The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment was a series of experiments exploring delayed gratification in the 1960s and early 1970s.
The first study was conducted by Walter Mischel and Ebbe Ebbesen in 1960. In this study, children (aged four through six) were taken into a room empty of distractions. A treat of their choice, such as a marshmallow, was placed on a plate. They were told they could eat the treat right away but if they waited 15 minutes, they would get a second treat.
More than 600 children took part. A minority ate the treat right away while the rest tried to delay gratification. One-third made it all the way and won the second treat.
The experiment is fascinating in that it explores the concept of a present you and a future you. You say, on Tuesday, I’m going to exercise. Then Tuesday rolls around and you’d rather sit and play computer games, so that’s what you do. You say, I’ll exercise next Tuesday for sure, and you feel good about it. Then next Tuesday comes…
What’s interesting is researchers followed up on the children in 1990. On average, the children who delayed gratification showed better SAT scores. Another follow-up study involved brain scans of the children in middle-age, which showed their brains are structured differently.
Can’t wait to try this on my kids …
Here’s a video of Silvia Helena Barcellos describing why we tend to want instant gratification: