Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo.
It’s shit like this that makes me super excited to have a kid.
In this classic experiment, a child is given a treat (in this case, a large, fluffy marshmallow) and told by the facilitator that if he or she does not eat the treat, they’ll be given another. They are then left in a room alone. With a camera.
I saw something similar last year on a PBS show about human development, but jelly beans were used. Most of the kids in this version have pretty good willpower, although it’s hilarious to watch them fondle, sniff and stare at the treat. You can see their little wheels turning….”oh, the humanity!!”
Do you think you could have resisted when you were a kid? I probably would have, just for fear of getting in trouble :-)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I studied this experiment in undergrad! The videos are hilarious, those poor kids are TORTURED with the waiting. It’s one of those times I feel bad laughing, but do anyway. The experiment was even more fascinating than the video shows. It was a test of delayed gratification (obviously), but they figured out there’s a pretty strong correlation between ability to self-distract and academic success/problem solving. If you google Marshmallow Test you’ll find tons of info, but here’s an article the New Yorker had about it – http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer
I have absolutely no ability to delay gratification, and I never have. I would have been the girl eating the marshmallow before the woman was even out the door!
I’ll add to what FourInchHeels said, and tell you that a great podcast/radio show called Radiolab also covered the marshmallow test in a short segment a year ago. You can listen to it for free here:
http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2009/03/09/mischel's-marshmallows/