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*The Yiddish word for "adult" is "dervaksener"
The newspapers have revisited a study done forty years ago about children who couldn't resist marshmallows and cookies and who still don't have much willpower as adults.
In the late 1960s, there was a so-called Marshmallow Test. The research study was conducted on 4-year-olds by Walter Mischel at Stanford University. The study showed the importance of impulse control and delayed "tsufridnkayt" (gratification) for academic, emotional and social success.
Michael put marshmallows in front of a room full of 4-year-olds. He told them they could have "eyns" (one) marshmallow now, but if they could wait several minutes, they could have "tsvey" (two). He said, I'm leaving for a little while. If you don't eat it while I'm away, you can have two when I return."
Some children eagerly grabbed a marshmallow and ate it. Others waited, some having to cover their "oygn" (eyes) in order not to see the tempting treat and one child even licked the table around the marshmallow.
Michael followed the group and found that, 14 years later, the "grabbers" suffered low self-esteem and were viewed by others as "farakshnt" (stubborn), prone to envy and easily frustrated. The "waiters" were better copers, more socially "kompetent" (competent) and self-assertive, trustworthy, dependable and more academically successful. This group even scored about 201 points higher on their SATs.
According to David Treybig ("Can You Pass the Marshmallow Test?"), "As preposterous as it may sound, some aspects of life are like marshmallow tests. The longer we wait, the better our reward.
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