Adapted from a presentation By: matt kooiker Instant gratification and Self-regulation Adapted from a presentation By: matt kooiker

Marshmallow Test Why was it difficult for the children to resist eating the marshmallow? Describe what is going through one of the kid's minds as (s)he tries to resist the temptation to eat the marshmallow. Are you a marshmallow eater or marshmallow resister? What are the advantages of being a marshmallow resister? What are the disadvantages of being a marshmallow eater? What can a person do to change from being a marshmallow eater to a marshmallow resister? Our culture is one fueled by immediate gratification. What are some other examples of people being unable or unwilling to wait? Is this a positive or negative trend? Click on the image to play the TED talk “Don’t eat the marshmallows yet.”

Instant Gratification Click on the image to play the clip from Willy Wonka

Instant Gratification Instant gratification is the desire to experience pleasure or fulfillment without delay or deferment. Basically, it's “When do I want it? I want it now!” For example - eating sweets, everyone loves them, and in the short-term they taste delicious, but when you look at them long-term, they are actually bad for you.

REAL LIFE Examples At Walt Disney World, FastPass tickets cut your wait time for the most popular rides. Cosmetics marketers promise a return to youthful looking skin in a flash with products like Maybelline Instant Age Rewind. Online, instantly downloaded music purchases have put record stores out of business.  Netflix?

How does this apply at school? What are examples of instant gratification here at school? Bus? Lunch? Specials? In the classroom?  

Delayed Gratification What Is it? What is Delayed Gratification? Discuss poster.

Delayed Gratification Delayed Gratification Means You Can Live Well Now and Even Better in the Future To some people, delayed gratification may sound like a boring way to live that requires you to bank on the idea that you will be around for tomorrow when tomorrow is not promised. The most popular argument against this way of living and thinking is: What if you are not even around to reap the benefits of all of you hard work? While you’re alive and healthy now, you can be enjoying life to the fullest and taking one day at a time.

Delayed Gratification There’s one big flaw with that argument. What happens when you live for today and can’t pay your bills next week? What happens when you live to be 80 instead of 65 and you don’t have enough to remain retired? When you delay your gratification, you are living for the present AND the future. You can spend half of what you have now and save the other half for the future. You can focus more on family and experiences instead of things that will only satisfy you for the moment. Talk about flaws. Offer opportunities for students that are working on their goal to participate in discussion.

Delayed vs Instant Gratification Delayed Gratification Instant Gratification Putting time on the job to gain experience and show loyalty to future employers. Hopping from one slightly higher paying job to another, and having a resume that looks like that too. Figuring out a problem by thinking it through and discussing it with others, so you have a better idea how to solve similar problems when they occur. Giving up quickly and asking for the answer.  Knowing the answer, but not really knowing how to get the answer. Owning an “old” car because it is paid for and requires only liability insurance. Driving a new car that is flashy and impressive, and makes you feel good about yourself. Putting what’s left of your allowance in the bank to fund something that is meaningful and worthwhile, even if you have no idea what that might be. Spending what’s left of your allowance on a toy or game that you can play now. Studying after school to gain an edge on the upcoming test, because you know that education is important for higher career income. Spending time with your friends playing sports after class because that’s a lot more fun than studying. Renting a modest apartment for now and saving for a down payment on a house. Spending more to have a really nice apartment now, but not saving for a down payment on a place of your own.

Marshmallow experiment results The researchers continued to follow up with the children for the next several decades. They found that the 4-year-olds who had successfully waited for 15 minutes differed in significant ways from the children who couldn’t wait. Over the years, the children who had “passed” the marshmallow test developed the following characteristics: better emotional coping skills higher rates of educational attainment higher SAT scores healthier weights

Self-regulation Far from it! So, is the lesson from the Marshmallow Experiment that some people are born with better self-regulation, and that this trait determines the path for their entire life?   Far from it! Self-regulation and delayed gratification are essential life skills — but they can be learned. The game of chess teaches us that “Sometimes it is better not to capture and wait for a better opportunity.”