The long delayers pretended their arms were ears of corn.
They played with their pigtails, they turned their backs on the marshmallows.
In other words they distracted themselves from the temptation.
Or as psychologist like Dr. Mischel call
it, they were able to psychologically distance themselves.
Dr. Mischel, then followed up with both sets of four and
five year olds over the course of the next 40 plus years to
see how their ability to delay gratification,
as a kid, correlated with life outcomes.
Here's Dr. Mischel.
>> The brain has two very closely interacting systems,
one of which we call the hot system, which
is the Limbic system essentially which is the lower
more primitive brain that we share with other mammals that
are closest to us. >> Yeah.
>> The activity of the limbic system is essentially the hot thing that
evolution gave us, which is hugely protective when you're living in the wild.
That is it doesn't care about the future.
It's not meant to deal with the future, it's meant to deal with
the here and now, with what's coming at you, you know, in the savannah.
Now.
What we've got is a, a cool system which is in the prefrontal
cortex and we have the ability to do things like control our attention, use our
imagination solve problems inhibit impulses inhibit responses.
So I'm using my prefrontal cortex basically to fight and
inhibit what my hot system is trying to reflexively do.
Which is to get me to eat the thing.
>> Right. >> You have to distance yourself
from the temptation and heat for yourself, in your head.
Okay.
The delayed outcome.
The goal in trying to get people to focus on
a delayed thing and to go for it and give
up an immediate thing that would interfere with it, is
to have the immediate thing transformed or cooled in a way.
That takes its,
its pizzazz out of it. That takes its power out of it.
And that in, instead, makes the delayed thing hot.
>> And so how do you cool, the imm, how do you cool the immediate?
>> The immediate hot temptations are there, in your face,
and it takes over unless you have something that prepares you.
To not let it take over.
Now, one of those things
is called a plan particularly an if-then implementation plan.
There's a lot of work to show that these very, very simple if-then
implementation plans can work wonders not only
with adults, but with very young children.
They love it, first of all.
I mean we, we have lots of studies.
When in which we create temptations that distract them from work.
And arm them ahead of time with if-then implementation
plans so that they know what to do when the distraction comes.
And, it works beautifully.
And they feel great because I did it. >> Other than self control.
What would you say you know, all kids need to learn?
>> You need a burning goal.
