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Imagine you are 4 years old. Your mother holds out a marshmallow for you to eat — but she says: ‘I’m going to give you a choice. You can eat this marshmallow now or, if you wait 15 minutes, you can have two marshmallows!’ Result.
But would you wait? In the 1960s some psychologists at Stanford University in California, led by Walter Mischel, tried this out. They offered nursery school children a treat of their choice, such as a marshmallow, cookie or pretzel. Of the 600+ children tested, most were unable to resist the temptation and gobbled the treat before the 15 minutes were up. About one-third did manage to delay gratification.
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