How Much We Value Something Increases Our Patience

University of Chicago’s Annabelle Roberts and Ayelet Fishbach, and UCLA Anderson’s Franklin Shaddy showcase an intriguing insight that says how much we value something increases our patience toward achieving it. Delayed gratification isn’t just about willpower.

Their findings are based on eight experiments that involved nearly 3,000 participants. The research shows that our desire for a given object impacts our willingness to practice delayed gratification. The higher the desire, the more the patience. The more we like something, the likelier we are to patiently wait for it, or hold out for a bigger portion than we can have today.