Digital marshmallow test examines impulse control

What has become known as the ‘marshmallow test’ began as an experiment in the 1960s at Stanford University’s Bing Nursery School. Children were given the choice between one reward (like a marshmallow, pretzel or mint) they could eat immediately and a larger reward (two marshmallows) for which they would have to wait alone, for up to 20 minutes.

This work by Walter Mischel and his team has become synonymous with temptation, willpower and impulse control. A ‘digital marshmallow test’ for adults to test impulsivity using smartphones has been launched by a group of researchers…