The Marshmallow Test 🍡

2023-05-25 · Short · Ali · recording, 0:56 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Mindset, motivation and happiness · mode: Explanation and tutorial · tags: Evidence-based framing

In a Short, Ali explains Walter Mischel's 1960s marshmallow test at Stanford: children who waited 15 minutes for a second marshmallow generally did better years later in school, health and relationships, and the researchers concluded that delaying gratification plays a role in long-term success; he asks viewers whether it is a good experiment.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — The marshmallow test: setup, how children resisted, the follow-up and its conclusion

• ★★ Ali says that in the 1960s psychologist Walter Mischel and his team at Stanford University left young children alone with a marshmallow: eat it right away, or wait 15 minutes and receive a second one. — 00:00:00
• ★★ Ali says hidden cameras showed some children eating the marshmallow immediately, while others resisted by distracting themselves, singing, covering their eyes or even smelling it without eating it. — 00:00:00
• ★ Ali calls the marshmallow test controversial and asks viewers whether it is a good experiment. — 00:00:00
• ★★★ Ali says that when Walter Mischel followed up years later, the children who had waited for the second marshmallow generally had better academic performance, healthier lifestyles and stronger relationships. — 00:00:29
• ★★★ Ali says the marshmallow test researchers concluded that the ability to delay gratification played a role in longer-term success. — 00:00:29

Mentioned

Central: marshmallow test

Also: delayed gratification · Stanford University · Walter Mischel

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