1. THE BRAIN: Grow that self-control! Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1593, Italy) Courtesy of Dr. Paul Dougherty, Stanford Institute for Reading & Learning

2. Adolescents: New cognitive - emotional connections Emotion intertwines with the highest levels of human endeavor…if controlled !

3. The Marshmallow Experiment— Dr. Walter Mischcel, Stanford University 1960’s 1/3 ate the marshmallow in seconds (low delayers) 1/3 held off for 15 minutes (high delayers) Tested 4-year olds: Who delayed personal gratification? What were the long-term affects? The New Yorker, May 24, 2010

4. Frontal Lobes Reasoning that tempers emotions (last brain area to mature) Amygdala Emotions (1 st area to mature) Tips for Reaching Goals: 1)Distract yourself – focus on something other than the temptation 1)Anticipate temptation & have plan to address – develop Trigger Strategies! 1)Meta-cognition: “Think about your thinking”

5. Meta-cognition: “Think about your thinking.” Distraction— When children pretended marshmallows were surrounded by a frame, they delayed gratification from 1 minute to 15 minutes. Study of teens : Relationship between self-control and grades— 8 th graders could choose between receiving 1 dollar now or 2 dollars in a week. Delaying behavior was a better predictor of academic performance than I.Q. This means that self-control is more important than intelligence for getting good grades.