The Marshmallow Test

The Marshmallow Test is a tour de force. Despite its serious academic content, it wears its learning lightly … this book will make [Mischel] as much of a household name as his marshmallows are. – Natalie Gold * The Times *This is a complex book that explores human nature, neuroscience and genetics, enlivened by a sprinkling of anecdotes. It’s also a book that can show you how to change your behaviour: whether it’s finally setting up that pension, cutting your alcohol intake or shunning the marshmallows for good. – Rosamund Urwin * Evening Standard *This is a genial, optimistic book and a rather soothing read … it provides an important and largely painless insight into a profound transformation in psychology * The Sunday Times *Walter Mischel is one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century, and The Marshmallow Test will make him one of the most influential in this century, too. * Steven Pinker *A top five psychology title * Independent on Sunday *

In our go-faster era, extreme impulsivity — from trolling to air rage — seems to be on the rise. So it is an apt moment for psychologist Walter Mischel to recap his much-cited “marshmallow test” … Mischel takes us beyondthe experiment into deep research on “delay ability”, his formulation of “hot” and “cool” cognition, speculation on the role of genetics, and the implications of his work for public policy.

Walter Mischel holds the Robert Johnston Niven chair as professor of humane letters in psychology at Columbia University. He is the author of more than two hundred scientific papers as well as the coauthor of Introduction to Personality, now in its eighth edition. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and has won the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of APA and the Grawemeyer Award for Psychology. He lives in New York.