1/10 Embracing patience

Introduction to Embracing Patience

Did you have to wait in a long line over holiday for COVID testing? Or were you recently in a hurry and got behind someone in the grocery store who had a basket of things and all the time in the world? Or maybe you have asked someone for some advice, and they have not yet responded? All of these are examples of times when we need patience. And although we all know that patience is a virtue, it is also a difficult skill to master. In this lesson, we will discuss patience. We will learn what contributes to patience, where it occurs in the brain, and some practical ways to improve your own patience.

What is Patience?

(Patience: Don't let frustration get the better of you, 2020)

Patience is the ability to stay calm while waiting for an outcome you need or want. There are different varieties of patience which includes patience with other people, patience during life hardships and patience for daily hassles.

A person with good patience skills is viewed as positive by their family and friends. You might be seen as more focused and productive. However, if you are impatient, you may be seen as arrogant, insensitive and impulsive. If you make snap judgments or interrupt, you may be seen as a poor decision maker, and may have a reputation for poor people skills and a bad temper.

Impatience manifests itself in different ways, including muscle tension and hand clenching, shallow and fast breathing or fidgeting more than normal. Impatience may make you irritable, angry or anxious. Rushing to do things and making snap decisions are more signs that your impatience is growing.

Video:

Watch this Ted Talk by a high school student which defines patience. Excellent job of summarizing patience. And she discusses some of the research mentioned in this lesson.

The Power of Patience

(Orloff, 2012)

In a blog written by psychiatrist Dr. Judith Orloff, patience is described as a lifelong spiritual practice and a way to find emotional freedom. She goes on to suggest that patience is a form of compassion, and a way to relieve yourself of the frustration associated with life.

We are wired for immediate results. We become frustrated when our needs are not met. We have methods of getting these immediate results, such as emails, text messages and the Internet. What has resulted is a low tolerance for frustration.

Frustration prevents emotional freedom. Expressing frustration can be helpful, but it needs to be done in a non-irritable and non-hostile way. If we are constantly frustrated, we have endless dissatisfaction, leading us to feel tense, losing our sense of humor and putting off things because of the annoyances involved.

Patience, according to Dr. Orloff, is a way to hold tight until it is your turn. It allows us to delay gratification, but in a way that makes sense. This is because intuition will let us know when something is worth working on or waiting for.

Patience is a gift, whether given or received. As a skill, it can be cultivated, but that requires practice. The result is less stress, a more balanced view, and an increased sense of compassion for others.

Video:

From a 19 year old student, a lecture on patience. Cites studies on call centers and waiting for videos to load up online. Really helps us to see how patience is a dying virtue in today's fast paced world.

Benefits of being a patient person

(Newman, 2016)

Patience is a virtue, but one that is not always seen by others. Patience is taking the time to explain things to your children or waiting for the right time to make a move. Unfortunately, in public, it is the impatient ones who receive the most attention, those honking their horns in traffic or complaining in long lines.

Patience is essential, though, and might be a key to a happy life. It means being able to wait calmly while facing frustration. Although research is limited, studies have found that good things come to those who wait. Here are some of the science-backed benefits of patience.

Better mental health:

According to a 2007 study (abstract here), patient people experience less depression and negative emotions. They also rate themselves as more mindful and feel more connection to others. A 2012 study by the authors of the 2007 study (abstract here) sought to improve our understanding of patience. It suggested three types of patience (interpersonal, life hardship and daily hassles), and looked to determine the relation between patience and well-being. Patience was found to assist in reaching goals and life satisfaction. It was also found that taking part in a training program to increase patience led to increased patience, decreased depression and an increased positive affect.

Better friends and neighbors:

Patience is a form of kindness. Research suggests that patient people are more cooperative, more empathic, more equitable and more forgiving. Patience was associated with higher “agreeableness”, a personality trait characterized by warmth, kindness and cooperation. Interpersonally patient people tend to be less lonely. Researchers suggest that patience enables individuals to tolerate flaws in others. In the community, patient people are more likely to vote. In evolution, patience may have helped our ancestors to survive allowing them to do good deeds and waiting for others to reciprocate (rather than demanding immediate compensation). Patience is linked to trust in the people and institutions around us.

Helps to achieve goals:

Research also looked at goals and the role of interpersonal patience in achieving the goals. They found that patient achievers made more progress towards their goals, and were more satisfied when they achieved them, compared to less patient people. They found that patient achievers were more content with their lives.

Linked to good health:

There may be evidence that patient people were less likely to have conditions such as headaches, acne flair-ups, ulcers, diarrhea and pneumonia. Other research has found that impatient people tend to have more health complaints and worse sleep. It is possible that patience may also protect against stress.

