Hoerger, M., Quirk, S. W., & Weed, N. C. (2011).

Development and validation of the This scale was developed through public funding of Central Michigan University.
Delaying Gratification Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 23, 725-738. It is available free of charge for use by mental health professionals trained in psychometrics.

Read each of the following statements. Rate how well each statement describes you, using the following 5-point scale.
Mark your ratings in the Rating column to the right of each item.

Rating Scale:
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

# STATEMENT RATING DO NOT MARK

1 I can resist junk food when I want to 
2 I am able to control my physical desires 
3 I hate having to take turns with other people *
4 When I am able to, I try to save away a little money in case an emergency should arise 
5 I worked hard in school to improve myself as a person 
6 I would have a hard time sticking with a special, healthy diet *
7 I like to get to know someone before having a physical relationship 
8 Usually I try to consider how my actions affect others 
9 It is hard for me to resist buying things I cannot afford *
10 I have tried to work hard in school so that I could have a better future 
11 If my favorite food were in front of me, I would have a difficult time waiting to eat it *
12 My habit of focusing on what “feels good” has cost me in the long run *
13 I think that helping each other benefits society 
14 I try to spend my money wisely 
15 In school, I tried to take the easy way out *
16 It is easy for me to resist candy and bowls of snack foods 
17 I have given up physical pleasure or comfort to reach my goals 
Hoerger, M., Quirk, S. W., & Weed, N. C. (2011). Development and validation of the This scale was developed through public funding of Central Michigan University.
Delaying Gratification Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 23, 725-738. It is available free of charge for use by mental health professionals trained in psychometrics.

Read each of the following statements. Rate how well each statement describes you, using the following 5-point scale.
Mark your ratings in the Rating column to the right of each item.

Rating Scale:
1 2 3 4 5
Strongly Somewhat Neutral Somewhat Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree

# STATEMENT RATING DO NOT MARK

18 I try to consider how my actions will affect other people in the long-term 
19 I cannot be trusted with money *
20 I am capable of working hard to get ahead in life 
21 Sometimes I eat until I make myself sick *
22 I prefer to explore the physical side of romantic involvements right away *
23 I do not consider how my behavior affects other people *
24 When someone gives me money, I prefer to spend it right away *
25 I cannot motivate myself to accomplish long-term goals *
26 I have always tried to eat healthy because it pays off in the long run 
27 When faced with a physically demanding chore, I always tried to put off doing it *
28 I value the needs of other people around me 
29 I manage my money well 
30 I have always felt like my hard work would pay off in the end 
31 Even if I am hungry, I can wait until it is meal time before eating something 
32 I have lied or made excuses in order to go do something more pleasurable *
33 There is no point in considering how my decisions affect other people *
34 I enjoy spending money the moment I get it *
35 I would rather take the easy road in life than get ahead *
Hoerger, M., Quirk, S. W., & Weed, N. C. (2011). Development and validation of the This scale was developed through public funding of Central Michigan University.
Delaying Gratification Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 23, 725-738. It is available free of charge for use by mental health professionals trained in psychometrics.

Overview:

The Delaying Gratification Inventory is designed to measure trait differences in the tendency to delay gratification, to withstand
immediate discomfort for the sake of long-term gains. The ability to delay gratification predicts important life outcomes, such as
psychological health, physical health, success in school and work, financial success, lawfulness, and prosocial behavior.

Administration and Scoring:

The scale includes a composite total score and 5 subscores measuring ability to delay gratification when it comes to dietary concerns,
money management, social behavior, achievement, and physical pleasure. Administer the survey to a participant and ask them to
respond in the “RATING” column. Once they have completed the survey, use the “DO NOT MARK” column to begin scoring their
responses. If an item has an asterisk (*), it should be reverse-scored (e.g. “4” should be re-coded as “2”).

Transfer their responses (or the reverse-coded responses) to the corresponding white box for each item in the DO NOT MARK
column. Notice that there are 5 little boxes for each item. The position of the white box indicates the subscale that item belongs to;
from left to right, the subscales are Food, Physical Pleasure, Social Behavior, Money Management, and Achievement.

Add up the scores for each subscale and record them in the Raw Score section of the Participant Data Table on the next page. Add up
the total score across all five subscales to determine the composite total score, and write that in the table too. Using the Normative
Conversion Table, these raw scores can then be converted to percentiles. The normative sample includes 1,000+ participants.

Interpretation:

Composite: High total scores indicate adaptive functioning. Low scores indicate impulse control problems.
Food: High scores indicate a healthy diet. Low scores indicate difficulty with cravings, poor diet, and weight problems.
Physical: High scores indicate tolerance for physical discomfort. Low scores indicate risk-taking and sensation-seeking.
Social Behavior: High scores indicate prosocial behavior. Low scores indicate difficulty following social rules.
Money Management: High scores indicate good financial planning. Low scores indicate impulsive spending habits.
Achievement: High scores indicate value of diligence and education. Low scores indicate poor work ethic.

Note: Use caution in interpreting unexpected high scores, as participants may be responding dishonestly.
Hoerger, M., Quirk, S. W., & Weed, N. C. (2011). Development and validation of the This scale was developed through public funding of Central Michigan University.
Delaying Gratification Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 23, 725-738. It is available free of charge for use by mental health professionals trained in psychometrics.

Scoring Sheet

Participant Data Table:

Scale Composite Food Physical Social Money Achievement

Raw Score
Percentile
Description

Normative Conversion Table:

Description Percentile Composite Food Physical Social Money Achievement Percentile Description
Very 90 152 30 29 34 34 34 90 Very
High 80 146 27 27 33 32 32 80 High
High 70 140 25 25 32 31 30 70 High
60 135 24 24 31 29 29 60
Average 50 130 22 22 30 28 27 50 Average
40 125 21 21 29 26 26 40
Low 30 119 19 20 27 24 24 30 Low
20 111 17 18 26 21 21 20
Very 10 99 14 15 23 17 18 10 Very
Low 5 90 12 13 20 14 15 5 Low
Extremely 1 73 9 10 15 9 10 1 Extremely
Low .1 60 7 7 9 7 7 .1 Low
Norms are based on a web sample of 3,747 adults ages 18-90 from the United States