How marshmallows predict your future success

What could a marshmallow tell about your future success? Well, a lot! 

After hundreds of experiments to discover what the best prediction is for future success, the Stanford psychologist Walter Mischel found that a simple experiment with a marshmallow was the best predictor.

The experiment runs as follows. A young child is seated in a room on a chair. In front of him or her is a table with a plate with one marshmallow on it.

Then the child is told that he is allowed to eat it, if he wants.  

But if he waits until the supervisor comes back, he will get another one, so he will have two!

The child is then left unattended for about 15 minutes, while his behaviour is recorded. 

After the 15 minutes have passed, the instructor will come back to see if the marshmallow is still there and give the child another one, in case it is.

The experiment is so famous it is now even used by Sesame Street http://www.sesameworkshop.org/season43/about-the-show/episode-descriptions/ to teach children through Cookie Monster about delayed self-gratification. 

Because the experiments were conducted during the 70s and 80s of the last century, researchers could re-examine the test subjects again as adults. 

They discovered their willpower and self-control mostly persisted throughout their life. People that were able to resist the marshmallow as a child, were more successful later in life.

What does this tell you?

Of course, the experiment is not about a marshmallow. The experiment has often been repeated with cookies and pretzels. 

The experiment measures whether someone has the discipline to resist temptation and delay gratification. 

Why is this so important? Because the ability to delay gratification and choose larger long term benefits over small short term benefits makes people successful in many different fields.

The term “future success” is of course ambiguous, but the marshmallow test proved to be a good indicator for a range of measures, including higher educational achievements, lower body-mass index (BMI) and higher Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores.

What are some examples where willpower and delayed gratification will benefit you? One would be resisting the short-term temptation of not studying versus the long-term benefits of having a degree and being better qualified for employment opportunities. 

Another would be resisting the short-term temptation of spending all your salary, versus the long-term benefits of saving for your car, house and retirement. 

Especially when the power of compound interest http://www.comparehero.my/blog/million-ringgit-with-compound-interest kicks in, delaying your consumption and saving money is really worth it.

Thirdly, resisting your fifth delicious cheeseburger in a week or dragging yourself to the treadmill even if you don’t really want to, will help your health down the line. Your body will thank you in five years’ time!

So should you test this with your own child? Perhaps with Rabbit Candy or Choki Choki instead of marshmallows? 

Why not, I will in a few years. Don’t worry if your little one starts munching before you have left the room. 

Remember that willpower and self-control are not “fixed” in our brains at birth, but can (to an extent) be learned and mastered over time. At the very least, you will learn whether your child leans more toward instant or delayed gratification and can adjust your child’s upbringing accordingly.

Mark Reijman is co-founder and managing director of http://www.comparehero.my/, dedicated to increasing financial literacy and to help you save time and money by comparing all credit cards, loans and broadband plans in Malaysia.