# The marshmallow test - delayed gratification and emotional IQ **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 10, 2021, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365 "2021-08-10T07:55:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/21 "2021-08-11T05:30:03Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Marshmallow for my hot cocoa? Please don’t ruin my hot cocoa. Rocky road ice cream? Why’d they have to go and ruin the ice cream by jamming it up with a bunch of icky marshmallows!? > > And don’t even get me started on… _peeps_ (:cringe face:) And let’s not also even discuss _ambrosia salad_, the very sight of which always made me queasy. Page of recipes with many (_shudder_) pictures. View it ye who dare: > **[Pink Ambrosia Salad - The Seasoned Mom](https://www.theseasonedmom.com/pink-ambrosia-salad/)** > > You just need 5 ingredients and 5 minutes for this easy Pink Ambrosia Salad recipe! Made with sweet fruit, fluffy marshmallows, and creamy Cool Whip. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/22 "2021-08-11T05:40:08Z")
I’ll allow, though, one marshmallow recipe I liked. Melt some marshmallows in a small pot. I think you’re supposed to add some butter too, IIRC. Pour in a bunch of Trix and stir until fully coated. (I’ve also seen it done with Rice Krispies instead of Trix.) Shape into balls or patties and set aside to cool. Now THAT, I might not have easily resisted. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/23 "2021-08-11T05:44:10Z")
Same, but I might have also gone for some s’mores if it was straight off the fire, gooey and dripping with goodness. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/24 "2021-08-11T06:15:37Z")
S’mores are the one acceptable use for marshmallows. …because I get to watch them burrrrrn!!! 🔥 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/25 "2021-08-11T06:29:57Z")
The marshmallow tests I’ve seen, didn’t actually use marshmallows. They used candy kids actually like. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/26 "2021-08-11T06:40:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is this true? I knew about the Marshmallow Test as a famous psychological experiment, and that it had been done more than once, but is it a regular thing? It was an experiment. And the results have since been debunked. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/27 "2021-08-11T07:05:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Is this true? I knew about the Marshmallow Test as a famous psychological experiment, and that it had been done more than once, but is it a regular thing? This researcher did it over a ten year period. The original researcher did it again. There have been replications as well. > [@](#): > > By the time University of Minnesota psychologist [Stephanie M. Carlson](https://cnbd.umn.edu/bio/cnbd-faculty-staff/stephanie-carlson) and colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle ran the exact same experiment with 540 kids from 2002 to 2012, the changes appeared to be real. Close to 60% of the children tested held out the full 10 minutes for a bigger reward. And only about 12% claimed their reward in the first half-minute. In this study, the children were even more delayed in their gratification than in the first study. > **[The surprising thing the 'marshmallow test' reveals about kids in an...](https://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-marshmallow-test-kids-20180626-story.html)** > > Here’s a psychological challenge for anyone over 30 who thinks “kids these days” can’t delay their personal gratification: Before you judge, wait a minute. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/28 "2021-08-11T07:05:31Z")
Just for the record, the children were not just offered marshmallows. They were offered a choice of two treats and told that they could eat the nonpreferred one then or wait for the preferred treat. The experiments also included pretzels and cookies. More important, though is that this was not a test to see if delayed gratification was correlated with better outcomes in life. The experiment was designed to see how children delayed gratification, The experiment tested whether it was easier to wait if the children could see the treats or not or if they were given techniques to distract themselves. Since this was the purpose of the experiment, the children used were not a representative sample. They were a fairly homogeneous group of upper middle class children of highly educated parents (Stanford faculty). It was not until many years later that Mischel began to question if children who found it easier to delay gratification did better in school and reached out to parents for their SAT scores. He then reached out again forty years later to see where these children ended up. Of note, though, this was not designed to have a right or wrong answer. It was designed to see at what age children could begin to delay gratification and what mechanisms helped them. People who say that someone “passed” or “failed” the marshmallow test do not understand the experiment. Of note, although I never responded to the later survey (bad subject), I wonder where I fit in as a data point. While I did pursue higher education, I have constant struggles with my weight. So can I delay gratification or not? (Also, no clue on how I performed on the initial test or even which subset I was in). ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/29 "2021-08-11T07:14:39Z")
A question and answer interview with the creator of the marshmallow test. **Q: In capturing the imagination of the public, you’ve said that the test and its results have been “endlessly distorted.” Should your book come with a warning label “Don’t try this at home,” so parents stop administering it at the kitchen table to figure out if they’ve got a “grabber” or a “waiter”?** A: The relationship between seconds of delay and long-term life outcomes are impressive, but not nearly strong enough to believe that how long you wait on the marshmallow test is a measure of your destiny. It isn’t. There is no question that lots of kids who don’t wait long on the marshmallow test at all, who even grab it early, have lives that are perfectly wonderful. And lots of kids who are good waiters can under many circumstances wind up with all kinds of problems. It’s a mistake to think that you either have this skill or you don’t have it, because it’s a skill that is eminently teachable. > **[Psychologist revisits his iconic 'marshmallow test,' 4 decades later](https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-fam-1028-marshmallow-experiment-20141022-story.html)** > > Psychologist Walter Mischel, author of iconic 'marshmallow test' that tracked long-term benefits of delaying gratification, explores results in new book. