BLESS THE HANDS THAT FEED US
Marshmallows,
The ability to wait just a few minutes can
make all the difference I BY DR JONATHAN MOCH
DOES THE NAME WALTER MISCHEL RING A BELL?
Do you recall the marshmallow experiment? Are you aware that the marshmallow experiment and follow-up studies designed by Professor Mischel is the most
famous psychological test? Are you mindful that this experiment is a powerful indicator of future success? Four questions,
and a number of explanations.
Mischel, a professor of psychology and
lifelong scholar of how people delay gratification, designed a simple research project. He worked at Stanford University, a
major channel of engineering geniuses
and quants to Silicone Valley in San Francisco. Think Facebook, Google, Twitter.
On this sprawling campus was a crèche
schooling four-year-olds, children of academics and administrative staff. He decided to focus on four-year-olds only. Remember this important fact.
The experiment outline: over months
in 1970 he would invite each child into
his office for a chat. After a few minutes,
his phone rang. He answered by stating
he would come across the campus immediately. Mischel apologised to the fouryear-old boy or girl, and sat the child next
to a desk. On the table, he placed one
marshmallow. He told the child that if he
returned in about 15 to 20 minutes, and
did not eat the yummy marshmallow, the
child would be rewarded with another
one. However, if the child wanted to, he
could eat the one marshmallow. The child
was not allowed to get off the chair.
The professor, of course, did not go
across the campus. The phone call was a
sham. He and his research team sat behind
a one-way mirror, observing and filming
how the children managed their internal
20 JEWISH LIFE QISSUE 87
conflicts: “To eat now, or not eat now?”
(Some of the videos can be found on YouTube.) Two groups emerged – those that
did not wait (one marshmallow) and those
that did wait (two marshmallows). It is
fun, but [