EC Marshmallow Experiment Flashcards
Carolyn Weisz
girl tested with marshmallow experiment
able to resist eating for 15 min
undergraduate at Stanford, PHD at Princeton, professor at Univ. Puget Sound
Craig Weisz
less patient
year older than Carolyn
broke toys
does all sorts of things in entertainment industry, mostly production
children’s reactions?
most struggled to resist treat, held out for less than 3 min
a few ate marshmallow right away
some stare at marshmallow and ring bell 30 sec later
30% waited
options for the marshmallow test
- eat marshmallow right away, don’t get 2nd one
- ring bell, then eat marshmallow, don’t get 2nd one
- wait 15 min and not eat, then get 2nd marshmallow
initial goal of experiment
identify mental processes that allowed some people to delay gratification, while others just surrendered
Walter Mischel
professor of psych at Stanford
in charge of marshmallow experiment
noted link btwn ability to resist and school work
fascinated w/ Rorschach test at NYU “like a mental X-ray machine”
hired as consultant for Peace Corps volunteer personality testing
children that couldn’t resist:
less able to cope w/ stressful situations, lower SAT scores, behavior problems at home and school, trouble paying attention, struggled to keep friendships
higher BMI, did drugs (Ayduk)
children that waited:
higher SAT scores by 210 pts
Ozlem Ayduk
assistant professor at Univ. Berekely for psych
intelligence is determined by:
self-control
personality can’t be separated from:
context
Mishel’s aggression experiment
children responses depend on interaction (eg. cooperate w/ teacher, aggressive w/ peers)
aggression = if-then statement –> if certain child teased by peer, then would become aggressive
Mishel’s spirit possession test
studied “spirit possession” ceremonies of Orisha faith in Trinidad
noticed that East Indians and Africans stereotyped each other (Africans = squander $, East Indians = don’t know how to have fun) –> tested children, failed to justify stereotypes
Mishel’s car metaphor
described interactionism
unless mechanic can give screeching noise context, will never find it –> need to look at people’s responses under particular conditions
key to resistance:
strategic allocation of attention
-sang songs from sesame street, covered eyes, played hide and seek to distract
desire not defeated, merely forgotten
