I enjoyed the lecture very much, but I would like to see more data when those kids are in their 40's or even in their 60's. Sometimes an obedient responsible child that does everything that he's told to do can snap and break the rules. Being a student at the age of 18 is not a guarantee of being successful later in life.
Listen, i'm going to be honest, i am 12 years old and fortunate enough to buy me 4 things that changed my life. Even at 12 i learned much from my martial arts training such as self discipline, self control, sacrifice, loyalty, etc. The three others are "Don't eat the marshmallow...yet" and "Don't Gobble the Marshmallow...Ever!" and his third book my great parents or ordering for me to read. and to KGM i never get everything i want and i am thankful of that so your wrong.
REAL Free energy technology exists!But there are very powerfull forces that want to supress the technology,Check this free energy magnet motor at LT-MAGNET-MOTORdotCOM ,Start the revolution!
Check out this other version of "dont eat the marshmellow" it is funny it is don't eat the marshmellow until you are married making fun of abstinence only education, teaching abstinence is GREAT but as the only choice, that is not education
My parents always bought identical snacks for my brother and me. My brother would always ask me to share mine with him first, with the promise that he would share his with me late. Of course, he would then eat his in secret.
If we were in this experiment together, I'd end up eating half a marshmallow while he has two and a half.
I would have passed with flying colours, marshmallows always made me feel sick, now chocolate on the other hand, I would have failed, or maybe not because if there was the promise of double the chocolate, it's hard to say, I'll have to try it on my own kids.
"this applies to everything." this applies to children and marshmallows. A marshmallow is nothing but a marshmallow and it doesn't matter if you get two or one you're still going to want another and another and they're free and children know this. real gratification never comes from a man dealing you marshmallows with life lessons inside. gratification is something you make yourself, and yes, even kids know this.
Thats funny. But i would like to see some facts about the children and their parents. Like a home income. I think that most of the "succesful" kids probibly had parents with a higher income than the "unsuccesful". For two resons. Parents with a high paying job usually have more time to raise their kids. And they also have the money to put their children through college. Just a thought.
Sorry for the broken english. Its bin a while since iv'e used english.
True. But it's just a factor that is possibly more significant than at first thought maybe. So it's just an experiment that leads to certain results.
Succes or any goal in life are a product of many different factors. One out of place can be recovered by others, too many out of place can result in not achieving this goal.
@KGM2750 There are facts about what ur talking about but this Is more of an "emotional intelligence" experiment and those children that do wait longer have powerful implications for their future. low income homes and parental involvment do play roles on a child's behavior, however, It's a study that plays a huge role on children in the cognitive stage of development so that they can perform well in school, have self control,better relationships, and achive their goals.
@KGM2750 There are facts about what ur talking about but this Is more of an "emotional intelligence" experiment and those children that do wait longer have powerful implications for their future. low income homes and parental involvment do play roles on a child's behavior, however, It's a study that plays a huge role on children in the cognitive stage of development so that they can perform well in school, have self control,better relationships, and achive their goals.
@KGM2750 In fact, in the US, parents with a high paying job have almost no time to raise their kids. In my own experience, I had to work 60 to 80 hours a week to earn a good salary and then realized, nearly too late, that I was missing the best years of my children's lives and even my own life. The higher the salary, the more the company demands from you.
The one about the apple is a myth. Besides, the experimenter in that case witheld information about the consequences. Finally the experimenter knew what the results would be but tortured the people anyway - an awful being.
-5 for thinking the only variable in this experiment is the ability to delay gratification.
-5 for sample size
-5 for thinking you can assume a person is a success/failure at the age of 20.
-85 for everything else that is rediculous about this video...obviously stanford would set the bar of success as whether or not the 20 year old is in university, lol.
Hahahaha I agree with this. It shows who has better self discipline which is important in success but overall we do not know how successful these kids were. Plus this does not count for all humans. Such a bunch of crap
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
-5 for never offering more than one extra marshmallow. I'll bet if he had offered an entire bag, then more would have waited.
-5 for not offering roasted or any other form of marshmallow.
-73 for not rushing in to save the hyperventalating columbian girl.
-13 for carrying marshmallows in your pocket like a douche, and not in some sort of a container or ziplock bag, thereby preventing the children from ingesting some sort of harmful bacteria.
Maybe those who waited may not have liked Marshmallow "that" much, not that they would like to have another one. Maybe those who ate did not think they might actually get another (so enjoy it first) ... why should they trust someone? Delayed self-gratification may be a factor of success in anticipation for a future reward, but some kids may understand that the reward may never come ... especially if they had experiences with promises that were made BUT never fulfilled.
I question the base premise. I even doubt that delayed gratification is being measured here. Whats being measured here is how much the children submit to the authority of adults & follow rules without question. If you want to find the really succesful kids find the ones that ask the adults why they shouldnt have a marshmellow now in addition to the one promised later. Why is eating the marshmellow now considered bad and worth punishment?
I agree with you. He says the ones that could wait grew up to get A's in school, but they might be the students who get A's because they know what the teacher wants. Critical thinking is not encouraged in such situations, and therefore they may actually learn less. How is that success?
Conformity isn't being measured. If the kids were told "don't eat the marshmallow", this would be true. But the premise was "if you don't eat this, I will give you another one". There also is no punishment; simply a reward. If I said I'll give you 20 dollars in a week if you don't spend the 20 dollars I'm giving you now, is that punishment? Nah, it's just a measure of self control.
My though: maybe 1/3 kids just don't like marshmallows! (I don't).
if you want a kid to be a violent moron simply punish them a lot samesongtwice...
If you want to see the result of punishment visit a prison. It's society that has to pay for that teaching style in the form of massive authoritarian governments to continue the punishment after they reach 18.
If everybody had self control, why would we need so many police?
samesongtwice, children don't see the world as adults. You arent factoring in that children are taught to obey before they are taught self control. Their sense of self is barely formed independant of authority at the age of the testing. Conformity is definity whats being tested here.
Since when is anybody taught self control? And why is age a limiting factor for teaching this?If a dog can be taught self control by putting a biscuit on its nose and told to wait for a command to eat it, surely a child can also pick up the concept.
There is no conformity being practiced here. Conformity means doing what everybody else is doing; here we only have an exercise of will and self restraint, there is no authority figure telling the child DON'T EAT THE MARSHMALLOW.
