Gift Wrap

Gift Wrap

The Gift Wrap instrument was designed to observe the impulsivity and restraint of the subject. A research assistant (RA) was provided with a previously wrapped gift for the subject along with other wrapping supplies. The RA informed the subject that he/she had a gift for the subject but that the gift needed to be wrapped so it would be a surprise. The RA then asked the subject not to look and positioned the subject so that the subject was facing away from the RA. The RA then stood approximately three feet behind the subject and pretended to wrap the gift by crinkling and shaking the wrapping supplies. The RA observed the subject in this manner for 60 seconds and coded the subject's reaction to the gift wrapping noises. After the allotted time, the subject was presented with the gift that had previously been wrapped.

WAVE 3: Gift Wrap instrument (PDF 2.6MB) was administered to subjects in Cohort 0.

Kochanska, Grazyna; Murray, Kathleen T.; Harlan, Elena T. Effortful control in early childhood: Continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology. 2000 Mar. 36 (2): 220-232.

Kochansak, G. (2000). Personal communication.

Members of the "Welfare Reform and Children: A Three-City Study" (principle investigators Angel, R.,Burton, L., Chase-Lansdale, P.L., Cherlin, A.J., Moffitt, R., Wilson, W.J.; personal communication with Pittman, Laura).

Abstract of Kochanska, et. al. cited article from Education Resources Information Center

Three-City Study information from Johns Hopkins University