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The Challenge of Waiting, in Any Culture
Fifty years ago, Walter Mischel and colleagues wanted to measure how well young children could resist temptation. He invented the famous “marshmallow” test. Children could either eat one marshmallow right away or wait 15 minutes
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Culture Affects Kids’ Ability to Delay Gratification
Overcoming impulses to enjoy immediate rewards in order to get later benefits is fundamental to achieving goals. Researchers often measure the delaying of gratification with well-known “marshmallow task,” in which children must resist the urge
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The New Riddle of the Sphinx: Life History and Psychological Science
In her inaugural column as APS President, Alison Gopnik explores how the life-history perspective is suited to the mission of APS.
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Research Briefs
Recent highlights from APS journals articles on learning about the self, mental health interventions, representational momentum for physical states, and much more.
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Practical Ways to Alleviate Loneliness and Isolation Among Older Adults
Over 14 million older adults live alone in the U.S., according to the Administration on Aging[1]. Unfortunately, loneliness and isolation are serious issues with deleterious health implications. Both are linked to decreased physical and mental
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U.S. Kids Are Falling Behind Global Competition, but Brain Science Shows How to Catch Up
On vital measures that predict later success in school and life, small children in the U.S. do worse than kids in comparable countries. This distressing information comes from an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study of