A conditional statement is not a command. He's not saying "don't eat the marshmallow", he's saying "you can eat it if you want, but if you do not, there will be a reward for you if you restrain yourself."
A conditional statement is a command when there is little option in it for the child. What this kind of "restraint" is really teaching children is how to accept the rules authority posed to you for your entire life.
what do I mean by little option? the option of 1 or 2 marshmellows .. come on; this tests proves nothing ... these kids arn't stupid; they know they can get a full bag of marshmellows for like 20cent - so who cares? this is teaching kids to have very little options in life.
samesongtwice, you make my point for me... a dog isn't taught self-control, it is taught to obey until the master gives the command to eat. That dog then gobbles up the marshmellow ravenously & will do the same if another is pitched at it in a second. Thats order/command responce not delayed gratification. Conformity is definity whats being tested here.
Because it becomes an engrained part of who you are. While the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" isn't always correct - it is certainly true in most cases that teaching and old dog new tricks/habits is much harder than teaching them to a young dog.
The comments underneath this video are so asinine that they've compelled me to contemplate suicide. Self-discipline MAY have something to do with one's success??? Implying that mere children decide on their own, without any external influence, to get into martial arts??? Attempts at character assassination of the speaker ( WOW, angry much? ) ??? I could go on forever, but it's not worth it. Hopefully you people won't become psychologists... or reproduce.
If you go to radiolab you would find a podcast with much more information on the issue.
Is called Mischels Marshmallows
Posted: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:04:28 -0700
"Psychologist Walter Mischel explains how one little test involving a marshmallow might tell you a frightening amount about what kind of person you are. And Radio Lab favorite Jonah Lehrer helps us make sense of the results. This ones all about our will power (or lack thereof)."
The conclusion from this experiment is quite old. TED normally provides more cutting-edge information.
What was the great achievement of Mr. de Posada? He repeated the experiment in Colombia. Wow, I am impressed.
A minor detail that did not convince me, is his claim that 100% of those who delayed gratification were happy... I am not sure if there is an academic criteria to measure "happy"...
I remain critical of the causal relationship between the ability to delay gratification and such a highly subjective quality as success. It may be a factor, but it is far from being the only one as presented here.
do you mesure success on how well you do at school!!! The one that do well at school are the one that follow orders well without questioning anything.
I am curious to see if there is a correlation for children who learn martial arts at an early age, with the self discipline it takes not to eat the marsh mellow. I mean martial arts is considered by many to require and boost self discipline, so is this the same self discipline one uses to resist the temptation of instant gratification?
Yes. Voluntary suffering (or delaying gratification) with the purpose of improving oneself is the most important aspect of success imo. Martial arts is all about learning the state of mind that allows one to accept pain and discomfort as a natural part of growth.
This can be a mis-leading scientific experiment because there is no such a silver bullet to see future through a simple test. People can be naïve when they think about future. For example, even IQ or EQ test does not tell how much a person have creativities. If this is true, we should dump the kids ate the marshmallow. Some kids show some motivations in their earlier ages, some dont. Dont forget the key to success of human civilization is motivations and supports for kids.
Change the reward(not another marshmallon, some kids do not care of getting another marshmallon, but they do care video game, toy, doll, money, or their favorites, even punishment). The statistical number will change as well as. Dont be fool to ruin your kids future with this simple test. Motivations and supports for kids are the key to success of human civilization, not handling eating temptation.
Excellent experiment, but in order to make this experiment as a high-degree scientific search, those kids need to be tested with different subjects. Motivation of success will be different subjects to each human being. This is one tiny part of human interation with the world, not all. I can simply prove what can goes wrong with this test.
famous experiment! true true true. I wouldn't eat that marshmallow coming out of his pocket though yuck!
the brain is constantly weighting different impulses and rational goals. our instincts = entire niches and markets , porn, drugs, chocolate bars at the convenience store, most advertisement is taping in our 'weaknesses'. humans have to become more rational! I think delaying gratification can be independent from IQ. but it allows you to use it to its full potential. talent vs hard work
Actually i've read that "5 out of 6 WILL eat the marshmallow" ... missed "not". My mistake, but the way i thought of it was funnyer actually. Nevermind ... but i don't see how the jewish kids are so different from others on that age.
I bet that the people that did not eat marshmallows when they were kids not only delay their gratification but also delay marriage and having children. As the subsequence delayed-gratification people have lower fertility which may explain whey they constitute only third of population.
No. You're way off. I bet you ate the marshmallow, right? So would I though.... Anyways, the kids that were able to demonstrate discipline and will power and the ones that understand that if they wait just 15 minutes, they will get double the reward. They understand that not all things need to be rushed, and if you time things right, you will be happier and get a better reward/return/profit.
So, instead of getting pregnant at 16, they wait until their 25 and have a secure life and then do it.
I am aware of the benefits of the delayed gratification on all kind of success in life but this is not my point My point is that this kind of success does not seem to translate into reproductive success. If it did, we would see way more than 30% of the kids able to control their urges. While I agree with your logic the evidence does not.
Age 3 was when I learned the effect of saying "fuck you" to any adult who tried to test me. Can we please not test children for potential success. One, potential is a concept, and two, success is a matter of opinion. Sucess for me is cold water, is the rest not just bullshit? Fuck this guy.
i am also practicing delayed gratification to not get used to BONUS Points in the hopes to enjoy greater rewards in the long term in future!!!You'll have pie in the sky when you die
Yes experiments on kids in england have shown you can predict future educational success though i do wonder weather these kinds of people are easier to brainwash in simple obedience. ie corporate advertising and following a system what ever the consequence's.
but isnt that kind of greedy? U already have 1 marshmallow...why do u need 2? We worry about obesity all the time,greed,glutton...but yet we want the kids to wait for 1 more and 1 more again. Sure this study will show who will be "successful" in the future, if you can indeed measure success. But our country has been ran by these so called "successful" people since the beginning.
Greed,manipulation and self deprecation is the key.Sad but true.Whatever...
I have to say, I was very disappointed by this talk. This is a very well known study, I learned about it in high school and have seen many people discuss it. Isn't TED supposed to be about new ideas, not reading us an intro to psychology textbook?
