Business Students’ Delayed Gratification and Its Impact on Ethical Perception

Abstract

Research has shown that delayed gratification among college students has a positive impact on a variety of outcomes such as adjustment to college, academic success and quality of life. This study links college students' delayed gratification with ethical perception. A survey was developed and administered to a sample of 370 business students in a large U.S. University. Ethical perception was measured using three different scenarios: business ethics, personal ethics and accounting earnings management. The results showed that business students who scored high on delayed gratification had higher ethical awareness of appropriate ethical behavior in all scenarios compared to those with lower delayed gratification. The study adds to the literature by showing that delayed gratification is an important variable in the general and business ethics literature.