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The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#61

Post by arethuza »

orbifold wrote: post #22

I've come across variations of this conclusion many times now: That it is really your parents affluence and educational background that predicts your success in school and how much you will earn in the future. This is often portrayed as being unjust. To me it always seemed obvious that children with affluent and well educated parents are more likely to be intelligent, have good self-control and other traits that are…

By "hereditary" are you meaning determined or influenced by genetic factors or inheritance of behaviour and assets between generations?

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#62

Post by cimmanom »

fvdessen wrote: post #58
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scarcity is an outstanding book about this, and makes the point that severe constraints on anything - money, food, free time - can have psychologically damaging effects. In fact it’s extremely toxic - far more damaging than manynthings that have been banned now.

Is poverty really linked to food scarcity in western countries anymore ? The statistics show that overall, the poor are fatter than the rich.

Because they have access to only poor quality foods. There may not be calorie scarcity but there is nutrition scarcity.

And yes, for some there's also "food insecurity" which is not knowing where your next meal is coming from or having to choose between food and other necessities (shelter, warm winter clothing, medical care, transportation, etc.)

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#63

Post by danieltillett »

popnroll wrote: post #53
yasp wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could you possibly argue that without studying the question?

I never said to ignore the question. Experiments require resources which are limited. And after the falsification of intelligence genes, it makes sense to find a psychological cause for delay of gratification first, and test other logical explanations second. Edit: I was wrong. Reading Wikipedia article ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritability_of_IQ ), it seems intelligence is related to both genes and enviroment…

I want to praise you for taking the time to admit that you were wrong about a topic you didn't know much about. It is something that is seen far too infrequently in this world.

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#64

Post by joosteto »

fvdessen wrote: post #58
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scarcity is an outstanding book about this, and makes the point that severe constraints on anything - money, food, free time - can have psychologically damaging effects. In fact it’s extremely toxic - far more damaging than manynthings that have been banned now.

Is poverty really linked to food scarcity in western countries anymore ? The statistics show that overall, the poor are fatter than the rich.

Often the poor are fat because healthy food is more expensive. So yes, scarcity of healthy food is linked to poverty.

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#65

Post by popnroll »

gaius wrote: post #56
popnroll wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You think the behavior of your cats represent the mammal population?

Yes, it’s called sampling

Your cats are an unrepresentative sample of the mammal population, your conclusion is biased.

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#67

Post by [deleted] »

gcthomas wrote: post #7

I see so many forum discussions where posters criticise the poor for their 'weak' decisions and effectively blame the poor for their own plight. Why don't they just work harder and earn the money to pay for their healthcare and education? they say. It is easy to withhold funding from deprived areas if you convince yourself that it is their own fault. These results should be on the front pages of newspapers and on TV…

[deleted]

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#68

Post by danieltillett »

yasp wrote: post #2

Has anyone studied whether time preference might be genetically heritable? Edit: why am I being downvoted for this?

Yes it has been studied and like every basic human trait it is partially genetic and partially environmental.

As for why you are being downvoted there are many here on HC that are strong believers of the blank slate myth [0].

0. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blank_Slate

Re: The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?

#70

Post by dizzystar »

fvdessen wrote: post #58
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Scarcity is an outstanding book about this, and makes the point that severe constraints on anything - money, food, free time - can have psychologically damaging effects. In fact it’s extremely toxic - far more damaging than manynthings that have been banned now.

Is poverty really linked to food scarcity in western countries anymore ? The statistics show that overall, the poor are fatter than the rich.

This is far from universally true. Granted, people aren't starving to death, but there are plenty of poor people who are malnourished in the US.
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