Marshmallow test

The secret of self-control.

The "marshmallow test" is a famous experiment for studying kids' self-control. For the first time, a psychologist gave the test to kids outside Western culture. And they crushed it.

The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960's and early 1970's led by psychologist Walter Mischel. Using children of ages four to six as subjects, they were led into a room where a treat (usually a marshmallow, but sometimes a cookie or pretzel stick), was placed on a table, by a chair. The children could eat the treat, the researchers said, but if they waited for fifteen minutes without giving in to the temptation, they would be…

It could be possible to ID at-risk children based on a single teacher's assessment.

The original "marshmallow test" was conducted by researchers at Stanford. This little social science exam is designed to measure a child's ability to delay gratification. If you want to see what your child's patience is like, the...

Affluence—not willpower—seems to be what’s behind some kids’ capacity to delay gratification.

I fished reading the book The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control Is the Engine of Success by Walter Mischel and wanted to make a note to myself. Are you only into immediate rewards or can you wait and reap twice what you could get now. A Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Daniel Kahneman (Thinking Fast and Slow) has a similar model of “fast” and “slow” thinking that has many parallels to what is described by Walter Mischel. Mischel describes two systems in the brain: "hot" (limbic)…

Picture yourself in a mall, staring at a very expensive product that you really, really want – maybe a piece of clothing from a high-end fashion designer, or a newly released gaming system.

It’s a classic test of self-control and discipline; The Marshmallow Test. Designed by Walter Mischel in the late 1960’s, children are given a marshmallow and told they can either eat it now or wait for a period of time and get two marshmallows to eat.

Have you ever wondered what makes some people more successful than others? Is it intelligence, talent, or just sheer luck? As it turns out, the answer might