Im not sure why theres great emphasize on gratification. Are 4 year olds, evolved enough to grasp the concept of time and in this case are they able to predict the future. Being able to extrapolate the consequences of actions into the future is key for survival. Most 4 year olds live in the now because they don't have the experience to predict the future.
funny vid but what does he mean by a "great" number of kids? ... he completely left out that databut happened to know that it was supposedly 100% of kids that didn't eat it were successfull happy and had a wonderful life but only a "great" number who did eat it were pimps and drug dealers? i don't know, doesn't really add up.
I wonder how many of the kids who immediately stuffed the marshmallow in their mouths grew up to become politicians?
Seriously though, I recall a university prof using this experiment as a counter-example, saying that it could just as easily be interpreted to measure a long list of traits, including the desire to please authority, independence, or even sugar addiction.
Also the definition of "success" is very subjective so the experiment simply reflects the values of the experimenter if he says that it "predicts future success". In my personal experience, every single "marshmallow glutton" I know is far happier and more prosperous than the "delayers". As a delayer myself, I sometimes envy the gluttons.
I agree, paulmercy, the conclusions aren't necessarily reliable. As a kid: I didn't like marshmellows (in fact I didn't like candy!). Also, in that situation, I would have been VERY obedient to authority. It would have been a MESS for me: I would have been tempted to eat the thing, so I wouldn't HAVE to eat the second one (authority seems to be demanding I eat at least 1). But then I'd be conflicted because I was told NOT to eat it. I might have just said my parents didn't allow me to eat candy.
Those are great points, GetMeThere1. I showed this to a friend who comes from a large family and she said that if you didn't eat the first marshmallow when you had the chance, it would probably be taken away by an older sibling. I've noticed that she has a strong "carpe diem" approach to life in general.
But as others have mentioned, it is pretty funny and cute to see these kids weigh the options!
im not sure if ur agreeing with me? while your comment IS true, i think it misses the point. there is no inherent value in delayed gratification. it is not something that has a use (usually.) self discipline is useful however, and is a skill we should all work hard to develop. delaying gratification is just an consequence of discipline
1) How can we TEACH kids about the strategy of delayed gratification?
2) IS delayed gratification REALLY always the best strategy? In this case, in fact, ONE marshmellow IS better than two--since it's actually shit food. Maybe a simple, spontaneous, guilt-free and simple pleasure now IS better than "greed" for more marshmellows...
3) The broader lesson: one's FEELINGS and DESIRES don't always jibe well with reality.
patterns of activity are practiced since birth, in the way parents and other people things or animals respond to the new consciousness's actions - -its doign the same activity inbirth that we do now, trying to figure out patterns and see how its actions affect what is happening to it.
these patterns begin early and shape the brain's operating system with lists of possible responses to situations (internal and external).
@tyrannicoystercult: Yeah. And such patterns work very well for living in the selective environment in which they developed--and considerably less so in modern society. Delayed gratification, for example, is one that would probably be much less important on the savanna, and considerably more important in modern culture.
BEST in modern culture is to free ourselves from reactive, patterned behavior and instead make truly rational decisions on things. THAT would be a great lesson for children.
I would have eaten the marshmallow, and replaced it sneakily with something else that looked like a marshmallow (like a rolled up tissue maybe). I would then have insisted that I didn't eat it.
We Americans ARE eating more marshmallows than we are producing. We need to think about stabilizing our economy and bringing industry back to THIS country instead of importing everything. Americans need jobs!
I personally do not think its bullshit. I think its very logical. The kids that were able to show self restraint became successful. It shows that self restraint is a key factor to become successful.
rewards are given to those who meet specific criteria, all this experiment does is prove that such a system exists, whereas the intent is to point at some inherent superiority of those 1/3 of children.
Perhaps in the book he shows how they correct for other correlating factors: perhpas the kids do not trust the authority figure and do not believe another marshmellow will be given, or they might not want another marshmellow (one is enough). There could be dozen of other correlating factors besides a self-displine issue.
I guess I am saying that the conclusion seems too clean without addressing other potential relationships.
LOL I always smell my food. I Totally feel what that little girl was going through. The point of his talk could of been put on one slide shown then walked off stage. But I did enjoy those kids being tempted
What if a child with no self discipline is taught self discipline? Will that child have the same chances at success in life as those who were naturally born disciplined?
Then again, are children even predisposed to being discipline or not? Environment and how the child is raised play a major role, do they not? So I guess I just answered my own query. Discipline can be taught.
Right, but I've never seen anyone try this experiment and add that dimension. If you took half the kids who ate the marshmallow and trained them to delay gratification, would they turn out like the ones who waited or the ones who didn't?
It's not genetic, so 'yes' to the former. I don't understand what reasoning people could possibly use to conclude that the children who resist are genetically predisposed to having a higher level of dignity than the others.
Is a combination of nature and nurture. Genetics only predispose behavior and culture reinforces that behavior or not. So the question is not if it is genetics or not but rather how much does genetics influence that particular behavior.
Btw, the kids that were thought a strategy to avoid thinking on the marshmallows did pretty well in delaying gratification on later tests.
There are very few today that still holds on to the tabula rasa argument as you are doing. I think is a rather simplistic argument, human behavior is a complex interaction between nature and nurture.
Language is an emergent property came forth through evolutionary pressure. But it doesn't mean that language arises without cultural imput, of course not, saying that would be as simplistic as your statement.
At 4 or 5 years old I know for a fact that I would have eaten half of it and took my chances of getting nothing after the time or getting an extra half. And my life is a complete failure.
Exactly. Not only did he write the book about it, he also gave a talk on TED a few months ago called " Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time." It would be nice if this Posada would give credit to the man, instead of just referring him as "a professor."
I think alot of people here are confused about what delayed pleasure is.
In terms of success, it is the people who plan ahead, discipline themselves or can simply just stop and think about the situation before acting. Those who can do these things are the ones who display delayed pleasure and, consequently, have a better chance at success in life.
I enjoyed the lecture very much, but I would like to see more data when those kids are in their 40's or even in their 60's. Sometimes an obedient responsible child that does everything that he's told to do can snap and break the rules. Being a student at the age of 18 is not a guarantee of being successful later in life.
lisasim 7 months ago
Cool video AND very funny :)
OctBlue24 9 months ago
23 people ate the marshmallow
technoditz 10 months ago 2
Listen, i'm going to be honest, i am 12 years old and fortunate enough to buy me 4 things that changed my life. Even at 12 i learned much from my martial arts training such as self discipline, self control, sacrifice, loyalty, etc. The three others are "Don't eat the marshmallow...yet" and "Don't Gobble the Marshmallow...Ever!" and his third book my great parents or ordering for me to read. and to KGM i never get everything i want and i am thankful of that so your wrong.
