Marshmallow Test

Is it necessary to possess willpower in order to be successful? An experiment, the marshmallow test, was conducted by Walter Mischel to determine if his theory on the essential components to be successful in life and if willpower had anything to do with it. For the experiment, Mr. Mischel gathered four year student and gave them an offer of either having one marshmallow instantly or two marshmallows, if they were able to wait fifteen minutes. He then returned years later to see if the children’s reaction to the marshmallow test, had any correlations to how they behaved now. It is naive to say that this experiment had revealed any actual association to success or willpower. Whether the results of this experiment concluded to the terms “delayed
gratification” or “cognitive control”, they both prove that there was so much more to the kids, who had control, than just having the willpower to wait for the second marshmallow.
Delayed gratification, the ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward, definitely could be a purpose as to how the children, who waited for the second marshmallow, also were more successful twelve years later. The mental capability to understand waiting for a short period of time, will allow you to achieve and obtain a greater prize,

Cognitive control, processes that allow information processing and behavior to adapt depending on current goals, rather than remaining rigid and inflexible.