Why Is The Marshmallow Experiment Successful

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The Marshmallow Experiment “Willpower is key when it comes to success, or is it? Over the years the discussion of willpower or just general behavior is affecting how successful we are. There are two sides to every argument discussion. Kids that showed willpower during the marshmallow experiment had more success later in life. Although when they revisited the subject and changed it a bit the results were somewhat different. Let’s explore what happened during both experiments and what the outcome was later in life. The first Marshmallow experiment was performed by Walter Mischel and his participants were four year olds. Each four year old was placed in a room by themselves and was told that if they wanted a marshmallow to just ring the bell but, if they waited fifteen minutes they would get two marshmallows. More than half of the four year olds rang the doorbell instantly. They couldn’t handle the temptation of such a delicious snack. The few kids that did make it through “spontaneously invented a variety of mental strategies. Some covered their eyes with their hands or stood in the corner …show more content…
This time they decided to see if willpower isn’t as strong as people think. What if behavioral cues can change with the environment. Before they gave a four year old a marshmallow they would send either an “unreliable adult show up and and promise to come back to the room with art supplies or a reliable adult to show up in the room and actually come back with what they promised.” (Source 2) “Only one out of fourteen kids that encountered the unreliable adult actually waited the full fifteen minutes for the marshmallow.” (Source 2) The kids must have believed that the adults were lying since they didn’t come back with what they promised to begin with. “However more than half the kids who encountered the reliable adult made it through the fifteen minutes.” (Source
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