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/30 "2021-08-11T09:11:30Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Well, yes, but those factors basically boil down to having more money. Yes, that’s on the ‘nurture’ side of things, but a positive correlation between wealth and later success in life is hardly a novel idea or especially insightful. Firstly that isn’t an accurate characterisation of “socioeconomic factors” it includes things like parental educational attainment and and number of books in the home and parental attention. Secondly you are mistaken about what outcomes they looked at - these included things like standardised text scores and BMI - not simply financial outcomes. Thirdly, even if your characterisation of the study was correct (which, make no mistake, it isn’t), so what? That doesn’t mean the study doesn’t mean anything - it just means that it came to the interesting conclusion that a kid’s willingness to delay gratification in a certain way at a certain time has a statistically signficant correlation to certain things in their background in a way that also has a significantly significant correlation to factors in their later life - which is in itself interesting. > [@Senegoid](#): > > Or how about some other truly mundane factor, like how much the kid likes marshmallows. Please tell me you aren’t serious… > [@The\_Librarian](#): > > It was an experiment. And the results have since been debunked. Your post has been debunked. Your comment makes me weep for the future of science. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/31 "2021-08-11T10:38:14Z")
It is, though, because it may shed some light on the ways in which wealth supports later success. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/32 "2021-08-11T21:59:08Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I have heard it said that the Marshmallow Test has recently been discredited but when you read _how_ it has supposedly been discredited, it hasn’t really been discredited at all. It’s just that the conclusions to be derived from the results are not what (some) originally assumed. True, but the simplistic version of the story that is told and retold is far better known and far more influential than the original experiment. Many millions of people have read or heard about the marshmallow test, while very few have read the original paper or could accurately describe the experimental design and conclusions. It is that simplistic and moralistic version that richly deserved to be debunked. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/33 "2021-08-11T22:10:09Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > For all the child knows, the adult will return after the agreed time and take away the marshmallow. (And indeed, this could be the design of a different psychological experiment.) It turns out that my hypothetical is not so fanciful. In reading the [article](https://www.simplypsychology.org/marshmallow-test.html) linked in the OP, I discovered that an experiment had indeed been run where the experimenter “tricked” the children by denying them the promised reward. > [@](#): > > In the first test, half of the children didn’t receive the treat they’d been promised. In the second test, the children who’d been tricked before were significantly less likely to delay gratification than those who hadn’t been tricked. Consider the following hypothetical psychology test. A stranger approaches you in the street and makes you an offer. If you give him 50 dollars now he will meet you at an agreed place later that day and give you 100 dollars. Some people decline the offer, preferring to keep their 50 dollars safely in their pocket. Are those people foolish? How does this differ from the deal offered to the children in the original experiment? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/34 "2021-08-11T22:13:50Z")
I’ve always suspected the marshmallow test has had the enduring legacy that it did was due to a teeny bit of schandenfreude - people loved the moral lesson that those who delay gratification, get good things, while those who can’t resist, nope. Whether it was actually true or not wasn’t as important as the fact that it tickled people’s sense of justice. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/35 "2021-08-11T23:19:52Z")
> [@hibernicus](#): > > Consider the following hypothetical psychology test. A stranger approaches you in the street and makes you an offer. If you give him 50 dollars now he will meet you at an agreed place later that day and give you 100 dollars. Some people decline the offer, preferring to keep their 50 dollars safely in their pocket. Are those people foolish? How does this differ from the deal offered to the children in the original experiment? Well, for one thing, it would be a lot closer if the stranger offered _you_ 50 now or 100 later. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/36 "2021-08-11T23:32:33Z")
Yeah I agree that is flawed. You shouldn’t have to fork over **any** cash. It should be him giving **you** money - small sum now or big sum later. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/37 "2021-08-12T05:34:09Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > You shouldn’t have to fork over **any** cash. Which, of course, is exactly the Nigerian Scam that so many people allegedly do fall for all the time. People desperate for the marshmallows they were denied as children. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/38 "2021-08-12T08:03:00Z")
You are right, that would be a much closer analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/39 "2021-08-12T08:13:22Z")
Even with that tweak, your analogy is inapt. A stranger offering an adult a not insubstantial sum of money, out of the blue, on the street is extremely weird, to the point where I wouldn’t even take the first $50 because I’d be so sure that there must be some form of scam involved. The whole thing would accordingly become _entirely_ about whether or not one trusted the stranger to follow through. Contrastingly, for at least a substantial portion of children, it is completely normal to be offered the occasional treat by an adult. And a substantial portion of children would therefore take the experiment at face value. Your scenario isn’t comparable. > [@hibernicus](#): > > It is that simplistic and moralistic version that richly deserved to be debunked. Except that hasn’t been debunked. What the original Marshmallow Experiment and subsequent refinements and repeats seem to show is that there is a correlation between delayed gratification behaviour in the Experiment, and certain later life outcomes. That the _reason_ some kids will delay gratification more than others is perhaps explicable by socio-economic factors doesn’t alter the fact of that correlation. It is possible that socio-economic factors result in kids being more likely to delay gratification but that may well be a factor causative of the correlation. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365/40 "2021-08-12T08:59:55Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Contrastingly, for at least a substantial portion of children, it is completely normal to be offered the occasional treat by an adult. And a substantial portion of children would therefore take the experiment at face value. Stranger danger! I hope that children don’t take candy from people they aren’t well-acquainted with, even if their parents are in the next room. As you point out, there’s good reason for the children to be skeptical, which could be another confounding factor in the experiment. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-marshmallow-test-delayed-gratification-and-emotional-iq/948365.md?page=3)