Marshmallow test

A 15-minute self-control test or how an uneaten candy leads to success. Marshmallow test.

Psychological experiment
In the 1960s, psychology Professor Walter Michel conducted an experiment with children from Stanford kindergarten to find out how much they can restrain their desires.

Children of age from 4 to 6 were brought to an empty room with a table and a chair. A treat (marshmallow) was placed on the table. The host explained to the child that if he restrained himself and did not eat the treat before the adult returned, he would get another one. The host left, and the child was left alone with the treat.

When the host explained to the children the rules for getting a second candy, almost all the children decided to wait. The researcher would then leave the room for 20 minutes.

While a few four-year-olds were able to resist the temptation for as long as 15 minutes, most gave up in less than one minute. When adults offered to cover the treat (on the principle of "out of sight – out of mind"), to make it easier to hold on, children usually refused.

Over the course of about a year, the children experienced dramatic changes in self-control. At the age of five or six, most preferred not to have rewards in front of them and persistently suppressed thoughts about them in accordance with a self-control strategy.

Continuation of the experiment

Psychologists continued to be interested in the further development and fate of children who passed the marshmallow test.

Subsequent research has shown that children who were able to hold back and not eat sweets at the age of 4 were ahead of their peers in many areas when they reached the age of 18: successful SAT (a standardized test for admission to higher education institutions in the United States) and high IQ tests. When comparing the SAT results of children with the shortest delaying time for a treat (the lower third) with the results of children with the longest delaying time (the upper third), the difference was 210 points.

In 2006, after completing the research, W. Mischel came to the conclusion that respondents who failed the test in childhood had a much higher level of stress, addiction, emotional and interpersonal problems on average than those who successfully passed it.

Young people aged 27-32 years who showed the greatest endurance during the marshmallow tests as preschoolers, had an optimal body mass index, achieved their goals more effectively and coped with stress more successfully. In middle age, those who were able to wait hard in childhood ("long delay") and those who could not do it ("short delay") had completely different brain scans in those areas (prefrontal cortex) that are responsible for addiction and obesity.

Self-control plays a crucial role in predicting long-term success and quality of life.

Mechanisms that provide self-control help you manage your emotions, fight bad habits, and tolerate stress more easily.

It seems that for those of us who found it difficult to resist candy as a child, it may be difficult to resist a cigarette as an adult.

The girl who was drawn to the candy has already grown up, now she feels a craving for her beloved and can't do anything about it. Divorce and separation plunges her into the abyss of negative emotions, from which she can not get out on her own, because she does not know how, she is not used to restrain herself.

Self-control is necessary for a schoolboy and a student sitting over textbooks. A ballerina who masters complex dance steps and follows a strict diet. Those who want to quit Smoking and lose extra pounds can not do without self-control.

Successful studies, a career, a happy family – all this requires many times to overcome your "Want" and realize your "Need".

If you want to conduct a Marshmallow test with your children

Experimental conditions:

Child's age is 4-7 years.

Environment: a room without entertainment or distractions, on the table – your child's favorite treat.

Explain to the child that he can eat a treat, but if he is patient and does not eat it before you arrive, he will get a second one. It is important that the child understands this condition and believes that he will receive the promised second treat.

How to evaluate the result?

If your child managed to hold on and wait for the "deferred reward", then congratulate him on good self-control for his age and yourself for having managed to instill this valuable quality.

And if you failed? If the marshmallow is bitten?!

Stay calm and optimistic. You are faced with the creative task of slowly and consistently developing the child's self-control. Teach him not to give in to his "Want", and fun and energetic to do what to do "Need to".

One of the best ways to teach another, especially a child, is to show by example.