Marshmallow Test
Walter Mischel and Delayed Gratification

Walter Mischel, an American psychologist who’s experiments pulled the outcome that self-control is the key to personal success. Mischel was born in Vienna Austria in 1930, the youngest of two brothers. His father following the Nazi occupation moved his family to the United States, landing in Brooklyn New York in 1940. In the early 1960’s he devised a study on preschool aged children on delayed gratification. Placing the children in a barren room with noting to entertain or distract them, only themselves and the table. Entering the room with a tasty treat such as a marshmallow he offered it to the children but not before presenting them with a choice. The children could have the marshmallow immediately or they could receive two marshmallows upon awaiting the return of Michel. Through these experiments Michel was able to conclude that self-control is the key to personal success. I have had the blessing to not have an addictive personality so to quit smoking was not a difficult task for me, however the struggle with that one task is what lead Walter Mischel to the development of his experiment on self-control. Walter Michel started smoking at a very young age and continued his habit …show more content…
Not focusing on the treat in front of them but by putting their mind elsewhere. So Mischel wanted to see if the outcome of waiting increased with a little help of distraction. He then advised the children to not think of the marshmallow, or to think of the marshmallow as something inedible, such as a cotton ball. Upon doing this he found that the number of children who were able to wait was substantially bigger than before. This reminds me of the saying “If I only knew then what I know now” (Unknown) Because once the children were presented with a little wisdom on self-control they were able to get twice the