Thanks Mr. Posada =)
greendaywoowoo 11 months ago 3
I NEVER ATE MARSHMALLOWS WHEN I WAS SMALL AND I MY PARENTS DID HAVE MONEY LIKE THAT SO HOW IM DOING TO Ba.
nannystarr 1 year ago
I NEVER ATE MARSHMALLOWS WHEN I WAS SMALL AND I MY PARENTS DID HAVE MONEY LIKE THAT
nannystarr 1 year ago
i hate marshmallow young and now haha lol ewww
lyndalinda23 1 year ago
Perhaps they just wanted to eat one marshmallow then get on with their lives.
WispierTetrahedrons 1 year ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
REAL Free energy technology exists!But there are very powerfull forces that want to supress the technology,Check this free energy magnet motor at LT-MAGNET-MOTORdotCOM ,Start the revolution!
robwilli4546 1 year ago
Joachim Posada estara con nosotros el Octubre 23, 2010 at Doral Park Country club para mas informacion 305 600 9045
nicola037 1 year ago
The girl sniffing the marshmallow might be a dishonest financial person.
QuintonHobdy 1 year ago
love this! Hope to be able to exercise some self-discipline myself :P
sannymilk 1 year ago
i think i ate the marshmallow right away when i was a kid...
orangepeelpeel 1 year ago
that girl is like huffing the marshmallow. hilarious
cocoricecrispies409 1 year ago
Very funny -- deferred fatification
urielstud 1 year ago
God would have eaten it.
alabamabregan 1 year ago
this could help parents in parenting actually.
it'd tell you what your child is lacking and not :D
Utsusemi 2 years ago
this is cruel :)
it's ignoring too many variables such as prior parental guidance
Utsusemi 2 years ago
@Utsusemi Ur missing the point of the video.
QuintonHobdy 1 year ago
What is the vocal performance at the end of this video? I'd like the whole thing = ]
audiowiz 2 years ago
Bryan and Gabriela ,I want share this video with you.;Think about it.;....
LUXOR0902 2 years ago
OOOOPS i SPELLED IT WRONG, anyways come see the OTHER VERSION OF the marshmallow video, it is Funny!
Mesheekah 2 years ago
Check out this other version of "dont eat the marshmellow" it is funny it is don't eat the marshmellow until you are married making fun of abstinence only education, teaching abstinence is GREAT but as the only choice, that is not education
Mesheekah 2 years ago
What's with the trippy stuff at the end?
VCat2006 2 years ago
My parents always bought identical snacks for my brother and me. My brother would always ask me to share mine with him first, with the promise that he would share his with me late. Of course, he would then eat his in secret.
If we were in this experiment together, I'd end up eating half a marshmallow while he has two and a half.
CilantroHater 2 years ago 5
I would have passed with flying colours, marshmallows always made me feel sick, now chocolate on the other hand, I would have failed, or maybe not because if there was the promise of double the chocolate, it's hard to say, I'll have to try it on my own kids.
SleepingGiantsSister 2 years ago
that little chica huffing her marshmallow around 4 min. was pretty funny
1970WasntAllBad 2 years ago 2
YEAH
Yamakashi1 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
what a load of bogus. This has nothing to do with real scientific research.
kb1629 2 years ago
"this applies to everything." this applies to children and marshmallows. A marshmallow is nothing but a marshmallow and it doesn't matter if you get two or one you're still going to want another and another and they're free and children know this. real gratification never comes from a man dealing you marshmallows with life lessons inside. gratification is something you make yourself, and yes, even kids know this.
HHayes88 2 years ago
LOL love the video. and great scientific study!
dchokee 2 years ago
Wish those sharks in the Wall Street had learned this wisdom before the economy collapsed.
cheetahamigo 2 years ago 15
It's not too late to educate those Wall Street Sharks. Just don't use their brand of money, and don't do business with anyone else who does.
Sure, this will take time, but that is what "delayed gratification" is all about.
grooviant 2 years ago
@cheetahamigo They did, they bet against the economy and made lots of money and you pay the bill.
Mishkafofer 1 year ago
Thats funny. But i would like to see some facts about the children and their parents. Like a home income. I think that most of the "succesful" kids probibly had parents with a higher income than the "unsuccesful". For two resons. Parents with a high paying job usually have more time to raise their kids. And they also have the money to put their children through college. Just a thought.
Sorry for the broken english. Its bin a while since iv'e used english.
KGM2750 2 years ago 7
True. But it's just a factor that is possibly more significant than at first thought maybe. So it's just an experiment that leads to certain results.
Succes or any goal in life are a product of many different factors. One out of place can be recovered by others, too many out of place can result in not achieving this goal.
Brain0damaged 2 years ago
@KGM2750 There are facts about what ur talking about but this Is more of an "emotional intelligence" experiment and those children that do wait longer have powerful implications for their future. low income homes and parental involvment do play roles on a child's behavior, however, It's a study that plays a huge role on children in the cognitive stage of development so that they can perform well in school, have self control,better relationships, and achive their goals.
ann7772005 11 months ago
@KGM2750 There are facts about what ur talking about but this Is more of an "emotional intelligence" experiment and those children that do wait longer have powerful implications for their future. low income homes and parental involvment do play roles on a child's behavior, however, It's a study that plays a huge role on children in the cognitive stage of development so that they can perform well in school, have self control,better relationships, and achive their goals.
ann7772005 11 months ago
@KGM2750 In fact, in the US, parents with a high paying job have almost no time to raise their kids. In my own experience, I had to work 60 to 80 hours a week to earn a good salary and then realized, nearly too late, that I was missing the best years of my children's lives and even my own life. The higher the salary, the more the company demands from you.
Liffster 9 months ago
Fantastic!
zemers 2 years ago
"would hispanic kids react the same way as the american kids"
what?
tinygirl505 2 years ago
Follow them at 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70. Repeat at 84.
alabamabregan 2 years ago 2
I cant help thinking of another case....The very ancient one that uses an APPLE instead of the marshmallow.
