For decades, studies have shown that children who resist temptation—choosing to attend for two marshmallows later instead of grabbing one right away—achieve better health and success later in life.



But 50 years after the seminal "marshmallow test" suggested it, a new, multicultural testing method adds a missing piece to the story: What children are willing to attend for depends largely on their cultural upbringing.

 The CU Boulder study, published in the journal Psychological Science, found that children in Kyoto, Japan waited 3 times longer for food than for gifts, while children in Boulder, Colorado waited nearly fourfold longer for gifts than for food. 

"We found that the power to delay gratification, which predicts many important life outcomes, isn't just about differences in genes or brain development, but also about habits supported by culture," said lead author Yuko Munakata, a search affiliate in the Department of Psychology. and Neuroscience at CU Boulder. 

The findings are excellent news for parents, showing that developing simple, culturally appropriate habits in young children can influence their development in ways that make it easier for them to slow down. But it also calls into question decades of scientific research suggesting that some children who are considered children without self-control may have different cultural values ​​of waiting.

"The question becomes: what proportion of our scientific conclusions are shaped by the cultural lens we bring to our work as researchers?" Munakata said. Marshmallow test redux The marshmallow test, first developed in the early 1970s by psychologist Walter Mischel, works like this: 

A preschooler is placed in a room with marshmallows, told he can eat a marshmallow now, or wait and obtain two too late, then leave them alone. hours and shot a video camera. Although the research is mixed, several studies have found that preschoolers who wait longer perform better on academic tests are less likely to exhibit problem behaviors, have a healthier body mass index, and have better relationships later in life. Some studies have also found that identical study subjects are less likely to be incarcerated and make money. Previously, researchers focused on behavioral and cognitive explanations.


"There's this concept that some kids have more self-control and some kids have less," said Munakata, now also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. Munakata, who is from Japan but grew up in the US, came up with the thought for the new study while on vacation in Kyoto. On the primary day of school, when her two young children tore open their lunch boxes, their peers quickly corrected them, telling them that in Japan nobody eats until everyone is seated. 

In contrast, while their children are wont to wait to open presents for birthdays and Christmas, their Japanese peers open them as soon as they receive them, gift or not, gift or not. what proportion does culture influence what we expect? To find out, he worked with Professor Satoru Saito of the grad school of Education in Japan and Kaichi Yamaoka, who may be a graduate student at the University of Tokyo.

They recruited 144 children from Boulder and Kyoto, randomly assigning each to a test involving either a marshmallow or a wrapped gift. Researchers and fogeys watched via video. "One counts the dots on the ceiling. Another signed on the table. somebody else is walking around the room,” said co-author Grace Do, a search assistant professor at the Renée Crown Wellness Institute who helped conduct the study in Boulder. "It's interesting to work out the self-soothing techniques that children develop." 

The facility of politeness Japanese children is particularly good at waiting for marshmallows, with a mean wait time of 15 minutes. "If we glance at their behavior with only candy, Japanese children seem to possess better self-control," Munakata said. “But that's not the top of the story. In Japan, children wait but five minutes to open a gift. the other is true in the U.S.

 where kids today wait for nearly a quarter-hour for an opening compared to less than four to eat a marshmallow. Especially children who have a habit of expecting food at home and waiting longer at other places to eat marshmallows. And across cultures, children who engage more with social conventions (according to surveys of children) wait longer. 

"It suggests how you get older, the social conventions you've grown up with, and the way much you care about that," Do start said. Munakata said the study doesn't disprove the most finding of the marshmallow test.

That the ability to resist rewards in the here and now is related to success in long-term goals. And he acknowledges that genetics, neurocognitive factors, and social factors play a task in how much a child manifests. (His own 2018 study found that if other kindergartners in their "group" chose to attend for the second marshmallow, they might too).

However, there are things parents and caregivers can do to reap the advantages of better self-control. "Cultivating the habit of expecting others can do more than promote politeness," Munakata said, noting that such habits can change brain systems in such how that delaying gratification can become automatic. "It is going to be easier for children to succeed in future life situations without having to work hard."