Although research on patience is limited, there seems to be enough evidence to suggest that patience will provide physical and emotional benefits.


The Marshmallow Test experiment

(Navidad, 2020)

Any discussion on patience will probably mention research done in the 1970s and replicated in more recent times. The Marshmallow test was an experiment to measure child’s ability to delay gratification. The child is given the option to wait a bit to get their favorite treat. The minutes or seconds a child waits measures their ability to delay gratification.

The experiments were held by a team of researchers at Stanford University in 1972, led by Professor Walter Mischel. In three experiments, children were tested to determine the effect of overt activities, cognitive activities and the lack of either in the preschoolers’ gratification delay times. Children were all part of a Nursery School at Stanford (which would ultimately create some discussions about the validity of the experiment). Experiments included:

Video:

Learn more about the Marshmallow test, a test on patience among 4 year olds and the implications as they aged.

Experiment 1:

  • Five groups of children (A – E)

  • 3 groups (A, B, C) were shown 2 treats (marshmallow and pretzel) and asked to choose favorites. They were then told that they would get their treat if they waited for the experimenter to come back without them asking. If they did ask the experimenter to come back, they would only get the treat that was not their favorite. Both treats were left in plain view.

  • Groups D and E were not given choices, instructions or treats. They were allowed to play with tools.

  • Distractions vs non entertainment: Children in groups A and D were given a slinky and told they could play with it. Children in Groups B and E were told to think of anything that is fun to think of like singing and toys. Group C had no distractions while waiting for the experimenter to return.

  • Waiting time was scored from the moment the experimenter shut the door. The experimenter returned either when the child signaled or after 15 minutes if they did not signal.

  • Results: Children are more willing to wait longer when given a reward for waiting (groups A – C). Also, those who were given tasks that distracted or entertained them, such as the slinky and fun things to think about had a longer waiting time.

Summary of Experiment 1:

  • 5 groups

  • 3 given choices

  • Some given toy

  • Some given things to think about

  • Treats were in plain view

Experiment 2:

  • Thirty two children assigned to one of three groups (A, B, C)

  • All were given choice of treats and told they could wait without signaling to have their favorite treat, or signal to have the other treat but not the favored one.

  • Treats are in plain view

  • Group A were told to think of fun things, Group B were told to think of sad things, Group C were asked to think of the treats. Group A had significantly more waiting time than B or C.


Summary of Experiment 2:

  • 3 groups

  • All given choice

  • Treats in plain view

  • Some think of fun things, some think of sad things, some think of treats

Experiment 3:

  • Sixteen children, assigned to one of three groups (A, B, C)

  • All children given choice of treats, told to wait without signaling to have their favorite treat or signal to have the other but forfeit the favorite one.

  • Treats were covered with a tin cake cover (which kids were told was used to keep them fresh)

  • Group A children were told to think about the treats, Group B were asked to think of fun things, Group C were given no test.

  • Groups B and C did significantly better than Group A who were thinking about the treats.

  • Researchers noted when treats were hidden, children did not need distracting or fun tasks to wait longer. But those who were not given distracting tasks (Group A, which were told to think of the treats) seemed to have even less waiting time when the treats were covered (as in Group C of experiment 2).


Summary of Experiment 3

  • 3 groups

  • All given choice of treats

  • Treats hidden

  • Some think about treats, some think about fun things, some no direction

Conclusions of researchers:

Children’s successful delay of gratification depended on their cognitive avoidance (what they were thinking about) or suppression of the expected treats (treats hidden or exposed) during the waiting period. They reasoned that children could wait a relatively long time if they believed that they would get their treat if they waited or shifted their attention away from the treats or occupied themselves with non-frustrating or pleasant things (thinking of fun things, playing with toys).


Limitations of study:

The population of subjects differ from regular population (mostly middle-class children of faculty and alumni of Stanford) and a question on whether the findings would extend to voluntary delay of gratification.


Longitudinal studies using Marshmallow Experiment:

After some time had passed, a number of studies were done involving the original participants and their performance as they aged. Here are three of those studies:

· SAT scores and delay of gratification: Participants were revisited to see if their SAT scores were related to how they did in the study. In a very small sample size, delay times did correlate positively and significantly with later SAT scores when no cognitive task had been suggested and the treat was in plain site. (Shoda, 1990)

· Delayed gratification and positive functioning: Participants were revisited to see how their results as children influenced their feelings of high self-worth, self-esteem and ability to cope with stress. They found that those who did well in delaying gratification had higher scores in these areas. (Ayduk, 2000)

· Delayed gratification and body mass index: Participants were revisited to see if there was a possible association between their ability to delay gratification and their Body Mass as adults. They found that each additional minutes a preschooler had delayed gratification predicted a .2 point reduction in BMI (body mass index) as adults. (Schalam, 2013)

Although there were flaws in the design of the original experiment, there is still evidence which suggests that the ability to delay gratification might correlate with academic performance, positive feelings about themselves and a lower BMI.

Patience: Born or bred?

(Ratledge, 2014)


Are you born with patience, or is it something that you need to develop? It seems to involve both. Biologically, it is part of the fight-or-flight reflex, where you feel that you should be able to get your needs met first. For children, brain development also plays a role. The prefrontal cortex is still developing into our 20s, which makes children and teenagers more impulsive.

There may also be an influence from upbringing. Children learn what they see, so if parents have little patience, their children might also be less patient. So, practicing patience will make you a better role model to your family and friends, and may also help them to be more patient (at least around you.)

Patience in the brain

There has been research which looks at a variety of connections between the brain and patience.

Imagination vs Willpower: (Neuroscientists Find Links Between Patience And Imagination In The Brain, 2017)

One study looked at the role of imagination in patience. Using a functional MRI, researchers at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business found that imagining an outcome before acting on an impulse might increase patience without relying on willpower. Scientists call this “framing effects” or making small changes on how options are presented or framed. Researchers performed two experiments to explore the role of imagination and willpower on patience. In these studies, participants made choices on when to receive different amounts of money depending on how the offer was framed.

In one example, “independent” frame, a participant could receive $100 tomorrow or $120 in 30 days.

A different frame was the “sequence” frame, where they had to decide whether to receive $100 tomorrow and no money in 30 days or no money tomorrow and $120 in 30 days.

(NOTE: These are basically the same scenarios, just worded differently.)

The first experiment found that framing outcomes as sequence promotes patience. Participants who saw both independent and sequence frames were more likely to go for the larger, delayed reward when the choices were framed as sequences.

The second experiment had participants use only one frame (independent or sequence). Participants in the sequence frame reported imagining the consequences of their choices more than those in the independent frame. A comment from a sequencing frame participant said it would be nice to get the $100, but if they waited, the additional $20 would help towards gas money.

Those who had the independent frame had less imagination. A comment from an independent frame participant said that they would rather have the money tomorrow even if it is less. Why wait a month for just $20 more?

Researchers concluded that the more participants imagined consequences, the more patient they were to receive the greater reward.

During the study, brain activation was measured via fMRI. They found that areas of the brain that process imagination became more active when participants were more patient during sequence framing. However, in the independent framing, the researchers found patience more strongly linked to willpower.

Conclusion of study: The wording of the offer impacted the decisions as well as the areas of the brain activated. Sequencing promotes patience and required imagining the consequences, while the independent wording was related to willpower. The researchers suggest that imagination is a possible route for attaining patience which may be more sustainable and practical than willpower.


Video:

A look at patience, and the value in society. Traces some examples of patient people who have done great things.

Serotonin and predicted vs unpredicted reward: (Bergland, 2018)

In a 2018 study (Miyazaki, 2018), researchers noted the role that serotonin plays in the “patience effect”. Previous research had suggested that there was a link between the release of serotonin from the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and patience. These studies suggested that increasing the serotonin activity in the DRN significantly increased the amount of time mice would wait for a reward.

The 2018 study tried to see if mice would wait for food regardless of the probability and timing of it showing up for them, or would they give up if they predicted a low chance of return on their time investment.

This boiled down to two situations:

· Predictable reward timing: Food will come at a precise time. Serotonin has no effect on waiting in this scenario.

· Unpredictable reward timing: Food can come at any time. Serotonin has a large effect on waiting.

For the mice, they found stimulating serotonin production made the mice willing to wait for food, if they knew there was at least a 75% chance of being fed after a maximum wait of 10 seconds. When the odds of receiving the food slipped below the threshold, serotonin failed to improve patience. The researchers concluded that the patience effect works only when the mouse sees a high probability of reward.

More brain regions studied (Drake, 2020)

In 2020, researchers wanted to expand on their 2018 study which looked at the role of the DRN in serotonin release and patience. For this study, they used mice which were genetically engineered to have specialized proteins that release serotonin on exposure to photostimulation. Each of the mice had an optic fiber inserted into the DRN part of the brain. They then divided the mice into groups and inserted optic fibers in one of the 3 areas, the nucleus accumbens (NAc), regions of the frontal lobe called the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). These areas were chosen because damage to them leads to an increase in impulsive behaviors. This allowed researchers to see how each area responded to serotonin stimulation.

