New Version of Classic Marshmallow Experiment Upends Original Conclusions
Too Much Anticipation Ethan Nagel, 4 of Rochester, N.Y., participates in a reenactment of the marshmallow experiment at the University of Rochester Baby Lab. J. Adam Fenster / University of RochesterWhether to eat a treat now or save it for later depends on a child's worldview--which can be manipulated. For four decades, a classic psychological experiment on kids has tested the strength of their wills: Will a toddler eat a marshmallow right now, or hold out for two? It's been used to measure self-control, which researchers have used to make other predictions about behavior later in life. But Celeste Kidd had a hunch that it wasn't that simple. To test it, she had to give a bunch of preschoolers a taste of disappointment. Kidd, a doctoral candidate in brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester, theorized that the kids are actually making a rational decision, not just gobbling the...