The term gratification comes from the Latin word gratificatio . The first meaning mentioned in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to the economic reward of a certain benefit .
A gratuity, in this sense, is money that is granted for the development of a service or the performance of a favor. For example: “The owner of the cat offers a bonus to whoever helps him find it,” “The company usually grants bonuses to workers who show commitment to the firm,” “The government analyzes the possibility of giving a bonus to the person who provide accurate information about the whereabouts of the victim.”
Gratification understood as a sum of money or a series of benefits in the business environment is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it encourages workers to strive to improve to achieve objectives efficiently, but it can also divert them from the goal. fundamental, which is simply doing their tasks correctly, to focus on obtaining a prize above all else, no matter what.
Going after a reward for our work is not always negative, but it can become an obsession that pushes us into an abyss of injustice. It is not wrong to pursue gratification as long as this makes us more responsible, because pleasure is an indispensable ingredient of happiness ; However, it must always be placed in a context in which we do not lose sight of the importance of the balance between effort and reward.
The idea of gratification can also be used in a broader way and refer to something material or symbolic that an individual obtains and that generates well-being or satisfaction . Generally, psychology considers that human beings act in search of gratification.
Instant gratification is experienced when satisfaction comes without delay in action . Delayed gratification , on the other hand, is a reward that is obtained after delay. Nowadays, it is often said that we live in the “culture of immediacy” , which privileges instant gratification and does not value delayed gratification (nor the effort that must be made to access it).
Suppose a young man receives money as a birthday gift. The boy has two options: immediately spend that money on outings with friends, something that would give him instant but ephemeral gratification, or open a bank account and deposit it to, some time later, collect interest on his investment , which would make him more money. than what they would have received, giving rise to what is known as delayed gratification .
From a social and cultural point of view, not only can we say that in recent decades human beings have been more inclined towards instant gratification than delayed gratification, but even these two concepts have taken on different forms, as customs and leisure alternatives were also evolving. For example, while before the arrival of the Internet, immediacy was more related to sexual promiscuity and the consumption of narcotic substances, today much of the instantaneous and ephemeral pleasure can be obtained on the Internet.
The fact that today it is no longer necessary to move from our seat to obtain instant gratification not only makes the meaning of this concept more appropriate than ever from a semantic point of view, but is truly worrying if we think that with the running Over the years we will have to work less and less to achieve our goals. How much less work can be asked of us than sitting or lying down touching a screen? Probably much less, and poorly applied technological advances will teach us this.