The Marshmallow Test: Delay of Gratification and Independent Rule Compliance

Abstract

The Marshmallow Test, a self-imposed delay of gratification task pioneered by Walter Mischel in the 1960’s, showed that young children vary in their ability to inhibit impulses and regulate their attention and emotion in order to wait and obtain a desired reward (Mischel & Mischel, 1983). The Marshmallow Test offers an opportunity to observe and measure children’s decision-making and self-regulation in an emotionally charged context of often conflicting motivations. Additionally, this task provides a context to investigate how compliance with rules and self-regulation may depend on or compete with each other. In this dissertation, I examine the marshmallow test by comparing different criteria of ‘success’ in this task with the two ways in which children can ‘fail’ to delay, either by voluntarily terminating the task, or by breaking one of the rules. Though distinctly observable behaviors, these have traditionally been considered equivalent in indicating the end of the delay period. In two studies, I examine the cognitive, behavioral, and demographic measures that characterize these behavioral choices. First, I conducted a cross-sectional behavioral study of children ages 3-7. My findings in the first study suggest that models predicting delay of gratification performance for compliant children do not apply to noncompliant children. Secondly, I carried out a secondary analysis of longitudinal data in which the children participated in the marshmallow task at age 4.5, followed by subsequent assessments in elementary and high school (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1998). In this analysis, I found that there were no substantial differences in behavioral or cognitive longitudinal outcomes between the two modes of termination of the task, with the exception of certain academic outcomes in mathematics.