October 15, 2012

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Helping Your Child Delay Gratification

A recent twist on the famous "marshmallow test" for children finds that environment and experience play a big role in a child's ability to resist temptation. Christie Nicholson reports

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They call it the "marshmallow test." A four- to six-year-old-child sits alone in a room at a table facing a marshmallow on a plate. The child is told: "If you don’t eat this treat for 15 minutes you can have both it and a second one." Kids on average wait for five or six minutes before eating the marshmallow. The longer a child can resist the treat has been correlated with higher general competency later in life.

Now a study shows that ability to resist temptation isn’t strictly innate—it’s also highly influenced by environment.

Researchers gave five-year-olds used crayons and one sticker to decorate a sheet of paper. One group was promised a new set of art supplies for the project—but then never received it. But the other group did receive new crayons and better stickers.

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Then both groups were given the marshmallow test. The children who had been lied to waited for a mean time of three minutes before eating the marshmallow. The group that got their promised materials resisted an average of 12 minutes.

Thus, the researchers note that experience factors into a child’s ability to delay gratification. When previous promises have been hollow, why believe the next one?

—Christie Nicholson

[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]

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Helping Your Child Delay Gratification