A Level Psychology OCR Practice Exam

Which element of behavior did Casey et al (2011) NOT significantly differ between high and low delayers on?

1. Reaction time on nogo trials

2. Accuracy on go trials

3. Behavioral responses during tasks

4. Overall impulse control

The correct answer is: Behavioral responses during tasks

In Casey et al. (2011), one of the key focuses of the research was on impulse control and how it varies between individuals who exhibited high levels of delay gratification (high delayers) and those who demonstrated low levels (low delayers). The study assessed several behavioral measures to compare these two groups. The element that did not significantly differ between high and low delayers is behavioral responses during tasks. This suggests that while high and low delayers showed different levels of impulse control and exhibited different behaviors in terms of reaction times and accuracy, the actual behavioral responses during the tasks—such as the number of times they accurately pressed buttons or refrained from pressing in the nogo trials—did not show a meaningful difference. This finding helps underline the nuanced understanding of impulse control, indicating that while delay ability may influence performance metrics such as reaction time and accuracy, it does not translate into distinct behavioral patterns during tasks when measured directly.