Task Experience and Attitudes toward Delaying Reward

This study examines the relationship between task experience and attitudes. Specifically tested is the effect of performing a task in which waiting for rewards produces the greatest payoff on attitudes toward delaying reward. High school students were hired to work on a door to door selling task; the task was designed so that delaying a sale produced a larger sales commission. Those subjects who recognized and selected a delayed strategy in the task shifted toward a preference for delaying reward. The use of a natural controlled experimental design and the social implications of the study are discussed.