Abstract
To be accepted into social groups, individuals must internalize and reproduce appropriate group conventions, such as rituals. The copying of such rigid and socially stipulated behavioral sequences places heavy demands on executive function. Given previous research showing that challenging executive functioning improves it, it was hypothesized that engagement in ritualistic behaviors improves children's executive functioning, in turn improving their ability to delay gratification. A 3-month circle time games intervention with 210 schoolchildren (Mage = 7.78 years, SD = 1.47) in two contrasting cultural environments (Slovakia and Vanuatu) was conducted. The intervention improved children's executive function and in turn their ability to delay gratification. Moreover, these effects were amplified when the intervention task was imbued with ritual, rather than instrumental, cues.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 349-359 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Child Development |
Volume | 89 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 18 Feb 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
Bibliographical note
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Rybanska, V, McKay, R, Jong, J & Whitehouse, H 2017, 'Rituals Improve Children's Ability to Delay Gratification' Child Development, vol 89, no. 2, pp. 349-359, which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12762This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.