Delay of gratification as a function of race of the experimenter

Offered a total of 300 black and white 6th graders 1 45-rpm record as an immediate reward for completing S. Nowicki and B. Strickland's Locus of Control Scale, or 3 records if they would wait for either a black or white male E to return 3 wk. later. About 80% of the white Ss chose the delayed, more valuable reward, regardless of the race of the E. 33% of the black Ss chose the delayed reward from the white E and 56% from the black E. Black Ss were more likely to be assessed as external than whites. While no relationship was found between locus of control and delay behavior among blacks, internal white Ss chose more delayed rewards than external white Ss. Results are discussed in terms of the mistrust of the white E on the part of the black Ss. (16 ref.)