Book Review: The Marshmallow Test

The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control Is the Engine of Success by Walter Mischel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Imagine yourself at four years old. You are in a mostly empty room with a nice lady who is talking to you about this and that. On the table in front of you is a tasty-looking marshmallow on a plate. Suddenly the lady says "Oh my goodness, I need to leave the room for a few minutes. While I am away, if you would like to eat that marshmallow, you may. But - if you wait until I come back, I will bring another one and and then you can have two." With that she is gone... and you are alone with that marshmallow and your own thoughts and feelings.

What would you do?

Scientists first began testing preschoolers this way back in the 1960s, studying the human capacity to delay gratification. How long could the average kid hold out? What strategies are employed by those who are able to wait longer? What other characteristics did those who ate the single marshmallow right away have in common? Some kids were tested with cookies and others with toys, but the idea is the same: What has to be at play before someone can sacrifice a current pleasure for something even better in the future?

Dr. Mischel is one of the creators of the marshmallow test and also designed a great deal of follow up research over the ensuing years. This book-length report, written for a lay audience, summarizes the key findings of a fascinating career of exploration into the human capacity for will power: its biological and psychological underpinnings, its ramifications, and - best of all - how to grow and sustain it. It's a wonderful book, recommended for parents of 4 year olds and for any adult interested in learning and growing.

It turns out that 30 years after their original tests, those who were able to wait the longest before eating that marshmallow are slimmer, more successful professionally, have more stable relationships, and have bigger 401(k)s. The ability to distract oneself from temptation, visualize a future state, and/or overcome "hot" impulses with "cool" reasoning cuts across many areas of life throughout life. Very, very interesting.

While it is true that developing good mental habits is easier done in childhood than in later life, the good news here is that even those getting up in years can learn to delay immediate gratification in order to gain future benefits. Disputing automatic negative thinking, proactively developing optimism, and learning distraction techniques all work. There is no quick fix for someone with a natural propensity to indulge immediate desires, but it can be done. We can rewire the neural pathways, trim down our waistlines, put more in savings, and trust in a happy future.

Had Dr. Mischel's body of research findings remained in academic journals it would still have been significant, but his ability to present it in this highly-readable format makes it immensely important. He's keen that the words "Marshmallow Test" enter the vernacular as a sort of biologic starting point, rather than a predestination. Fortunately, his how-to sections are thoughtful and compelling. I'm very glad I read this one during my Sweet 16 year of transition and transformation. Watch for a summary in the next few weeks.


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