The Psychology of Patience
“Are we there yet?” is a question linked with impatience. Explore the psychology of patience: what makes some people willing to calmly wait a little longer? Is patience more valued in some cultures than in others? And does patience have downsides?
In Shrek 2, Donkey asks it every ten seconds for the length of a carriage ride, until Shrek stops answering. Everyone recognizes the passenger; almost nobody enjoys being one.
Key concepts
- Delay Discounting
- How steeply a reward loses value just for arriving late. Offer someone $50 today or $60 next month; a steep discounter takes the $50, and the same curve predicts who saves, who smokes and who can sit through a slow queue.
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Every work — at a glance
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"Are We There Yet?" (Shrek 2) — DreamWorks, 2004 (film)
The 2004 gag that gave the theme its face: Donkey, voiced by Eddie Murphy, asking and asking on the road to Far Far Away.
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What to know
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01
What makes some people wait is mostly trust. Self-control is part of it, but larger replications of the marshmallow test found the effect shrinks once family background is controlled for — and a child who has learned that adults break promises is being rational, not weak, when they eat the marshmallow now.
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Across subjects
Theme connection
"Are We There Yet?"
Practice — a sample
SOCWhich finding MOST undermines the claim that Kai will wait for the larger later payment?
- A Endowed progress
- B Peak-end memory
- C Wayfinding
- D Delay discounting
- E Adaptive reuse
Sign in to answer and see why each option is right or wrong.
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