This put me in the mood for marshmellowssss...
"Don't" by Jonah Lehrer
Observing: narrative, simplified, descriptive, comparison, dialogue, locators.
"The kids who couldn't delay would often have the rules backwards"
Instead of only eating one they would eat two right away when i left the room. so not only could they not wait to eat one, but they had to eat more than one. The rules of the experiment are to either eat one marshmallow right away or wait for a few minutes and then have two.
The children who couldn't control their desire to eat the marshmallows showed that they didn't have stron self-control. They just enjoyed the treat. Self control is often directly related to one's ability to follow the rules. If the children have little restraint when it comes to something as insignificant as a marshmallow, how are they supposed to have restraint when, for instance, they see a cute sweater or something else they can't afford.
The rules that dictate this interaction are fairly simple, but fundamentally different. Children are not able to see the redeemable worth of the marshmallows, only their immediate value, and that affects their ability to follow the rules. Many products part of American consumerism demonstrate this...
Your last two paragraphs were well done, although you might want to edit more. I think you grasped the point of the experiment, even if I'm not sure what the second paragraph was about. I wasn't aware you conducted this experiment.
ReplyDeleteAlso the color of your post is very difficult to read, I would recommend using a darker color for your font.