How did these children manage to wait? Mischel watched the children on
video. They did several things to distract themselves. Some sang songs or
kicked the desk with their feet. Others covered their eyes, so that they couldn't
see the marshmallow. Mischel saw a connection: The children who could
concentrate on something else were better at waiting.
In later years, Dr. Mischel often thought about these children. How were
they doing in school? How were they doing in life? Mischel decided to do more
research when the children were in high school. He discovered some interesting
differences: The "waiters" had more self-confidence than the "quick eaters."
When they did challenging tasks, they did not become anxious or show signs of
stress. They were also more successful in school, and their scores on a college
entrance test were an average of 200 points higher.
Mischel's findings surprised many people. Until then, authorities in
education and psychology only used intelligence tests to identify good students.
Mischel showed that something else is crucial for success in school and in life.
People must learn how to control their thoughts and their behavior.
Now Mischel thinks that maybe we can teach people to control their
thoughts and their behavior. He is doing research on this question with large
groups of schoolchildren in different parts of the United States. Mischel
believes that learning this important mental skill at an early age will help
children be successful later in life. Many educators see the importance of
Mischel's work. They are trying to find different ways of teaching their
students this lesson: "Don't eat the marshmallow!"