The Marshmallow Test

The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a study on deferred gratification. The experiment was conducted in 1972 by psychologist Walter Mischel of Stanford University.The experiment has been repeated many times since, and the original study at Stanford has been "regarded as one of the most successful behavioural experiments". In the study, a marshmallow was offered to each child. If the child could resist eating the marshmallow, he was promised two instead of one. The scientists analyzed how long each child resisted the temptation of eating the marshmallow, and whether or not doing so had an effect on their future success.The results provided researchers with great insight on the psychology of self control.The original experiment took place at the Bing Nursery School using children around the age of four to six as subjects. The children were led into a room, empty of distractions, where a treat of their choice (Oreo cookie, marshmallow, or pretzel stick) was placed on a table, by a chair.The children could eat the marshmallow, the researchers said, but if they waited for fifteen minutes without giving in to the temptation, they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. Mischel observed as some would "cover their eyes with their hands or turn around so that they can't see the tray, others start kicking the desk, or tug on their pigtails, or stroke the marshmallow as if it were a tiny stuffed animal", while a few would simply eat the marshmallow as soon as the researchers left.

[edit]Results

While a few children would eat the marshmallow immediately, of the over 600 who took part in the experiment, one third could defer gratification long enough to get the second marshmallow. The experiment confirmed the hypothesis that age does determine the development of deferred gratification.It was the results of the follow-up study, that would take place many years later, which surprised Mischel. Since Mischel's daughters knew and grew up with many of the original test subjects, through casual conversation, Mischel discovered there existed an unexpected correlation between the results of the marshmallow test, and the success of the children many years later.The first follow-up study, in 1988, showed that "preschool children who delayed gratification longer in the self-imposed delay paradigm, were described more than 10 years later by their parents as adolescents who were significantly more competent". A second follow-up study, in 1990, showed that the ability to delay gratification also correlated with higher SAT scores.

(See summary on Wikipedia)

Zach and I had read about the Marshmallow study previously and decided to perform our own

little experiment with Gabe last night. We called it the "Marshmallow game" and explained the

rules to Gabe as we sat him down at the kitchen table by himself. He emphatically declared that

he was NOT going to eat the marshmallow; he was going to wait so he could get another one. We

left him there for 15 minutes with the camera rolling and all went into the back room so he could

be alone with his marshmallow. After the time was up we came out to discover that Gabe had

not eaten the marshmallow. We were pleased that he was able to hold out. Since this was

no Stanford experiment, he got more than just one marshmallow as a reward for being patient.Later that night

we watched the film of Gabe at the table and can I say, I was tired of just watching it after

5minutes. I feel as though Gabe may have gotten this propensity to delay gratification from his

father instead of me. There'snot too much to do besides sing "Itsy bitsy Spider" to yourself and stare into

the camera. Zach made the comment that it would be interesting to track these kids down to inspect

their religiosity, since religion is the ultimate test of delayed gratification. The big reward isn't

even promised in this life time,but the next. We'll see if Gabe's current ability translates into

future success. I suspect that it might, but who knows. He's a special kid. We plan on repeating

this experiment with our other two children when they get to be four years old. If any of you

decide to do this with your children I'd be interested in seeing how it turns out.