1
00:00:00,353 --> 00:00:07,318
In the early 1970s, Walter Mischel invited four-year-olds to his Stanford psychology laboratory.

2
00:00:07,318 --> 00:00:12,462
The first question he asked each child was an easy one: did he like to eat marshmallows?

3
00:00:12,462 --> 00:00:15,565
The answer, not surprisingly, was always yes.

4
00:00:15,565 --> 00:00:17,652
Then Mischel made the child an offer.

5
00:00:17,652 --> 00:00:28,301
He could eat one marshmallow right away or, if the child was willing to wait for a few minutes while Mischel ran an errand, he could eat two marshmallows when the experimenter returned.

6
00:00:28,301 --> 00:00:30,961
Practically every child decided to wait.

7
00:00:30,961 --> 00:00:32,728
They all wanted more sweets.

8
00:00:32,738 --> 00:00:39,956
Mischel then left the room but told the child that if he rang a bell, Mischel would come back and the child could eat the marshmallow.

9
00:00:39,982 --> 00:00:44,507
However, this meant that he’d be forfeiting the chance to get the second marshmallow.

10
00:00:44,535 --> 00:00:49,624
Most of the four-year-olds couldn’t resist the sugary temptation for more than a few minutes.

11
00:00:49,684 --> 00:00:54,306
Several kids covered their eyes with their hands so that they couldn’t see the marshmallow.

12
00:00:54,334 --> 00:00:56,524
One child started kicking the desk.

13
00:00:56,541 --> 00:00:58,893
Another one started pulling on his hair.

14
00:00:58,893 --> 00:01:04,884
While a few of the four-year-olds were able to wait for up to fifteen minutes, many lasted less than one minutes.

15
00:01:04,893 --> 00:01:10,596
Others just ate the marshmallow as soon as Mischel left the room, not even bothering to ring the bell.

16
00:01:10,599 --> 00:01:13,297
The marshmallow was a test of self-control.

17
00:01:13,297 --> 00:01:18,534
The emotional brain is always tempted by rewarding stimuli, such as a lump of sugar.

18
00:01:18,570 --> 00:01:29,203
However, if the child wanted to achieve the goal — getting a second marshmallow — then he needed to temporarily ignore his feelings, delay gratification for a few more minutes.

19
00:01:29,203 --> 00:01:36,360
What Mischel discovered was that even at the age of four, some kids were much better at managing their emotions than others.