In a twist on the classic “marshmallow test” researchers found that children were willing to wait longer for a reward if they were told their teacher would find out how long they waited.
The “marshmallow test” is a famous psychology experiment used to determine a child's ability to delay gratification.
In the initial experiment, which was conducted back in the 70’s, Walter Mischel put kids in a room with a marshmallow. He told them if they could wait until he got back to eat the treat they could have two, instead of one.
Later research has found that the better kids are at waiting, the better they do in school. They’ve also showed that the kids had fewer behaviour problems, got better SAT scores, were better at dealing with stress and were more successful in life.