Dr Walsh Marshmallow WCCO Segment

[oglow100]

i actually love this test because of how it shows the importance of delaying gratification because usually the long term goals are the goals that provide success.

[rockergod789]

the smart kid would get up from the chair and ask: "why is this worth ANY of MY valuble time?" and walk out the door.

[jacobflaschen]

The kids who waited are dumb. First of all, who cares if you do well in school if you're morbidly obese from all the marshmallows you ate when you were 4?. Also, none of the "smart" ones realized that they were waiting 15 minutes for some goop from a horse's hoof.

[danielleefarmer]

there should be an adult version.. you can f**k your gf now... or you can wait 15 minutes and you get to f**k her girl friend too :P

[MrStrangelyEnigmatic]

delayed gratification. cool.

[laubeatz]

that is a very good test!.. very good to teach your kid about self discipline.. and choice

[triBuck76]

This is so true!

[Drummline4life]

that's fascinating!

[Flameclaw123]

Ironic that I watched this right after having to wait for about a month for something. I can tell you, it's not just about the marshmallows. People in society are generally centered around one thing- instant gratification. If you can put off that feeling, and be self-confident, and totally in control, you can get more done. Think about it- what's more fun, writing an essay or going out with friends? Now think about this- What's better, failing the paper because you put it off or getting an A?

[areusirius]

I want marshmallow :)

[laubeatz]

@areusirius hehe same, if they can promise me hot chocolate after i wait, i would wait hhehehe

[renumeratedfrog]

I wonder if there's a similar experiment that uses alcoholics instead of kids. "You either have your shot of vodka now, or you wait for 15 minutes and get 2 shots".

[kitsunetears]

does anyone know who conducted the original experiment?

[gbooth3]

Yes, his name is Walter Mischel

[azteckike]

wonderful test

[exacerbatedtaboo]

I want to know how a four year old not eating a marshmallow or having self control makes you do good on the SAT's when they are 18. Are these kids studied their entire lives? You're talking about a good fourteen years of being under the microscope. Isn't that kind of child abuse?

[mar504]

Checking how successful people are in life and tracking their progress is not child abuse, otherwise every parent is guilty of it. The test determines how susceptible the kids are to instant gratification. All the people who are getting their houses foreclosed on probably would fail this test, restraint of instant gratification is not a common American trait.

[exacerbatedtaboo]

I personally think it is child abuse to put your kid under a microscope their whole lives only to gratify yourself and feed your own self righteous ego. That put too much pressure on kids. Just let them be kids. And you still didn't answer my question. How does a child waiting to eat a marshmellow = good SAT scores? They haven't shown me a link between the two.

[mar504]

Why do you keep saying "under the microscope"? It's not like they were locked in a room with marshmallows every day, reporting your grades every year and test scores is hardly taking away from your childhood, you do it anyway to your parents, so how is this any different? I did answer your question, you just need to connect the dots. Why study for my SAT's when I can have something fun right now? Again, instant gratification and self control, people with self control tend to succeed. Understand?

[exacerbatedtaboo]

What does the study say about the kids that get up and walk away from the marshmellow altogether. Sorry but I'm positive my kids would have gotten bored sitting there staring at one marshmellow and went outside to play. And who hasn't been guilty of putting something boring off to do something fun? We're all guilty of that regardless of whether or not we eat a marshmellow. Certainly that doesn't determine our status in life just because we can't resist eating a marshmellow.

[mar504]

Dude, why are you taking the experiment so personally? The kids are suppose to stay in the room for the full 15 minutes and make a decision. Everyone's guilty of instant gratification, that's the freakin point of the experiment. It's not pretending to be some crystal ball to determine your child's future and determines your "status in life". Kids who eat the marshmallow aren't destined to fail, but those who have self control at an early age have a much easier time being successful later in life

[ThirdEyeAbility]

listen to what dr. walsh says at 1:11.

[designerchik]

Let me guess, you ate the marshmallow.

[exacerbatedtaboo]

Let me guess. It took you all of two seconds to come up with that. No I didn't eat the mother fucking marshmellow but seeings how marshmellows are meant to be ate I probably would have. This test proves nothing nor can it prove anything unless you put the child under a microscope his or her whole life to actually be able to check. Just because one of them at the marshmellow THIS TIME. Doesn't mean he or she will eat the marshmellow instead of waiting next time.

[UncleRabbit1]

Is it possible that many of the kids who hate the marshmallow before the twenty minutes were up had ADHD?

[AndrewBTaylor]

Well put UncleRabbit. That statement, although hilarious, it's unfortunately true with how quickly parents and doctors diagnose everything as ADHD. A few hundred years ago operas would go on for four days!!! Imagine what they'd think of the world now that can't even sit through a TV show.

[DofaDofah]

Are you implying that children had to sit thru a four day opera. Pfff, I bet they slept thru the 1st act like me when I was young lad. I did watch many operas - Carmen, Of men and mice, etc Panucci, Mozart etc

[ashishbitm]

well my little nephew can stay can away from marshmellow.

I bet if somebody can make him eat just 1 marshmellow in 15 min , i will give the person a full bag of marshmellow ... lol :D

[janet14300]

It also shows that kids who didn't get bored right away is more successful in the future. Because they have persistence to remain calm and have self-control and they think more wiser. People who are always like in a hurry have the tendency to feel boredom easily than those who remain calmed relax and focused.. So, it is better to teach our kids something about being CALM and NEVER EVER use the word BORD or BOREDOM in that way they do not know that word and won't feel what it really means...

[Koolvedge]

It's sad that there are only a few who realize that a marshmallow or anything containing processed sugar is a drug. Children even more than adults exhibit unnatural behavior when ingesting these drugfoods. Yes, self control is part of the experiment, and may even give some credence to what is being said, but it'd be nice to do it without the drugging of children with denatured foods.

[MohoFlaggins]

It's just candy

[robietrav]

hahaha...your a jackass

[ThirdEyeAbility]

there's alot of empirical evidence based on this study!

[sonoramariah]

I lived the lesson illustrated out here for even a child to grasp =- it is not about a marshmallow - it is about self discipline!!!

[Gerro15A]

bleh I hate marshmellows. They only taste good when melted in some way or formed into taffy but that's messy. And dark chocolate straight is disgusting, got to mix it with milk.

[edwardcookiecutter]

lol I loved the boy playin with the marshmallow

[bamsmama]

very cool study. i love these studies where they follow the participants for years and years.

and for the record- my son would've eaten the marshmellow before the dr left the room:)