The role of strategic attention deployment in development of self-regulation: Predicting preschoolers' delay of gratification from mother-toddler interactions

Toddlers' use of effective attention deployment strategies to Cope with sep aration from the mother and with maternal behavior predicted the use of eff ective delay-of-gratification strategies at age 5, even though the contexts , measures, and manifest behaviors were different. Toddlers who used distra ction strategies during a brief separation from the mother were able, at ag e 5, to delay immediate gratification longer for more valued rewards. Toddl ers who explored at a distance from a controlling mother when she tried to engage the child also delayed longer and used more effective delay strategi es at age 5, compared with toddlers who did not distance themselves. Toddle rs whose mothers were not controlling showed the opposite pattern: Those wh o did not distance themselves from the mother's bids had longer preschool d elay times and more effective strategies. Strategic attention deployment wa s shown to be an enduring self-regulatory skill visible in early developmen t across domains, measures, and over time.