The Marshmallow Test
Mastering Self-Control
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The Marshmallow Test
Narrated by:
Alan Alda
Buy Now for £18.99
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Narrated by:
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Alan Alda
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By:
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Walter Mischel
About this listen
Renowned psychologist Walter Mischel, designer of the famous Marshmallow Test, explains what self-control is and how to master it.
A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? And what are the implications for her behavior later in life?
The world's leading expert on self-control, Walter Mischel has proven that the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life, predicting higher SAT scores, better social and cognitive functioning, a healthier lifestyle and a greater sense of self-worth. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught?
In The Marshmallow Test, Mischel explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life - from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement. With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.
©2014 Walter Mischel (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. Excerpts from David G. Myers, “Self-Serving Bias,” in This Will Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking edited by John Brockman (New York: Doubleday, 2012), 37–38. Used with permission. Quotes from George Ramirez are printed with permission. Excerpts from Sesame Street script for episode 4412 are reprinted with permission. “Sesame Workshop”®, “Sesame Street”®, and associated characters, trademarks, and design elements are owned and licensed by Sesame Workshop. © 2014 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
Editor reviews
Self-control is a vital skill and in his latest audiobook The Marshmallow Test, world-renown American psychologist and author Walter Mischel, describes exactly how to master it. With an expert narration by award-winning American actor Alan Alda, listeners are taken through the background of why people lack self-control and come to a deeper understanding of just how important it is for a healthy, balanced life. Hear the steps of how to gain this essential skill and apply it to any area of your life – from curing your bad habits to achieving your goals without distraction. Available now from Audible.
I came across the Marshmallow Test originally in research for my own book about controlling obesity, through the (surprising) finding that the BMI of 40 year olds (in the US) correlated significantly with their ability to defer rewards at age 4, as measured by the Marshmallow Test in the 1960’s. This finding is mentioned, but Mishel ranges far wider - try this:
Brain imaging established that the same areas of the brain lit up when people felt physical pain (in fact, heat on forearm) as when they suffered the pain of emotional rejection (in fact, playing a video game and getting left out by the other two players). So this raised the question, ‘Could you take paracetamol to numb the pain of rejection?' And it turns out (at least under experimental conditions and for video games) that paracetamol does indeed protect people to some extent from emotional upset. (Which may shed some light on why people get addicted to painkillers.)
Mishel offers lots of implications for education, and even explains why people tend to boast so much - I'm always getting sat next self aggrandising idiots at parties - look out for the episode about Jake. The explanation is more subtle than you might guess.
Narration: good and natural, by which I mean totally unobtrusive - it was the voice I would imagine for Walter Mishel, but a professional performer.
Fascinating
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There are so many topics covered in this book in a clear and concise manner with lots of relevant studies to back up the findings. These findings are presented in a non biased manner & pleasant narrator to listen to.
Eye opener. Covered so many relevant topics
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A good listen
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nothing revolutionary nor new, still a decent read
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very interesting book
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