The Marshmallow Test

Delayed gratification may be an important key to success in life, points out Mark Batterson. In a variety of experiments, the most famous from 1972, Walter Mischel studied how young children delayed gratification. In an experiment, a child from the ages of four to six would be offered a marshmallow or other treat and told that if they waited, they would be given another one. Children varied in their responses. Some grabbed the treat immediately. Others tried to resist. Mischel described children singing, hiding their head in their arms, stamping their feet, playing, praying, even falling…