To investigate the influence of instructional behaviors and adult expectations on children's task performance, 48 boys either 5 to 6 or 8 to 9 years of age individually viewed instructional videotapes and participated in a delay of gratification task. In the first phase of the study, videotapes were produced in which instructors were told to communicate, in whatever manner desired, specified task rules to an absent target child. Target children were either labeled "patient" or assigned a task-irrelevant label concerning friendliness. In addition, instructors were told the approximate age of their target child. Instructors and a "jury" of 10 undergraduates were asked to predict target children's task performance. Finally, instructors' taped performances were assessed for variation along several dimensions. In the second phase, each child was shown one of the instructional videotapes, asked questions to assess comprehension of task rules, and administered the task. Subjects' classroom teachers were asked to predict performance. Among the findings were the following: (1) Older children instructed by adults expecting a patient viewer delayed gratification longer than did other children; (2) In general, older children understood rules more fully than did younger children; and (3) Adult expectations were more predictive of children's rule comprehension than they were of actual delay behavior. (Author/RH)