The Marshmallow Torture Test

Sometimes it seems as though study psychologists enjoy watching kids squirm. They honestly devise an awful lot of creative ways to test their patience or annoy them to boot. One such example is the infamous marshmallow experiment (we prefer to think of it as the marshmallow torture test) conducted by researchers at Sanford University.

The team brought a group of preschool kids into a room and presented them with an ultimatum: they could have whether one marshmallow to eat right away, or, if they waited 15 minutes, they would be given two to eat when the researcher returned. The adult then left the room, leaving the marshmallow on the table and the kids to their own devices. The idea was to test the level of self-control in the youngsters.

Train Table For Kids

When it was all over and done with, about one-third of the kids ate the marshmallow right away, foregoing the long-term rewards in favor of immediate gratification. Around someone else one-third of the kids were able to wait the full fifteen minutes, and the rest broke down somewhere in-between, indulging in the sugary treat before the full 15 minutes was up. The team of psychologists then kept track of the kids, hunting them down again 14 years later. Here's where things honestly got interesting.

It turns out that the child's capability to control their impulses while this self-control test was a harbinger of things to come. Now as young adults, the ones in the first, most impulsive group had far more schoraly and communal difficulties than those in the other two groups. Likewise, the group who as children were able to wait the longest in order to win someone else marshmallow scored an average of 210 points higher on their Sat. It turns out that self-discipline and self-control are both important factors for success in many aspects of life.

Further study since then has only strengthened such findings. Also of good news to parents and educators: additional study has shown that self-control and delayed gratification is a skill that can be built and honed through practice, just like exercise builds muscle tone. Some kids start with a predisposition toward more of this to begin with, but those who lack it can bring their impulse control up to par through training.

Teachers and parents alike can turn this classic study into a fun experiment of their own that will both test a child's portion of self control as well as give them custom restraining their impulses.

The Classroom Experiment: In group time, give the kids a marshmallow before sitting down to read a story. The book should be a decent length, something that takes you 10-15 minutes to read through. Let them know that if they wait all the way to the end of the story to eat their marshmallow, you'll give them someone else one at the end. Turn it into a contest to see how many of them can honestly make it. At the end, have a argument about the experience:

*Did having to think about the marshmallow in front of you make it more difficult to join on the story?

*If some kids couldn't resist, ask them about why they ate their marshmallow when they did.

*Among those who lasted, ask them if it was difficult to keep from eating it, and how difficult it was.

*What did they think about or tell themselves to keep from eating it?

You may find that your kids in this performance do a whole lot good than the ones in the other experiment, likely due to a join of key differences. Here the children aren't alone in a room, (and sitting with at a table with nothing to do) but in a group, where communal pressure may well keep them in line. Yet it's still a inspiring task to any young child, and will work on impulse control. At the end of the experiment, keep true to your word, and offer a second marshmallow to those who have refrained. Any who didn't will of procedure be jealous and upset, but here's the beauty of it: this provides the excellent opportunity to try again. Tell them that you'll do this performance again the next day, and they'll have someone else opportunity to win two marshmallows the next time around. The whining should stop, and you'll have given them motivation to work on their impulse control.

The experience of not receiving a marshmallow when their peers did provides not only motivation, but it's a concrete example of impulsiveness having consequences. In the middle of the motivation to earn the bonus and the lesson that restraining one's impulses can payoff in the end, you may see a dramatic revising the next time around. If possible, continue the process until every child is able to wait through the story. As a reward, you can have a extra "marshmallow day" where they can eat their treats while the story, which is more fun anyway. And for those teachers whose whole class gets through the exercise the first time around: Congratulations, you reside over some studious wee students.

The Home Experiment: Track down a cheap alarm clock or stop watch, and set it for 15 minutes. Wait until a child is playing alone in their room, and walk in there with the clock and a bag of marshmallows. Take one out of the bag and hand it to them, and then set the click on a table or bed near them. Fill in your youngster that "we're going to play a wee game." Tell them that if they can keep from eating the marshmallow and wait until the alarm goes off, you'll give them one (or two) more if they come show you their uneaten marshmallow after the alarm sounds. Then, leave them to their own devices. If you want to give this experiment added kick, set up a secret video camera somewhere in their room beforehand. It can be fun to watch and see what kinds of struggles and temptations (if any) they have.

After the experiment is over, again, ask the same sort of questions: Did reasoning about the marshmallow make it more difficult to play? What kinds of things did they think about? Again, hold true to your word, rewarding them if they refrained and not rewarding them if they didn't. This experience will only serve to reinforce unhealthy principles if you don't bind to the rules. If they fuss, Fill in them that you'll try this again some other time, and that they'll have someone else opportunity to win the game.

Reference: 1. Y. Shoda, W.Mischel & P.R.Peake, "Predicting youthful cognitive and communal competence from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions." Developmental Psychology, 26, pp. 978-986, 1990

The Marshmallow Torture Test