The Marshmallow Test: Cute or Cruel?

If it had been me, that thing would have sat there and collected dust. I never have liked marshmallows. The video was entertaining lol.

don't let Nancy Peloski she will classify that as torture

That was the best video ever! Really made me laugh! Torture? Nahhhh~ Arent we supposed to teach kids dicipline? Patience is a virtue! :)

The only one who did not wait was the little red haired girl, but she looked like she was starving. She didn't seem be listening to the instructions. She was eating the marshmallow before the moderator was finished explaining. Poor little girl. I hope they gave her something more to eat. I wonder why there was no ethnic diversity among the test group.

I don't agree with what researchers are doing. Not every kid learns to walk and talk at the same time. Sometimes patience is a learned process. I've known the worst people who failed at this test, who later grew up to be the most successful and amazing people. Only God can perfect us.

Kids can be really funny...this reminded me of some of the skits Allen Funt did back in the old Candid Camera days...Torture? nahhh...Patience is a virtue, but more important they were learning how to make choices...some decided one marshmallow was all they wanted, others decided they wanted two...all good things come to those who wait!

It's interesting to see how each child deals with the situation.

I LOVED IT. OMG THEY WERE SO CUTE. THEY COULDNT RESIST. I PLAN TO SET UP MY CHILDREN LIKED THAT ONE DAY. WHEN I HAVE ONE FIRST. LOL. CUTE BUT OH SO CRUEL. KIDS ARE THE BEST!

I thought it was really cute!! I was cracking up the whole way through!! Those kids were so cute!! Marshmallows have always been a great temptation to me, so I totally knew what those kids were ging through! and a footnote to JASON V. ...........Why do you have to go and put something about "RACE"???? I would'nt have even NOTICED it, if you hadn't mentioned it !! ETHNIC DIVERSITY??? It's a funny and cute test about patience Jason!! GOD!! GIVE ME A BREAK !!!

Best video ever?? I don't think so. Apparently you all don't get away much. This wasn't even an original concept. This idea has been done and redone, and redone many times. It was just a repeat of what an old show on TV, called Candid Camera, used to do all of the time, and many others have since copied.

This is a great test and an old one in Psychological circles. It's been done with cookies, candy, etc. Cruel? Is giving someone a choice over their outcomes, offering to give someone a double treat, and teaching patience and discipline, cruel? of course not.
Also, I loved the red-headed girl at the end. This is where individuality comes into play: sometimes one marshmellow is all you need, thank-you-very-much!

I love it. What a great way to begin learning patience and self control.

I agree with Cindy. Jason, you need to get a life! I think it was cute, and I didn't notice the lack of racial "diversity" either, until I read the comment from Jason. It does teach children patience. The little red haired girl looked younger than the others, so she may not have understood the directions as well.

I think the video is hilarious, And to comment on what one person said about kids learning patience, and how every kid is different. I agree with that however, the question is when do you start teaching your kids it? Do you wait til they develope the trait of being impatient or do you teach them from day one. I think the roblem now a days is, that parent always make excuses for why their kids are the way they are. you have kids who have no manners and the parents use the excuse that " hes only 3. thats what 3 yr olds do. BS. Maybe when it comes to playing in mud and watching cartoons but when it comes to raising a kid and molding them, it starts from day 1. Consistancy is the key and allowing them to do things that are wrong, then turning around and telling them that its wrong to do , is contradictive and wrong.

This is actually an old psych experiment (see Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, published about 1998, I think). Four year olds who were self-motivated to wait for the delayed reward (another marshmallow) were followed for 20+ years (as was a cohort of those unable to delay) and were found to have higher test scores, better academic performance and better self-efficacy scores on MMPI, etc.

In a world were children are taught they should have everything they want instantly I think this was a great lesson. When I was little I had to wait until my mother mixed the cake so my brother and I could "lick the bowl". Yes it was hard to wait, but I think that made the batter even better! As for racial diversity, I get tired of hearing that. I think often the people who complain about that are too hung up on race. Why do we dwell on color. I personally look at the individual person not the color. This wasn't about race, it was about kids and patience. Maybe they didn't have other races volunteer their kids.

We talked about a study similar to this in my psychology class. They were all kindergarteners and were told NOT to eat a piece of candy and left for 5 minutes. The study then checked up on the children 15 years later. They found that the children who ate the candy were more likely to be involved in some type of high risk behavior later in life (drugs, stealing, etc). It has something to do with instant gratification vs rule following. Very interesting!

Looks like self discipline to me, not torture. Very cute!!!

This is a really interesting video to watch. Their faces are precious. We've all gone through similar things in real life, but we've just forgotten them.