Comments on: Don’t Eat the Marshmallow

By: nick

nick — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:26:00 +0000

i’m surprised that they allowed the study videos to be placed online; i know with my own psychology experiments the privacy laws are very restrictive as to who is allowed to view the videotapes…especially with minors involved.

interesting study however; in my research we refer to delayed gratification as ‘telic hedonism’

By: Brandy

Brandy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:29:00 +0000

@ AMR — LMAO…priceless response :)

By: Chris Higgins

Chris Higgins — Fri, 29 May 2009 22:51:00 +0000

@Abena – they did have variants of the test with small toys and other stuff a kid might like; this is mentioned briefly in the source article. But I believe the rewards were all objects, rather than experiences or other such abstract rewards.

By: Abena

Abena — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:04:00 +0000

Does it have to be food? What if it were done with a different kind of reward, say a trip to a pool, or a more lasting prize? I mean, I know I would have eaten the marshmallow if the only result of not eating it would be another marshmallow (which actually wouldn’t have worked, as I wouldn’t eat them as a kid, but I digress). But if I had been promised something better than just more candy I would have held out. What does that say about me?

By: drHoward

drHoward — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:27:00 +0000

I am a child psychologist. I used to do the ADD test. I had a piece of candy just sitting on the corner of my desk. The kids who took the candy and vs the the kids who would ask. Bonus kids: The ones who asked if they could have it after it was in their mouth. I called them ADD.

By: AMR

AMR — Fri, 29 May 2009 03:42:00 +0000

I would eat my marshmallow and then flip the table and go, breaking down doors/any obstacles in my path, in search of more rooms with tables and marshmallows and kids wringing their hands.

By: swss

swss — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Funny, I was *just* talking to someone about this test. One of the things I remember is, that the kids who could delay gratification were successful regardless of IQ – and that this was seen as evidence of emotional intelligence.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:32:00 +0000

What does reading this while at work say about my ability to defer gratification?

By: Leah

Leah — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:35:00 +0000

K and Robert wouldn’t get the second treat.

By: Calli Arcale

Calli Arcale — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:57:00 +0000

Dudes, read the article before commenting. I’m not talking the article linked to — I mean the actual thing you’re responding to.

“The research also involved treats other than marshmallows â€” including small toys and other treats â€” presumably to control for kids who just donâ€™t like marshmallows.”

Having ADD, I’d probably have scored very poorly on the test. I also had a very high SAT. So be VERY cautious of applying this research to individuals. While probably broadly true across a large section of the populace, you will find enough people who don’t fit it that it would be foolish to use it to predict an individual person’s success in life.

Or, to put it another way, just because your kid grabbed the marshmallow doesn’t mean he’s going to be a low-achiever or a sociopath.