Divag30 2 years ago 2
The one about the apple is a myth. Besides, the experimenter in that case witheld information about the consequences. Finally the experimenter knew what the results would be but tortured the people anyway - an awful being.
farvision 2 years ago 4
I bet that colombia girl is going 2 be a coke addict
MariZZ10 2 years ago 3
I usually read comments before I watch the videos. Thanks for this comment, It made me laugh so much harder!! Keep her away from the glue! LMAO!
ChristopherAtheist 2 years ago 2
Well, there are more coke consumers in the US and in Europe than in Colombia.
askani79 2 years ago
Jesus said lead us not into temptation
whether its one or two marshmalows
who wants marshmalows now?
hahhahhahha
philotaaveti 2 years ago
-5 for thinking the only variable in this experiment is the ability to delay gratification.
-5 for sample size
-5 for thinking you can assume a person is a success/failure at the age of 20.
-85 for everything else that is rediculous about this video...obviously stanford would set the bar of success as whether or not the 20 year old is in university, lol.
sixpackspy 2 years ago 3
Hahahaha I agree with this. It shows who has better self discipline which is important in success but overall we do not know how successful these kids were. Plus this does not count for all humans. Such a bunch of crap
Reido2828 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
-5 for never offering more than one extra marshmallow. I'll bet if he had offered an entire bag, then more would have waited.
-5 for not offering roasted or any other form of marshmallow.
-73 for not rushing in to save the hyperventalating columbian girl.
-13 for carrying marshmallows in your pocket like a douche, and not in some sort of a container or ziplock bag, thereby preventing the children from ingesting some sort of harmful bacteria.
ChristopherAtheist 2 years ago
LOL!
tarantulady 2 years ago
This was in Scientific American Mind, I think. interesting, but not exactly groundbreaking.
homermoo 2 years ago
Although I commented on this before, I can only repeat that I am not impressed by the presentation.
The guy was proud to have repeated a Stanford experiment in Colombia. How cheap is that? This was one of the weaker presentations on TED.
markus310773 2 years ago
Maybe those who waited may not have liked Marshmallow "that" much, not that they would like to have another one. Maybe those who ate did not think they might actually get another (so enjoy it first) ... why should they trust someone? Delayed self-gratification may be a factor of success in anticipation for a future reward, but some kids may understand that the reward may never come ... especially if they had experiences with promises that were made BUT never fulfilled.
myofficetv 2 years ago
2 out of 3 of us are loser?
RoyalHim 2 years ago
"All things come to those who wait".
That is essentially the message of this experiment which does not seem to be anything new.
VoiceDissent 2 years ago
It was new - 40 years ago - because it hadn't been scientifically proven before.
telrumeida 2 years ago
I question the base premise. I even doubt that delayed gratification is being measured here. Whats being measured here is how much the children submit to the authority of adults & follow rules without question. If you want to find the really succesful kids find the ones that ask the adults why they shouldnt have a marshmellow now in addition to the one promised later. Why is eating the marshmellow now considered bad and worth punishment?
BabetteBombshell 2 years ago
I agree with you. He says the ones that could wait grew up to get A's in school, but they might be the students who get A's because they know what the teacher wants. Critical thinking is not encouraged in such situations, and therefore they may actually learn less. How is that success?
palealienandroid 2 years ago
Conformity isn't being measured. If the kids were told "don't eat the marshmallow", this would be true. But the premise was "if you don't eat this, I will give you another one". There also is no punishment; simply a reward. If I said I'll give you 20 dollars in a week if you don't spend the 20 dollars I'm giving you now, is that punishment? Nah, it's just a measure of self control.
My though: maybe 1/3 kids just don't like marshmallows! (I don't).
samesongtwice 2 years ago
if you want a kid to be a violent moron simply punish them a lot samesongtwice...
If you want to see the result of punishment visit a prison. It's society that has to pay for that teaching style in the form of massive authoritarian governments to continue the punishment after they reach 18.
If everybody had self control, why would we need so many police?
abram730 2 years ago
Well according to this study, everybody DOESN'T have self control; only about 1 in 3 do ;)
samesongtwice 2 years ago
samesongtwice, children don't see the world as adults. You arent factoring in that children are taught to obey before they are taught self control. Their sense of self is barely formed independant of authority at the age of the testing. Conformity is definity whats being tested here.
BabetteBombshell 2 years ago
Since when is anybody taught self control? And why is age a limiting factor for teaching this?If a dog can be taught self control by putting a biscuit on its nose and told to wait for a command to eat it, surely a child can also pick up the concept.
There is no conformity being practiced here. Conformity means doing what everybody else is doing; here we only have an exercise of will and self restraint, there is no authority figure telling the child DON'T EAT THE MARSHMALLOW.
samesongtwice 2 years ago
of course there is an authority figure telling the child not to eat the Marshmallow...
Authority figure - The Adult saying to the child 'if you don't eat it .. you get another one ...'
that is basically the adult saying DON'T EAT THE MARSHMALLOW
SebastianGeffen 2 years ago
A conditional statement is not a command. He's not saying "don't eat the marshmallow", he's saying "you can eat it if you want, but if you do not, there will be a reward for you if you restrain yourself."
samesongtwice 2 years ago 2
A conditional statement is a command when there is little option in it for the child. What this kind of "restraint" is really teaching children is how to accept the rules authority posed to you for your entire life.
what do I mean by little option? the option of 1 or 2 marshmellows .. come on; this tests proves nothing ... these kids arn't stupid; they know they can get a full bag of marshmellows for like 20cent - so who cares? this is teaching kids to have very little options in life.
SebastianGeffen 2 years ago
samesongtwice, you make my point for me... a dog isn't taught self-control, it is taught to obey until the master gives the command to eat. That dog then gobbles up the marshmellow ravenously & will do the same if another is pitched at it in a second. Thats order/command responce not delayed gratification. Conformity is definity whats being tested here.
