Daily Times

Alright, the actual moniker is the Marshmallow Test, and not the Ras Malai Test. However, personally, I am not a fan of marshmallows and would have definitely passed the test with flying colours. On the other hand, a sweet, succulent and milky ras malai might be an irresistible temptation.

The Marshmallow Test, as it came to be known, was a series of experiments conducted by Walter Mischell and his team at Stanford University during 1960s in which nursery school children were put through a rather tenacious predicament. The way the test worked was that a child was given a choice between having a marshmallow now and getting two later. The test entailed leaving the child alone in a room with a marshmallow right in front of him on the table, and the poor child had to struggle with temptation for a few minutes, which probably felt like a lifetime, staring at that solitary marshmallow that probably continuously beckoned to be devoured, until the adult came back with the second marshmallow. Obviously, if the child had succumbed to the temptation, he didn’t get the second marshmallow.

I was oblivious of the very existence of the Marshmallow Test, which at first blush seems sadistic insofar as much that it would definitely have been torturous for the preschoolers, until I stumbled upon Mischell’s book detailing the findings of his research. The book was published in 2014, and goes with the unsurprising but curiosity invoking title, The Marshmallow Test, in case some readers want to read further. By the way, the video footage of the tests on the internet is entertaining, and quite hilarious in certain cases; children immediately jumping up to eat the marshmallow, with some wiggling and squirming until giving in, with a few passing the test.

On discovering the nitty-gritty about the test, the first reaction was why would anyone waste time with such a seemingly trivial pursuit. Like seriously, how many of us adults can pass this test today even, depending upon the right temptation. Those afflicted with a sweet tooth and overweight, or struggling with a smoking addiction — which as the Surgeon General tells us is injurious to our health — might not even reach the 60-second milestone, so who cares. On a separate note, do we actually have a Surgeon General in Pakistan?

Anyway, to continue, what difference does it make whether or not a child can wait for the second marshmallow, and more importantly, readers will be quite justified in wondering why write about it. Let me assure you, dear readers, I did struggle with the latter part, especially in the light of the current extremely vigilant and qualitatively unyielding editorial squad, that being a compliment. However, the raison d’etre of this column has always been to avoid the current lingering, milked-till-dry conspiracies, and to diversify into subjects where not many journalists venture. And in this particular case parents and grandparents will have a special interest.

On a lighter note, just yesterday, I sat through a complete episode of a talk show hosted by a popular anchor, and let me assure you that was a true test of will power. While this person — this terminology is being deliberately used to mask the anchor’s identity — was entertaining, hilarious and excelled in showmanship, as the entire hour was about utter nonsense, and the conclusion was absolutely nothing. Horrifyingly, rumour has it that the anchor is paid a very hefty remuneration, which can only mean that there is a huge crowd out there who actually believes all that dribble that was being churned out.

Going back as to the first part, these psychological studies discovered that children with this particular quality, self-control or will power — whatever you might want to call it — children who resisted temptation, are more likely than not to succeed in later life. And how do we know that? The researchers, a few decades later, followed up on the children who had participated in the original research, and found that the children who delayed the gratification, and waited for the second marshmallow had higher SAT scores. And that was not all; they had a lower chance of obesity because they had the enviable will power to resist the dessert section in a buffet; they had the will power to overcome an addiction; they could handle stress better; and on the whole, they could do better in general. They are the children who probably, mostly, choose the right path. “Now I have come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why? It was too damn hard,” I am reminded of these lines from the movie The Scent of a Woman.

Apparently, the ability to delay gratification is a critical character trait; when you now think about it, all that seems rather logical. And it all started with marshmallows!

The study continues even today, with the researchers continuously modifying the tests to determine and fine-tune the reasons behind why some children immediately annihilate the marshmallow while others could wait for the promised reward. In the author’s words, is it prewired, is impatience a part of the DNA? And the author’s conclusion is: “The more we learn about nature and nurture, the more it is clear that they inseparably shape each other.” In other words, the good news is that will power can be nurtured and developed. The bad news is that even after that, will power is a scarce resource. If you pass up on doughnuts at breakfast, and resist ras malai at lunch, undoubtedly you will succumb to that mouth watering chocolate fudge ice cream at dinner. Some of you are probably rushing to the fridge right now.

It would be impractical to get into the techniques and methodology to build will power since, space limitations aside, the objective always is to inform and generate interest so that those with will power can build upon the concept. But if you are still wondering how all that helps than ask how prepared you are for retirement, and should you delay partying to save some for the future, there is the ant and the grasshopper analogy discussed in an earlier column here, and in the book. On a collective basis, as a nation we want more and save not.

On a personal level, the Marshmallow Test also provided a valuable insight on my pet peeve, democracy, and what ails it. The majority of voters are looking for instant gratification, and hence those who promise low hanging fruits get elected. The minority, and those nonexistent few who promise a stable long-term future if hardship is embraced today, are, generally, and perhaps rightly, labelled idiots. A system that is built upon instant gratification will only fail the SAT test, as proven by the Marshmallow Test

The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad, and can be reached at syed.bakhtiyarkazmi@gmail.com