Children who were exposed to images of the treats waited almost twice as long as those who saw irrelevant images or no images on the lit screen, or those who were exposed to the actual treats. Importantly, the images had to be of the treats for which the child was waiting, not of similar goodies that were irrelevant to what the child had chosen. In sum, an image of the object of desire, not the tempting object itself, made it easiest to wait.