BabetteBombshell 2 years ago
Because it becomes an engrained part of who you are. While the phrase "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" isn't always correct - it is certainly true in most cases that teaching and old dog new tricks/habits is much harder than teaching them to a young dog.
david0aloha 2 years ago
People, nominate Jacque Fresco for TED Talks!
thevenusproject (dot) com/jacque-fresco/resume
Boolze 2 years ago
The comments underneath this video are so asinine that they've compelled me to contemplate suicide. Self-discipline MAY have something to do with one's success??? Implying that mere children decide on their own, without any external influence, to get into martial arts??? Attempts at character assassination of the speaker ( WOW, angry much? ) ??? I could go on forever, but it's not worth it. Hopefully you people won't become psychologists... or reproduce.
regresseur 2 years ago
If you go to radiolab you would find a podcast with much more information on the issue.
Is called Mischels Marshmallows
Posted: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:04:28 -0700
"Psychologist Walter Mischel explains how one little test involving a marshmallow might tell you a frightening amount about what kind of person you are. And Radio Lab favorite Jonah Lehrer helps us make sense of the results. This ones all about our will power (or lack thereof)."
magua73 2 years ago
(Please excuse my spelling mistakes. Should have read my remarks before posting them.)
markus310773 2 years ago
cont'd
Many rich people delay gratification. Many rich people I know do this to the extreme of being really, really stingy.
I doubt that they are always that happy.
I personally believe one has to find an appropriate, personaly equilibrium in order to be "happy".
markus310773 2 years ago
The conclusion from this experiment is quite old. TED normally provides more cutting-edge information.
What was the great achievement of Mr. de Posada? He repeated the experiment in Colombia. Wow, I am impressed.
A minor detail that did not convince me, is his claim that 100% of those who delayed gratification were happy... I am not sure if there is an academic criteria to measure "happy"...
markus310773 2 years ago
I remain critical of the causal relationship between the ability to delay gratification and such a highly subjective quality as success. It may be a factor, but it is far from being the only one as presented here.
RationalEmotive 2 years ago 3
do you mesure success on how well you do at school!!! The one that do well at school are the one that follow orders well without questioning anything.
RibbitAfterMe 2 years ago
@RibbitAfterMe
great point ... I'm very sceptical of that kind of success too.
semiliteratedgod 2 years ago
I am curious to see if there is a correlation for children who learn martial arts at an early age, with the self discipline it takes not to eat the marsh mellow. I mean martial arts is considered by many to require and boost self discipline, so is this the same self discipline one uses to resist the temptation of instant gratification?
andiconda3 2 years ago
Yes. Voluntary suffering (or delaying gratification) with the purpose of improving oneself is the most important aspect of success imo. Martial arts is all about learning the state of mind that allows one to accept pain and discomfort as a natural part of growth.
rileyo629 2 years ago
Comment removed
MinhonYT 2 years ago
This can be a mis-leading scientific experiment because there is no such a silver bullet to see future through a simple test. People can be naïve when they think about future. For example, even IQ or EQ test does not tell how much a person have creativities. If this is true, we should dump the kids ate the marshmallow. Some kids show some motivations in their earlier ages, some dont. Dont forget the key to success of human civilization is motivations and supports for kids.
Dreamrio 2 years ago 4
Change the reward(not another marshmallon, some kids do not care of getting another marshmallon, but they do care video game, toy, doll, money, or their favorites, even punishment). The statistical number will change as well as. Dont be fool to ruin your kids future with this simple test. Motivations and supports for kids are the key to success of human civilization, not handling eating temptation.
Dreamrio 2 years ago
Excellent experiment, but in order to make this experiment as a high-degree scientific search, those kids need to be tested with different subjects. Motivation of success will be different subjects to each human being. This is one tiny part of human interation with the world, not all. I can simply prove what can goes wrong with this test.
Dreamrio 2 years ago
is this guy certain that it's something kids can learn?
Because it's possible it's just something INNATE.
They should do this same study, but concentrating on kids who are related by blood.
roidroid 2 years ago
Slashdotted
StarFur 2 years ago
u can find the music in clown town
DavidTheSilencer 2 years ago
Brilliant talk, COOL ANIMATION!
What is it called? Anyone know where I can get the music?
colinlikeschapstick 2 years ago
Where can you get the music? In HELL!
lightspeedius 2 years ago
The kids were adorable.
cutecavity 2 years ago
there are qualities or values that if not tough at an early age can make an individual`s life more difficult. This experiment teaches "Patience"
and Self-Control. two qualities that are needed when setting goals in life.
Thanks for posting It !
sarrazinmars 2 years ago
famous experiment! true true true. I wouldn't eat that marshmallow coming out of his pocket though yuck!
the brain is constantly weighting different impulses and rational goals. our instincts = entire niches and markets , porn, drugs, chocolate bars at the convenience store, most advertisement is taping in our 'weaknesses'. humans have to become more rational! I think delaying gratification can be independent from IQ. but it allows you to use it to its full potential. talent vs hard work
Animalll2003lll 2 years ago
hahaha my 5 year old would have eaten it before the terms of agreement!
Shigren 2 years ago
wow i loved that little animation at the end
CJAM16 2 years ago
hehe I want to find out about that super smart griffter kid when she grows up!
ratholin 2 years ago
Haha :))) Eureka! :)
It's called _WILL_POWER_, dumbass... of course, it's a predictor of success.
CeBePuH 2 years ago
try this on jewish kids. i bet 5 out of 6 will not eat the marshmallow.
1schwererziehbar1 2 years ago
a bit racist but still nice
HecKaTorN 2 years ago
racist? why?
Animalll2003lll 2 years ago
Actually i've read that "5 out of 6 WILL eat the marshmallow" ... missed "not". My mistake, but the way i thought of it was funnyer actually. Nevermind ... but i don't see how the jewish kids are so different from others on that age.
HecKaTorN 2 years ago
are you answering me?? what jewish kids?
Animalll2003lll 2 years ago
what if the professor hadn't given them the second marshmallow, and taken the first marshmallow away?
1schwererziehbar1 2 years ago
I bet that the people that did not eat marshmallows when they were kids not only delay their gratification but also delay marriage and having children. As the subsequence delayed-gratification people have lower fertility which may explain whey they constitute only third of population.
igorkrupitsky 2 years ago
No. You're way off. I bet you ate the marshmallow, right? So would I though.... Anyways, the kids that were able to demonstrate discipline and will power and the ones that understand that if they wait just 15 minutes, they will get double the reward. They understand that not all things need to be rushed, and if you time things right, you will be happier and get a better reward/return/profit.
