奖励的榜样。结果显示，尽管仅要求被试记忆该榜样的决策，但其在观看榜样后选择延迟奖励的频率显著高于观看前。在研究3（N=148）中，我们发现这种影响的方向取决于榜样的行为模式：相较于观看低延迟倾向榜样的被试，观看高延迟倾向榜样的女性被试后续表现出更强的延迟满足倾向。在研究4（N=370）中，我们在对照条件下验证了榜样示范对跨期选择的影响，并证实该效应在被试观看榜样3个月后依然显著。综合来看，上述结果表明，榜样示范法可有效帮助女性培养自我控制能力。