Who hasn’t heard of the Marshmallow Test?! One of the researchers we follow, Angela Duckworth(Duckworth Lab, University of Pennsylvania) writes about why scientists should avoid the immediate gratification of reporting ‘”findings” without a complete analysis of all the variables. We hope to encourage the spirit of analysis for our students and community by offering provocations and engaging in the learning that may reveal itself as questions and dialogue are had. If you want to learn more about Duckworth’s studies on grit, click here.
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By Angela Duckworth (University of Pennsylvania)
Marshmallows are everywhere. From the Vanguard newsletter to Sesame Street to the Colbert Report, direct references to the “marshmallow test” suggest this simple task, invented by Walter Mischel and his colleagues a half-century ago to assess delay of gratification in preschoolers, has captured popular interest (Mischel, Ebbesen, & Zeiss, 1972; Mischel & Metzner, 1962).
The challenge of managing impulses when what’s good for us in the long run conflicts with what feels good right now is hardly new. Virtually every philosophical and religious thinker has opined on self-control and its importance to both virtue and worldly success. READ MORE @Connections