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The Secret of the Second Marshmallow
Topic Started: Apr 6 2009, 09:04 AM (31 Views)
QuirtEvans
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I Owe It All To John D'Oh
One of the most famous experiments in modern psychology is the Stanford "Marshmallow Experiment", designed by researcher Walter Mischel to explore the validity of self-control and delayed gratification as a predictor of future success.

A group of four year old children were given a marshmallow and told they could have a second one if they would wait until the experimenter came back into the room. As the researchers monitored the progress of the children through adolescence and into adulthood, the children who had waited for the second marshmallow ("delayers") scored an average of 210 points higher on their SAT's than their more impetuous contemporaries ("grabbers"), and as they grew older they reported having more fulfilling relationships, higher self-esteem and more success in their careers.

The conclusion that Mischel and other researchers drew from these dramatic results was that there is indeed a direct link between our ability to delay gratification and our success and happiness in life. This is a conclusion that is borne out by the current economic situation, as many of our financial institutions have been brought to their knees by marshmallow grabbers in their own ranks offering a decade's worth of loans to marshmallow grabbing businessmen and homeowners around the world.

So if the ability to wait for the second marshmallow and delay our gratification is a key to success, how do we increase our self-control and self-mastery and even more importantly, how do we ensure our own children develop these traits?

The answer may be found in a second, lesser known experiment Mischel did just one year after the original "Marshmallow" study. Teaming up with self-efficacy expert Albert Bandura, Mischel devised an experiment to see whether self-control was a fixed trait or something which could be learned.

In this experiment, 4th and 5th grade "grabbers" were placed in a room with an adult role model who was able to delay gratification.

Here's how the results are described in the fascinating book Influencer by Kerry Patterson:

After a single exposure to an adult model, children who previously hadn't delayed suddenly became stars at delaying. Even more interesting, in follow-up studies conducted months later, the children who had learned to delay retained much of what they'd learned during the brief modeling session...

When Mischel took a closer look at individuals who routinely held out for the greater reward, he concluded that delayers are simply more skilled avoiding short-term temptations. They didn't merely avoid the temptation; they employed specific, learnable techniques that kept their attention off what would be merely short-term gratification and on their long-term goal of earning that second marshmallow.

In other words, self-control and willpower are not things that you have or don't have - they are skills which can be learned and developed. And the best way to teach them to others is simply to develop them in ourselves!

Today's Experiment:

1. Number a piece of paper or computer file from 1 to 100

2. Over the next week, deliberately choose to do things (or not do things) and then do them (or don't). Jot them down as you do them or at the end of the day.

Examples:


(meaning "I said I was going to write this tip and I did")


(meaning "I said I was going to have a vitamin this morning and I did")


(meaning "I said I was going to cut out dairy today and I did")

From experience, the keys to making this experiment work for yourself are to start small, monitor your progress (i.e. write it down!), and notice where you "failed" and where possible, put it right.
It would be unwise to underestimate what large groups of ill-informed people acting together can achieve. -- John D'Oh, January 14, 2010.
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