Marshmallows = Money

I heard a motivational speech this weekend that really got me to start thinking about how I need to teach my kids and rethink some of my own spending habits.  A major portion of this speech centered around an experiment started in the 1960’s called “The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment” performed by Walter Mischel.

The way the experiment worked was like this:

Using 400 four year old children as test subjects, each child was placed in a room by him or herself, with a marshmallow placed on the table in front of them.  The child was then told that they could eat the marshmallow right then if they wanted to, but if they waited until the experimenter returned from an errand (15 to 20 minutes) then the child could have 2 marshmallows.  If the child ate the marshmallow before the experimenter returned, there would not be a second marshmallow.


About 1/3 of the children ate the marshmallow the moment Dr. Mischel left the room, another 1/3 waited up to 3 minutes and then ate it, and the last 1/3 waited until he returned and received another marshmallow.  Dr. Mischel gave a report on this study, commenting on how 1/3 of the kids were able to delay gratification, or control their impulses in order to receive an enhanced reward.

What is most interesting about this experiment is that Dr. Michel followed up on it about 14 years later, returning to the original kids who ate the single marshmallow and those who were able to control their impulses and wait for a greater reward.  What he found was rather startling:  statistically, those who were able to wait to receive the second marshmallow were doing better both in school and socially than those who grabbed the marshmallow right away.  The patient children were generally more confident, adventurous, had more long-term friends, and better grades than the children who did not control their impulses.

Dr. Daniel Goleman, who wrote the book “Emotional Intelligence,” concluded that “It seems that the ability to delay gratification is a master skill, a triumph of the reasoning brain over the impulsive one.”  That skill is effectively applied in many parts of one’s life, and related to developing stronger friendships, dependability, and academic achievements.

Now, for me personally, I look at how well I control my financial impulse and I created a short check list for myself to help me look at my behaviors:

• -Do I make a list of items that I need when go shopping? (groceries, shop supplies, clothing…)
• -Do I stick to the list or regularly buy other things that were not on the list?
• -Do I buy something just because it is a good price, even though I might not use it?
• -Am I paying in cash, or do I have to use a credit card?
• -Do I save for something over a few months, or use credit card to get it right away?
• -Am I replacing a perfectly functional item for a more expensive one? (27” TV for a 40” TV)
• -Do I invest in the Lottery more often than in my pension plan?
• -Do I ever try to hide my purchases from others? (spouse, parents)

I know, it almost sounds like a spending addiction quiz in a Cosmo Magazine, but you should look over the answers to make sure that you area actually doing what you want to be doing.  If you behaviors aren’t matching up, maybe it’s time to try and figure out how to change them.  I say this as a parent, because I know most of the habits my kids are developing, they usually see those habits in me first.  I’m looking at my financial actions and habits so that I don’t teach my kids the wrong ones.  I figure life will be tough enough that they don’t need to make all the mistakes I’ve made.  I know I need to work on saving for something instead of just putting it on a credit card.

Let me know what you think of the experiment above, or if you like your own answers to the behavioral questions. Jerry

Information about the Marshmallow Experiment from:
SmartParentsBlog.com
NewYorker.com
Mangan's Blog