marshmallow test
Patience predicts success
The marshmallow test is a psychological experiment measuring delayed gratification in children.
A child is offered one marshmallow now or two if they wait.
The test became famous for studies linking childhood self-control to later life outcomes, though subsequent research has complicated those findings.
She failed the marshmallow test—ate it before the researcher left the room.
- delayed gratificationPostponing pleasure for benefit
- willpowerMental strength resisting impulse
- self-controlAbility to restrain impulses
- impulse controlRegulating sudden urges
- temptationUrge toward the unwise
patience · wait for it · impulse · reward · waiting · fifteen minutes · psychology · Stanford · preschooler · executive function · candy · treat · experiment · discipline · future · long term thinking · resist · urge
- Psychology ResearchStanford prison experiment, Pavlov's dogs, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, Skinner box
- self-disciplineself-discipline, self-control, self-regulation, restraint, impulse control
- time preferencedelayed gratification, instant gratification, discounting, impatience, immediacy
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