So, instead of getting pregnant at 16, they wait until their 25 and have a secure life and then do it.
apocaRUFF 2 years ago
apocaRUFF,
I am aware of the benefits of the delayed gratification on all kind of success in life but this is not my point My point is that this kind of success does not seem to translate into reproductive success. If it did, we would see way more than 30% of the kids able to control their urges. While I agree with your logic the evidence does not.
igorkrupitsky 2 years ago
Amazing how much you can learn from marshmallows.
ErichoTTA 2 years ago
Age 3 was when I learned the effect of saying "fuck you" to any adult who tried to test me. Can we please not test children for potential success. One, potential is a concept, and two, success is a matter of opinion. Sucess for me is cold water, is the rest not just bullshit? Fuck this guy.
calumlittle 2 years ago
do this with weed....like do your work and smoke weed a lot on the weekends...it feels soooo good...after a hard weeks work!
BallinTrollin 2 years ago
i am also practicing delayed gratification to not get used to BONUS Points in the hopes to enjoy greater rewards in the long term in future!!!You'll have pie in the sky when you die
peygham333 2 years ago
They sooo cuuuuuuuute!!!!
ChameleonDave 2 years ago
Those kids were adorable :D
ElDeclan 2 years ago
Yes experiments on kids in england have shown you can predict future educational success though i do wonder weather these kinds of people are easier to brainwash in simple obedience. ie corporate advertising and following a system what ever the consequence's.
womblefree 2 years ago
What do you do if while you're waiting, the adult gives your marshmallow to someone else who already ate theirs? That's the U.S. reality.
crreativeme 2 years ago
very true lol
TimeLord6646 2 years ago
but isnt that kind of greedy? U already have 1 marshmallow...why do u need 2? We worry about obesity all the time,greed,glutton...but yet we want the kids to wait for 1 more and 1 more again. Sure this study will show who will be "successful" in the future, if you can indeed measure success. But our country has been ran by these so called "successful" people since the beginning.
Greed,manipulation and self deprecation is the key.Sad but true.Whatever...
Jelloxox 2 years ago
I have to say, I was very disappointed by this talk. This is a very well known study, I learned about it in high school and have seen many people discuss it. Isn't TED supposed to be about new ideas, not reading us an intro to psychology textbook?
Cannibalzz 2 years ago
what did he say about koreans? columbians? at the end of his talk??
lepipep 2 years ago
koreans to this experiment massive scale on something like that
cosy18 2 years ago
someone in ted already did this talk.. why is he doing it agian?
kengyan16291 2 years ago
Somebody have to eat the marshmallows.
brunodemoura 2 years ago 2
Im not sure why theres great emphasize on gratification. Are 4 year olds, evolved enough to grasp the concept of time and in this case are they able to predict the future. Being able to extrapolate the consequences of actions into the future is key for survival. Most 4 year olds live in the now because they don't have the experience to predict the future.
Singul4r1ty 2 years ago
Stop nitpicking. The core message holds.
humanist7117 2 years ago
funny vid but what does he mean by a "great" number of kids? ... he completely left out that databut happened to know that it was supposedly 100% of kids that didn't eat it were successfull happy and had a wonderful life but only a "great" number who did eat it were pimps and drug dealers? i don't know, doesn't really add up.
cut kids tho.
TheLesbianMafia 2 years ago
you eat the marshmallow didn't you?
fortunate101 2 years ago
awe shux ... couldn't help it!
TheLesbianMafia 2 years ago
I wonder how many of the kids who immediately stuffed the marshmallow in their mouths grew up to become politicians?
Seriously though, I recall a university prof using this experiment as a counter-example, saying that it could just as easily be interpreted to measure a long list of traits, including the desire to please authority, independence, or even sugar addiction.
paulmercy 2 years ago 2
Also the definition of "success" is very subjective so the experiment simply reflects the values of the experimenter if he says that it "predicts future success". In my personal experience, every single "marshmallow glutton" I know is far happier and more prosperous than the "delayers". As a delayer myself, I sometimes envy the gluttons.
paulmercy 2 years ago
I agree, paulmercy, the conclusions aren't necessarily reliable. As a kid: I didn't like marshmellows (in fact I didn't like candy!). Also, in that situation, I would have been VERY obedient to authority. It would have been a MESS for me: I would have been tempted to eat the thing, so I wouldn't HAVE to eat the second one (authority seems to be demanding I eat at least 1). But then I'd be conflicted because I was told NOT to eat it. I might have just said my parents didn't allow me to eat candy.
GetMeThere1 2 years ago
Those are great points, GetMeThere1. I showed this to a friend who comes from a large family and she said that if you didn't eat the first marshmallow when you had the chance, it would probably be taken away by an older sibling. I've noticed that she has a strong "carpe diem" approach to life in general.
But as others have mentioned, it is pretty funny and cute to see these kids weigh the options!
paulmercy 2 years ago
Typically, one gives the child a choice of which treat he or she wants.
LKBM 2 years ago
i guess the promise of something to come is always a factor in your head. always waiting..waiting..waiting some more, will it come? maybe eventually
MDSguy 2 years ago
i dont think delayed gratification is the key so much as self discipline
sacapiloa 2 years ago
it takes self discipline to be able to delay gratification
JohnDCrawford 2 years ago
im not sure if ur agreeing with me? while your comment IS true, i think it misses the point. there is no inherent value in delayed gratification. it is not something that has a use (usually.) self discipline is useful however, and is a skill we should all work hard to develop. delaying gratification is just an consequence of discipline
sacapiloa 2 years ago
who would disagree with that?
thebloads 2 years ago
Are 2 marshmallows later really better than one marshmallow now?
cbikhari13 2 years ago 5
exactly, most of these children were actually displaying their time preference in addition to delayed gratification skills.
DesireSpasm 2 years ago
No. The equivalent of getting Children to wait Fifteen minutes for a Marshmallow is the equivalent of telling us to wait for our flight.
eldorado61guy 2 years ago 2
I wish they would take this a few steps further:
1) How can we TEACH kids about the strategy of delayed gratification?
2) IS delayed gratification REALLY always the best strategy? In this case, in fact, ONE marshmellow IS better than two--since it's actually shit food. Maybe a simple, spontaneous, guilt-free and simple pleasure now IS better than "greed" for more marshmellows...
