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Instant vs. Delayed Grati!cation |

Overview & Di"erences
Contributors: Jeremy Cook, Clio Stearns

Learn the de!nition of instant grati!cation and identify its

causes and examples. Read about the opposite of instant
grati!cation, known as delayed grati!cation.
Updated: 11/21/2023

Table of Contents

 What is Instant Grati!cation?

 Opposite of Instant Grati!cation

 Instant Grati!cation vs. Delayed Grati!cation

 Lesson Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

What does instant grati!cation mean?

Instant grati!cation is the immediate ful!llment
of a person's needs or desires. When someone
makes an impulsive choice to do something for
the instant feeling of pleasure or satisfaction,
they are receiving instant grati!cation.

What is an example of instant

grati!cation?
Instant grati!cation is the immediate desire to
feel satisfaction. When someone does something
and receives instant positive results, this is
considered instant grati!cation. An example
would be a person driving in their car and
hearing a commercial about a new "avor of
milkshake at a local fast-food chain. They
instantly head to the restaurant to purchase the
shake because it sounds good.

Why is instant grati!cation bad?

Instant grati!cation can have negative
consequences for several reasons. The impulsive
decision to immediately ful!ll a desire can lead
to making poor choices. The lack of planning and
thought can also lead to one not getting exactly
what is wanted or needed.

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What is Instant Grati!cation? 

Sitting down to watch a sporting event live on TV can
be a fun experience. Suddenly, a commercial appears
for a new electronic gadget, a fancy television, or
even a new type of drink. As soon as people see the
product, there is an instant feeling of desire and
wanting. They want that new television and they
want it now. Grati!cation is de!ned as receiving a
reward and the ful!llment of a need or desire.

Instant grati!cation is a strong urge to ful!ll a

desire instantaneously. If the person watching the
commercial gets up and goes to the store to
purchase the TV, they are ful!lling that instant
grati!cation. This can also be referred to as
immediate grati!cation. Companies design
commercials and advertising on the concept of
instant grati!cation. They know that people have
di$culty waiting. Some advertising even suggests
that waiting to purchase might result in the product
being unavailable. Other advertising will subtly
suggest how great it is to be one of the !rst to have
this new product. Regardless of the angle, instant
grati!cation is a major focal point for sellers.

But instant grati!cation isn't limited to buying new

things. Any circumstance where a person is unwilling
to wait for something that they !nd gratifying also
falls under the term. Those things could be hunger,
comfort, or sexual feelings.

Causes of Immediate Grati!cation

So what causes people to want something right
away? Certain factors play into instant grati!cation.
Some are conscious and others and hardwired into
our psyche. Most psychologists believe that humans
act based on a subconscious drive to ful!ll desires
and needs called the pleasure principle. The
pleasure principle is what drives human beings to
ful!ll their needs and desires. Whether the need is
water and shelter or a fancy handbag, humans feel
compelled to act as quickly as possible to satisfy their
needs and wants. But what are some of the
underlying causes of the pleasure principle? Why do
we have to have or do things now?

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Practice Quiz Course Info Video Only 42K views

Opposite of Instant Grati!cation 

If instant grati!cation is the immediate ful!llment of
a desire, what is the opposite? The answer is more
complex than it may seem. The opposite of instant
grati!cation is delayed grati!cation. Delayed
grati!cation is the resisting of the immediate
ful!llment of a desire in hopes of either increasing
ful!llment later or obtaining a better outcome.

Delayed grati!cation generally requires a conscious

choice to not act immediately. Let's look at two
examples that will better highlight the di%erence.

Delayed Grati!cation - A person goes to a car dealer

to purchase a new sports car. The dealer doesn't have
the color or model they want, but they do have a red
version of the premium model that is signi!cantly
more expensive. The person decides to leave their
name and number so the dealer can call them when
the model they want comes in. When the car arrives,
the payment, price, and model are exactly what they
want.

Instant Grati!cation (Unful!lled) - A person goes to a

car dealer to get a brand new red sports car. The
dealer doesn't have the color or model they want, but
they do have the red in the premium model that is
signi!cantly more expensive. The person decides to go
with the expensive model, but since it's much more
expensive, the bank won't !nance the car. They have
to leave their name and email with the dealer to be
contacted when the car they originally wanted comes
in.

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Instant Grati!cation vs. Delayed 

Grati!cation

Lesson Summary 

Video Transcript

Grati!cation

Have you been thinking about motivation, or what

causes and drives people to do things? There are so
many di%erent factors that motivate us, and it can be
confusing to try to disentangle them. One thing that
many theories of motivation share though, is a belief
in the importance of grati!cation, or a sense of
reward or gain that arises because of a behavior.

Grati!cation can sometimes be understood on a very

concrete level. For instance, a child who behaves
extremely well might be grati!ed concretely because
their parents compliment them, or even because
they receive some sort of material reward.

Grati!cation is not always so concrete, however.

Sometimes, grati!cation involves seeing someone
else experience a sense of joy or safety, and
sometimes it means seeing the end result of hard
labor. Whether talking about more concrete or
abstract grati!cation though, and whether the
grati!cation happens internally or comes from an
external source, it's important to understand that
grati!cation motivates much of what we do.

This lesson helps you understand the di%erence

between instant and delayed grati!cation, with an
eye toward making sense of how these distinctions
play out in motivation.

Instant Grati!cation

One kind of grati!cation that we hear a lot about is

instant grati!cation. This is grati!cation or reward
that occurs almost immediately after a particular act
is performed. Instant grati!cation can be extremely
motivating, especially for people that have trouble
waiting and need to see right away that their
behavior has a result. At the same time, instant
grati!cation can be deceptive, since it might call into
question the fact that long-term change has not in
fact occurred.

Let's look at an example that illustrates the bene!ts

and risks of instant grati!cation. Imagine a child who
refuses to clean her room. Her parents promise her
that if she cleans it, they will give her a piece of
bubble gum right away. The child is likely to be
motivated. She will clean her room and be instantly
grati!ed by the reward. The short-term goal has thus
been accomplished, and this is no small feat!

At the same time though, the child may learn that

she needs instant grati!cation in order to accomplish
this basic expectation. She may not learn the
behavioral patterns and relational rewards that
would come from having to wait.

Delayed Grati!cation

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