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

by Walter Mischel

Overview

Renowned psychologist Walter Mischel, designer of the famous Marshmallow Test, explains what self-control is and how to master it.

A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life?

The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught?

In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life — from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316230865
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	09/22/2015
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	155,886
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Walter Mischel holds the Robert Johnston Niven chair as professor of humane letters in psychology at Columbia University. He is the author of more than two hundred scientific papers as well as the coauthor of Introduction to Personality, now in its eighth edition. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has won the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of APA and the Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. He lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

"The discoveries that grew out of the marshmallow studies add up to one of the most insightful research stories in the history of psychology. Whatever it is now, your view of human nature will change profoundly as you read this brilliant book."—Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast and Slow

"A fascinating book. It is such an addictive treat that I had no self-control in reading it, until I understood that I could actually improve my self-control, and from then on I was in marshmallow heaven. Stimulating, fun, clear, lively, and drawn from rigorous studies. It's not only accessible, but very convincing. Seriously, I love it."—Alan Alda, actor, writer, science communication advocate

"The book we've all been waiting for. ... [Mischel] illustrates with solid research and insightful anecdote the most important claim of the book: that self-control can be taught and mastered."—Angela Lee Duckworth, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, and a 2013 MacArthur Foundation Fellow

"This is an amazing - eye-opening, transformative, riveting - book from one of the greatest psychologists of our time. Mischel delivers the powerful message that self-control can be enhanced, and shows us how!"—Carol S. Dweck, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University, author of Mindset

"a charmingly told scientific story, makes clear the test is not just about youngsters, but is helpful to us all in the marshmallow moments we face through life. Mischel has written a wonderful book, engaging, enlightening, and profound."—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence and Focus

"This marvelous book is unique, and beautifully written from beginning to end. The range that Walter Mischel covers-from creative cognitive science to neuroscience to genetics-is breathtaking. This speaks for science at its best. Bravo!"—Eric R. Kandel, MD, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, University Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, author of The Age of Insight and In Search of Memory

"Walter Mischel is one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, and The Marshmallow Test will make him one of the most influential in this century, too."—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and the author of The Better Angels of Our Nature.

"Walter Mischel has changed psychologists' view of human potential, and The Marshmallow Test will change yours. The book is full of insights about self-control and how to master it, though it does create one impulse that is hard to resist-the desire to read the book cover to cover. It is both a fascinating story of a brilliant researcher at work and a recipe for how to change one's life."—Timothy Wilson, Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia, author of Redirect

From the Publisher

07/28/2014
Mischel, the renowned psychologist behind the now-famous marshmallow tests of the 1960s, shares the culmination of over 50 years of research on willpower and self-control in this expansive, eye-opening book. The test was simple (a choice of one marshmallow now or two later on provided the means to quantify willpower), yet the results predicted future successes and failures, such that those with self-control as children displayed similar restraint as adults. In addition to an overview of the original longitudinal study, we are given insight into the history and physiology of self-control, its manifestations and its mastery. But, somewhat surprisingly, this book is largely about the ways in which self-control can be learned at any stage in life. Indeed “marshmallows” can take on many forms, as Mischel demonstrates through case studies and more contemporary tests. All of the anecdotes here, not to mention the entire chapter on practical applications, provide insight into how we can maximize our willpower—without overextending its potential. Mischel’s expansive scope makes the title somewhat of a misnomer, as the book covers more than a matter of his initial experiments. To be human is to grapple with the will: this stimulating book encourages us to make mindful decisions. Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"The discoveries that grew out of the marshmallow studies add up to one of the most insightful research stories in the history of psychology. Whatever it is now, your view of human nature will change profoundly as you read this brilliant book."

Daniel Kahneman

2014-07-23
Mischel (Psychology/Columbia Univ.) argues that our ability to voluntarily exercise self-restraint in pursuit of that just-got-to-have-it desire provides children with a powerful tool that can help them succeed later in life.Numerous research studies have suggested that those who practice self-control do better on their SATs, have great reserves of self-worth, less stress, and have less incidence of obesity and addiction. These are preliminary findings, notes the author, who developed the classic "marshmallow experiment," which illustrates ideas of self-control and delayed gratification. The preponderance of evidence has not yet come down on one side or the other, and he acknowledges the powerful drive for instant gratification—he, too, wants it now, whatever it is, not at some nebulous time in the future. Mischel also notes that people with emotional grounding, advanced social skills and off-the-charts intellectual abilities can still be crippled by self-control issues. The exact source of self-control remains a mystery: Is it a product of nature, of nurture or an acquired cognitive skill of some kind? Researchers have been able to identity two types: "Hot" self-control is "emotional, reflexive unconscious"; the "cool" variety is "cognitive, reflective, slower and effortful." Undoubtedly, there will be nuances down the road, further complicating the picture, but for now, Mischel gets to the heart of the matter. "The emotional brain's predisposition to overvalue immediate rewards and to greatly discount the value of delayed rewards," writes the author, "points to what we need to do if we want to take control: we have to reverse the process by cooling the present and heating the future….push the temptation in front of you far away in space and time, and bring the distant consequences closer in your mind."No one will deny that self-control would make for a better planet, and this cogent guide suggests paths that may lead us to more conscious control of this desirable quality.

Kirkus Reviews