Friday, April 6, 2012

Marshmallow test

The marshmallow experiment was originally done by Walter Mischel at Stanford  in 1972 to study the ability to delay gratification.  Several people have done later studies replicating the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment.  Here are a couple of videos - pretty funny!  The first one has some extra religious commentary at the end.   I love the little girl that pushes the plate away.  She's trying to get that temptation out of sight!  Cute kids.






Jared and Owen participated in a marshmallow test for a local science fair project, done with 3-5 year olds.  They were offered a marshmallow and then told they would get another one if they could wait.  They were supposed to wait for 10 minutes.  I was surprised at the result.  Jared went first - he was back in less than a minute.  He didn't wait (he does have a really big sweet tooth).  Then Owen did the test.  He waited the full 10 minutes!  I expected it to be the opposite.  I didn't think Owen could sit and wait.  What was more impressive was that we had never before met the girl doing the experiment.  Also, I didn't go in the room with them.  So Owen sat in the home of a stranger, by himself, staring at a marshmallow for 10 minutes!  So, I guess the study is supposed to predict their ability to delay gratification and impulse control and success in the future.  Good for Owen if that's true, but what does that mean for Jared?

I'm curious what would happen if you changed the reward or if they had a friend with them.  Peer pressure?  Or maybe the friend would be a good example, "Wait.  Don't eat it yet!"    Hmmm... fun study.  I love these psychological tests.

1 comment:

Annie said...

Since it was on my mind, I already used this method this evening to practice delayed gratification. If you're not good at it, you have to practice right?

We have treat nights on Friday, so the boys were eager to have their ice cream. I said, "Do you want 1 scoop now or 2 scoops in 20 minutes?" They chose to wait for 2 scoops.