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The Marshmallow test: Is Self-Control in your Genes or a habit to acquire?
The secret of self-control, on Marshmallow Test by Jonah Lehrer in New Yorker
Summary & Notes:
1.Delaying gratification results in achievement. The child who could wait fifteen minutes had an S.A.T. score that was, on average, two hundred and ten points higher than that of the kid who could wait only thirty seconds. “If you can deal with hot emotions, then you can study for the S.A.T. instead of watching television,” Mischel says. “And you can save more money for retirement. It’s not just about marshmallows.”
2.To create self-control, move it or yourself away from it.
What, then, determined self-control? Mischel’s conclusion, based on hundreds of hours of observation, was that the crucial skill was the “strategic allocation of attention.” Instead of getting obsessed with the marshmallow—the “hot stimulus”—the patient children distracted themselves by covering their eyes, pretending to play hide-and-seek underneath the desk, or singing songs from “Sesame Street.” Their desire wasn’t defeated—it was merely forgotten. “If you’re thinking about the marshmallow and how delicious it is, then you’re going to eat it,” Mischel says. “The key is to avoid thinking about it in the first place.”
3. It is both, nature and nurture.
“you might not practice delay as much and you’ll never figure out how to distract yourself. Then you won’t develop the best delay strategies, and those strategies won’t become second nature.”
My (Amit’s) own belief is, genes give some a head start.
4. It can be controlled.
Mischel has found a shortcut. When he and his colleagues taught children a simple set of mental tricks—such as pretending that the candy is only a picture, surrounded by an imaginary frame—he dramatically improved their self-control. The kids who hadn’t been able to wait sixty seconds could now wait fifteen minutes.
5. The real challenge is turning those tricks into habits, and that requires years of diligent practice.
“This is where your parents are important,” Mischel says. “Have they established rituals that force you to delay on a daily basis? Do they encourage you to wait? And do they make waiting worthwhile?” According to Mischel, even the most mundane routines of childhood—such as not snacking before dinner, or saving up your allowance, or holding out until Christmas morning—are really sly exercises in cognitive training”
My (Amit’s) own favorite, keep a wishlist for them.
