How To Give the Marshmallow Test

The original "marshmallow test" was conducted by Stanford psychology professor Walter Mischel 40 years ago. The test was meant to measure which children could delay gratification. Follow up studies showed that children who could postpone eating a marshmallow at age 4 outpaced their peers in many areas when they were 18 years old: They scored 210 points higher in the SAT and had higher confidence, concentration, and reliability. This simple test proved to be twice as predictive of later SAT scores as IQ tests. .

The marshmallow test described here will hardly qualify as a valid scientific experiment. Passing the test won't indicate your kid is on the fast track to Harvard. That said, it is a fun activity to do with your kids, and an opportunity to impart a valuable lesson in patience.

Step 1  

Set your child up in an area with a chair, a table, and one marshmallow. In the academic experiment, researchers hid behind a two way mirror. You can accomplish the same thing with a video camera or a webcam in your computer.

Step 2  

Tell your child the rules of the test:  

• You will put one marshmallow on the table and leave the room to "do a short errand." He/she is welcome to eat the marshmallow while you are gone. However, if you return from your errand and he/she hasn't eaten the marshmallow, you will reward him/her with an additional marshmallow.

Step 3  

Leave the room once the child understands that he/she either gets to eat one marshmallow now or two later.

Step 4  

Wait. In the actual experiment, the psychologists waited up to 20 minutes to see if the children could resist the temptation. However, in this fun version of the test, most parents will prefer to only wait 2-5 minutes.

Step 5  

Return and reward the child with an extra marshmallow if deserved. Allow them to now eat both marshmallows. Explain that you are proud of them for being patient. If they ate the marshmallow while you were gone, try to use the moment for teaching about delayed gratification.

Step 6  

Enjoy watching the video recording of the test with your whole family, and with the child when he or she gets older. The kids will enjoy seeing their reaction regardless of how the test goes.

Tips

• While the original marshmallow test was given to 4 year olds, you can give this test to children of any age, although you may find that children much younger than 4 will have a very difficult time resisting eating the first marshmallow.
• Watching a recorded video of the test with your kids makes the activity fun immediately after the test and for years to follow.
• If your child isn't fond of marshmallows, substitute a more enticing treat.

Warnings

• Don't overdo this. You want your kid to have a good time.
• The marshmallow test as described here does not have the controls of the famous scientific experiment. Enjoy the learning experience, but don't take the results too seriously.
• This is not a scientific experiment. It is for fun and laughs. Show the father or mother the video when he gets home from work for extra laughs!