Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Early Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes

We replicated and extended Shoda, Mischel, and Peake’s (1990) famous marshmallow study, which showed strong bivariate correlations between a child’s ability to delay gratification just before entering school and both adolescent achievement and socioemotional behaviors. Concentrating on children whose mothers had not completed college, we found that an additional minute waited at age 4 predicted a gain of approximately one tenth of a standard deviation in achievement at age 15. But this bivariate correlation was only half the size of those reported in the original studies and was reduced by two thirds in the presence of controls for family background, early cognitive ability, and the home environment. Most of the variation in adolescent achievement came from being able to wait at least 20 s. Associations between delay time and measures of behavioral outcomes at age 15 were much smaller and rarely statistically significant.

Family Processes and Adolescent Achievement Motivation in Poor Chinese Single-Mother Families

This study examined the moderation effect of family functioning on the relationship between maternal expectations of the children’s future and adolescent achievement motivation in a sample of 432 Chinese single-mother families experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong. Results indicated that family functioning moderated the influence of maternal expectations of the children’s future on adolescent achievement motivation. The relationship between maternal expectations and adolescent achievement motivation was significantly positive in single-mother families having higher family functioning, while the relationship was not significant in those families with relatively lower family functioning. The main and moderating effects were found stable between immigrant and nonimmigrant mothers. The present study provides important insight into how single-mother families living in poverty strive to nurture their children in the face of adversity. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.