The Marshmallow Experiment

A study conducted at Stanford University under psychologist Dr. Mishel in the 1960s explains a lot about why it’s beneficial to delay gratification. In the study, children were placed in a room with one marshmallow on a plate. The lead researcher gave the children an easy instruction: You can eat the marshmallow now, or wait 15 minutes and receive two marshmallows. The researchers found that the children who were able to wait for the second marshmallow without eating the first one scored higher in SATS exams, had better health, and were less likely to have behaviour problems.