The researchers found:

· Activating serotonin neurons in the DRN showed improved patience

· Stimulating the OFC was almost as effective in prolonged waiting

· Triggering the NAc had no effect on waiting

· Stimulating the mPFC improved wait time, but only when they did not know the food’s arrival time. This suggests that serotonin in the mPFC affects the ability to evaluate the time required to wait for a reward, while serotonin in the OFC assists in their overall assessment of delayed reward

Researchers concluded that serotonin mostly enhanced the mice waiting time if they were confident that the reward would eventually appear but did not when they were not sure when the reward would come.

Embracing patience

(Orloff, 2012) (Newman, 2016) (Ratledge, 2014)

We have seen from this lesson that patience is an important skill which can be cultivated. Here are some suggestions from some of our readings to improve your patience:

· Practice patience in a long line. Instead of getting irritated or pushing, tell yourself “I’m going to wait peacefully and enjoy the pause”. Then, try to empathize with the checkout person or the employee that is making you feel impatient. Smile and say some nice words to the other people in line. Daydream. Because patience is a skill, try to spend time in lines as often as possible.

· Reframe the situation: Patience is not an automatic emotional response. It does involve conscious thoughts and beliefs. And patience is linked to self-control. When your patience is tested, consciously try to regulate your emotions to downplay your frustration and to use that time productively. Next time you are in a situation requiring patience, reframe it to include your conscious desire to train the self-control muscles by accepting that situation and making the best of it.

· Practice mindfulness: Research has suggested that mindfulness can improve patience. When faced with a situation where you are feeling impatient, take a deep breath and then notice your feelings of anger or frustration. Once you have done this, you can better respond with patience.

· Practice gratitude: People who are skilled at feeling grateful were seen in research as better to delay gratification. If thankful for what you have today, you are not desperate for more.

· Set up cues: Choose an activity that you perform frequently during the day (taking a sip of water, touching a door handle) and then think of the word “patience” every time you do it. When you continue this every day for a week, you may notice you are handling things better than in the past.

· Imagine success: Visualize a situation that might challenge you (stuck in traffic or a long line) and see yourself smiling and breathing as you do this task. You may also think positive thoughts at the same time.

· Slow down: Instead of stressing, turn on some soothing music and move at a normal pace. If you are always running late, rethink your schedule by adding more time for each errand. You might also get up a few minutes earlier each day if that is an issue.

· Learn to distract yourself: As in the Marshmallow experiment, thinking fun thoughts might help you to be more patient. Even something as simple as moving a pebble from one pocket to another might help. Although we might be tempted to pull out the phone, it is helpful to use nonelectronic methods as well.


Summary

Patience is a gift, linked to better physical and emotional health. It is negatively correlated with impulse. Although willpower may assist in patience, imagination may be a better way of achieving patience. The brain has a role in patience, particularly in the production of serotonin. And, in fact, depending on the brain region, the serotonin in the prefrontal cortex allowed people to analyze the situation, while serotonin in the orbitofrontal cortex was related to assessing the delayed gratification. Improving your patience will benefit you and others.

Works Cited

Ayduk, e. a. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 776.

Bergland, C. (2018, June 1). The Neuroscience of Patience. Retrieved from psychologytoday.com: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201806/the-neuroscience-patience

Drake, K. (2020, December 5). Brain regions found where serotonin boosts patience, impulse control. Retrieved from medicalnewstoday.com: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/brain-regions-found-where-serotonin-boosts-patience-impulse-control

Miyazaki, K. e. (2018). Reward probability and timing uncertainty alter the effect of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons on patience. Nature Communications. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04496-y

Navidad, A. (2020, November 27). Marshmallow Test Experiment and Delayed Gratification. Retrieved from simplypsychology.org: https://www.simplypsychology.org/marshmallow-test.html

Neuroscientists Find Links Between Patience And Imagination In The Brain. (2017, April 4). Retrieved from scienceblog.com: https://scienceblog.com/493259/neuroscientists-find-links-patience-imagination-brain/

Newman, K. (2016, April 5). The Benefits of Being a Patient Person. Retrieved from mindful.org: https://www.mindful.org/the-benefits-of-being-a-patient-person/

Orloff, D. J. (2012, September 18). The Power of Patience. Retrieved from psychologytoday.com: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotional-freedom/201209/the-power-patience

Patience: Don't let frustration get the better of you. (2020, January). Retrieved from mindtools.com: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_78.htm

Ratledge, I. (2014, April 4). How to Have Patience Every Day. Retrieved from realsimple.com: https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/family/how-have-patience

Schalam, e. a. (2013). Preschoolers' delay of gratification predicts their body mass 30 years later. Journal of Pediatrics, 90-93.

Shoda, Y. e. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions. Developmental psychology, 978.