Rational Snacking

Rational Snacking

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

The idea that a child's waiting time reflects a reasoned bet on whether the adult's promise will be kept.

What it is

Kidd, Palmeri and Aslin had a researcher either keep or break a promise about art supplies before the marshmallow task. Children in the reliable group waited about four times as long on average, and 9 of 14 waited the full 15 minutes, against 1 of 14 in the unreliable group.

In effect

In the article on whether the marshmallow test predicts success, it shows that waiting depends on trust in the setting as well as on self-control.

What it does not say

The study had 28 children. It does not say that self-control plays no part in waiting.

Sources

  1. Kidd, C., Palmeri, H., & Aslin, R. N. (2013). Rational snacking: Young children's decision-making on the marshmallow task is moderated by beliefs about environmental reliability. Cognition, 126(1), 109-114.