The effect of childhood socioeconomic status on patience

Abstract

In this research, we examine the effect of childhood socioeconomic status on patience, which is operationalized as willingness to wait for a chosen alternative. Because decision makers socialized in low (high) socioeconomic status environments learn a model of agency that emphasizes exerting self-control (vs. exerting environmental control), we predict that they will exhibit greater (less) willingness to wait for a chosen alternative. In three studies in which participants of various ages chose an alternative and then learned that it was not immediately available, lower childhood socioeconomic status consistently predicted greater willingness to wait and less negative emotional reactions to waiting. We discuss implications of this effect in organizational settings.