3) The broader lesson: one's FEELINGS and DESIRES don't always jibe well with reality.
GetMeThere1 2 years ago
in life there is no guarantee that gratification will come, flaunt it while ya gots it.
gratex 2 years ago
patterns of activity are practiced since birth, in the way parents and other people things or animals respond to the new consciousness's actions - -its doign the same activity inbirth that we do now, trying to figure out patterns and see how its actions affect what is happening to it.
these patterns begin early and shape the brain's operating system with lists of possible responses to situations (internal and external).
tyrannicoystercult 2 years ago
@tyrannicoystercult: Yeah. And such patterns work very well for living in the selective environment in which they developed--and considerably less so in modern society. Delayed gratification, for example, is one that would probably be much less important on the savanna, and considerably more important in modern culture.
BEST in modern culture is to free ourselves from reactive, patterned behavior and instead make truly rational decisions on things. THAT would be a great lesson for children.
GetMeThere1 2 years ago 2
I would have eaten the marshmallow, and replaced it sneakily with something else that looked like a marshmallow (like a rolled up tissue maybe). I would then have insisted that I didn't eat it.
mrslair 2 years ago
We Americans ARE eating more marshmallows than we are producing. We need to think about stabilizing our economy and bringing industry back to THIS country instead of importing everything. Americans need jobs!
dorotwhy 2 years ago
this is mentioned in another ted video
adj789 2 years ago
Yah, Philip Zimbardo talks about it, promoting his book.
inersphobia 2 years ago
Yay! I didn't eat the marshmallow!
fbi36 2 years ago
I've heard about this test before,
still a great lecture!!!
IlluminatyKL 2 years ago 2
i wish i was being paid to spout bullshit.
wolffenhaus 2 years ago
I personally do not think its bullshit. I think its very logical. The kids that were able to show self restraint became successful. It shows that self restraint is a key factor to become successful.
Why do you think its bs?
StevenBridges1 2 years ago
rewards are given to those who meet specific criteria, all this experiment does is prove that such a system exists, whereas the intent is to point at some inherent superiority of those 1/3 of children.
gratex 2 years ago
This is the reason I love TED.
Great great video.
Bosco239 2 years ago
Perhaps in the book he shows how they correct for other correlating factors: perhpas the kids do not trust the authority figure and do not believe another marshmellow will be given, or they might not want another marshmellow (one is enough). There could be dozen of other correlating factors besides a self-displine issue.
I guess I am saying that the conclusion seems too clean without addressing other potential relationships.
MusicConsortium 2 years ago
LOL I always smell my food. I Totally feel what that little girl was going through. The point of his talk could of been put on one slide shown then walked off stage. But I did enjoy those kids being tempted
sikes1379 2 years ago
Hilarious! Plus the short film at the end gave me goosebumps.
SourcesAreEverything 2 years ago
What if a child with no self discipline is taught self discipline? Will that child have the same chances at success in life as those who were naturally born disciplined?
Then again, are children even predisposed to being discipline or not? Environment and how the child is raised play a major role, do they not? So I guess I just answered my own query. Discipline can be taught.
dmix09 2 years ago
Right, but I've never seen anyone try this experiment and add that dimension. If you took half the kids who ate the marshmallow and trained them to delay gratification, would they turn out like the ones who waited or the ones who didn't?
cinemasolo 2 years ago 3
It's not genetic, so 'yes' to the former. I don't understand what reasoning people could possibly use to conclude that the children who resist are genetically predisposed to having a higher level of dignity than the others.
regresseur 2 years ago
To regressur:
Oh please! Don't be such drama queen!
Is a combination of nature and nurture. Genetics only predispose behavior and culture reinforces that behavior or not. So the question is not if it is genetics or not but rather how much does genetics influence that particular behavior.
Btw, the kids that were thought a strategy to avoid thinking on the marshmallows did pretty well in delaying gratification on later tests.
magua73 2 years ago
I really don't see nature playing much of a roll... How good of a reader were you when you were born?
The truth is it didn't play a roll in your language at all....
If you were raised by dogs you'd lap your food out of a bowl, bark and pant when you were hot... end of story.
abram730 2 years ago
There are very few today that still holds on to the tabula rasa argument as you are doing. I think is a rather simplistic argument, human behavior is a complex interaction between nature and nurture.
Language is an emergent property came forth through evolutionary pressure. But it doesn't mean that language arises without cultural imput, of course not, saying that would be as simplistic as your statement.
And your dog analogy, are you serius?
magua73 2 years ago
I want my marshmallow, NOW.
janikarvonen 2 years ago
At 4 or 5 years old I know for a fact that I would have eaten half of it and took my chances of getting nothing after the time or getting an extra half. And my life is a complete failure.
prfctday 2 years ago 2
you have access to an internet and computer, it cannot be that bad
TURNTOCHRIST 2 years ago
great video, but what is sad is that i would probably have eaten that marshmallow too xD
sheepwshotguns 2 years ago
Philip Zimbardo already gave a talk about this.
costelcc 2 years ago
YES! I thought Philip Zimbardo did the experiment. The whole Time Paradox thing. He even wrote a book on this named Time Paradox.
youngnewtonian 2 years ago
Exactly. Not only did he write the book about it, he also gave a talk on TED a few months ago called " Philip Zimbardo prescribes a healthy take on time." It would be nice if this Posada would give credit to the man, instead of just referring him as "a professor."
costelcc 2 years ago 2
Predictably irrational anyone?
Memubitsu 2 years ago 2
Like mice in a maze. They (the kids) want the Cheese. This isn't funny dude.
DeepSpaceBlack 2 years ago
I think alot of people here are confused about what delayed pleasure is.
In terms of success, it is the people who plan ahead, discipline themselves or can simply just stop and think about the situation before acting. Those who can do these things are the ones who display delayed pleasure and, consequently, have a better chance at success in life.
sexyloser 2 years ago 6
Hmmm marshmallow
agropaco 2 years ago
What the hell is that thing at the end?
pookiehohn 2 years ago 2
If you think at it blowing oneself up for 72 marshmallows in paradise it's the maximum of delayed pleasure.
italianchappy 2 years ago 2
not much of a delay if you blow yourself up to get there
your example is actually the complete opposite of delayed pleasure; its instant pleasure to the extreme
sexyloser 2 years ago