Friday, February 6, 2009

Marshmallow Test


If you use igoogle as your homepage, you probably saw this on WikiHow.

Here is an excerpt...

The original "marshmallow test" was conducted by Stanford psychology professor Walter Michel 40 years ago. The test was meant to measure which children could delay gratification. Follow up studies showed that children who could postpone eating a marshmallow at age 4 outpaced their peers in many areas when they were 18 years old: They scored 210 points higher in the SAT and had higher confidence concentration and reliability. This simple test proved to be twice as predictive of later SAT scores as IQ tests.

The marshmallow test described here will hardly qualify as a valid scientific experiment. Passing the test won't indicate your kid is on the fast track to Harvard. That said, it is a fun activity to do with your kids, and an opportunity to impart a valuable lesson in patience.

Click here for the full article. At the end of the article is YouTube video that is funny!



We did this today. Here's how it went down.


NOTE: We took this right after lunch - I had just put his shirt in the wash bc he spilled juice all over it.



11 comments:

Sprite's Keeper said...

I'll have to come back to see the video. Great experiment. If I were to try that with Sprite, it would be over before it began. "Sprite, we're going to do a-" "Mashmewwo! Mashmewwo! Mine!Mine!"

Nadine said...

Very interesting.

Casey said...

That was grueling to watch, I thought he was going to give up at the three minute marker. My 35 year old husband couldn't even wait that long to eat a marshmallow, you have a genius on your hands! I like how he waited until he got the payout of the second one to dig in.

Stacy Hackenberg said...

Very well done, Gabriel. Though I think the nose picking at the end gave him a boost.

As an added bonus, when he gets to be a teenager, you can pull this out of the YouTube archive and embarrass him. (I'm all about embarrassing my kids. It's part of the job description.)

Start saving for Harvard now!

Shangrila said...

He was so-ooo cute while he waited! My favorite was how he whispered, "Marshmallow, marshmallow, marshmallow..." under his breath. Darling AND smart, yay! :)

Laufa said...

Chubby Bunny!!! Great Job! He has some patience.

Kellan said...

That was amazing, Bex! That is one smart and patient kid - he is going to go very far in life!!!

Hope you have a good week - Kellan

The Stiletto Mom said...

OMG...that video was so cute. I watched the entire thing. The whole inner struggle as he mouthed "Marshmallllow". Gabriel is so cute!

Rulon and Lori said...

That is so cute! I'm gonna try it...

Krista P said...

G is totally going to Harvard.

There's no way either or my kids would have sat down for six minutes, he's incredibly well-behaved.

Number of times he said marshmallow ...........132.





(Kidding. I didn't really count).


Do they let nose-pickers into the Ivy League?

April said...

how cute is he?!?!