How Marshmallows Predict Your Success | Michio Kaku | Goalcast

Summary

The speaker discusses the 'Marshmallow Test,' which reveals how delayed gratification in children can predict future success, such as higher income and lower divorce rates. The test involves choosing between immediate reward or waiting for a bigger one, with those willing to wait showing greater long-term success. The speaker emphasizes that the ability to delay gratification stems from understanding time and future planning, which differentiates humans from animals. Intelligence, according to the speaker, is the capacity to imagine and plan for the future, which drives human progress and personal discovery.

Takeaways

• 🍬 The marshmallow test is a psychological experiment where children choose between immediate gratification (one marshmallow now) or delayed gratification (two marshmallows later).
• 💡 High IQ does not always correlate with success in life; instead, delayed gratification is a stronger predictor of long-term success.
• ⏳ Children who can wait for the second marshmallow tend to develop traits that lead to success, such as patience and perseverance.
• 🎯 The marshmallow test highlights the importance of delaying gratification to achieve greater rewards in the future.
• 👶 Personality traits formed early in life, such as the ability to delay gratification, can be key to future success.
• 🏡 Socioeconomic status plays a role in the test results: poorer children often opt for immediate rewards, while middle-class children tend to wait.
• 🌟 The ability to delay gratification can be taught by showing people the long-term benefits, like higher education and better job opportunities.
• 📅 Humans are unique in their ability to understand and plan for the future, which is a key marker of intelligence.
• 🧠 Intelligence involves the ability to simulate future possibilities and plan for them, something animals cannot do.
• 🔄 The meaning of life, according to the speaker, is self-discovery and reinvention, rather than following a predefined purpose.

Q & A

What is the Marshmallow Test?

The Marshmallow Test is a psychological experiment where children are given a choice: they can either have one marshmallow immediately or wait a few hours to receive two marshmallows. It is used to measure the ability to delay gratification.

Why is the Marshmallow Test considered a key to success in life?

The test is seen as a key to success because those who are able to delay gratification and wait for two marshmallows tend to have higher success rates in life, including better income, lower divorce rates, and higher social status.

How does the Marshmallow Test relate to shortcuts and hard work?

The test shows that individuals who want immediate gratification tend to prefer shortcuts, avoiding hard work, while those who delay gratification are willing to put in the effort for a bigger reward in the future.

Can the ability to delay gratification be taught?

Yes, although part of this ability is tied to personality and early childhood development, people can learn to delay gratification by understanding the long-term rewards of holding out for future benefits.

What differences are observed between poor and middle-class children in the Marshmallow Test?

Poor children tend to choose the immediate reward because they are used to resources disappearing quickly, whereas middle-class children are more likely to delay gratification, possibly because they are accustomed to more stable access to resources.

What role does understanding time and the future play in human intelligence?

Humans have the unique ability to understand time and the future, which allows them to plan and scheme. This ability to simulate future events and delay gratification is what distinguishes human intelligence from animals.

How does the concept of time separate humans from animals?

Animals live in the present and do not understand the concept of tomorrow or the future, whereas humans can plan and dream about future possibilities, which is a key aspect of intelligence.

Why might people with low IQ be more successful at certain tasks, like robbing a bank?

People with low IQ may focus more on practical aspects of a task, such as robbing a bank, and avoid overcomplicating things with concerns like legal implications, which might hinder high IQ individuals from taking action.

What does the speaker believe intelligence is?

The speaker defines intelligence as the ability to map and simulate the future, which allows humans to plan, dream, and create scenarios that don't yet exist.

What is the speaker's view on the meaning of life?

The speaker believes that the meaning of life is not something handed down but rather something we discover and reinvent through self-discovery and constantly recreating ourselves.

Outlines

00:00

🍬 The Marshmallow Test: A Key to Success

The speaker introduces the marshmallow test, a psychological experiment involving children. The test offers them a choice: one marshmallow immediately or two if they wait a few hours. Children who can delay gratification tend to be more successful in life. This includes higher income, better social standing, and lower divorce rates. The experiment emphasizes the value of self-discipline and patience as major predictors of success, contrasting with those who prefer shortcuts and immediate rewards.

🧠 Can Delayed Gratification Be Taught?

The speaker explores whether delaying gratification can be taught. While personality is largely formed at a young age, he believes that this ability can be nurtured. Poor children, who often experience a sense of scarcity, are more likely to opt for immediate rewards. However, by showing them that perseverance and education lead to long-term rewards, they can learn to delay gratification. This ability to foresee future benefits is a distinctly human trait, setting us apart from animals.

🐾 Humans vs Animals: Understanding the Future

Humans possess a unique ability to understand time and plan for the future, unlike animals that live only in the present. The speaker reflects on how life expectancy has increased and how technology has drastically improved life compared to his grandparents' generation. Our capacity to dream, scheme, and imagine future possibilities is part of our intelligence. The speaker uses the example of trying to teach a dog the concept of 'tomorrow' to illustrate the difference between human and animal cognition.

💡 Intelligence: Mapping the Future

Intelligence, according to the speaker, is the ability to simulate and plan for the future. He contrasts individuals with low IQ and high IQ, claiming that even those with low IQ can excel in tasks like robbing a bank because they can foresee the immediate outcome. Intelligence is not just about legal or abstract thinking but also about practical foresight, and humans excel at creating hypothetical futures—something animals cannot do.

🔍 The Meaning of Life: Self-Discovery

The speaker concludes by reflecting on the meaning of life, suggesting that it should not be handed down from a higher power. Instead, the meaning of life is found through self-discovery and constant reinvention. He believes life is about creating and recreating oneself, finding meaning through the process of personal growth and rediscovery, rather than accepting an external definition of purpose.

Keywords

💡Marshmallow Test

The Marshmallow Test is a psychological experiment where children are given a choice between one marshmallow now or two marshmallows if they wait. It assesses delayed gratification, which is linked to future success. In the video, it is used to illustrate how delaying immediate rewards for larger future gains correlates with higher achievement in life.

💡Delayed Gratification

Delayed gratification refers to the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward in favor of a larger or more enduring one later. This is a key concept in the video, as those who wait for two marshmallows tend to have greater success in life. It highlights the importance of patience and long-term planning.

💡Quick Kill

The 'quick kill' represents the desire for immediate satisfaction or shortcuts to success, often associated with people who lack patience or long-term vision. The video uses this concept to contrast individuals who opt for instant rewards, showing they tend to have lower long-term success.

💡Success

Success in the video is depicted not just as wealth or social status, but as the result of discipline, patience, and the ability to plan for the future. The Marshmallow Test shows how individuals who delay gratification generally achieve higher income, better social standing, and stable relationships.

💡Personality

Personality is described as being partly shaped at a young age and influencing behaviors like the ability to delay gratification. The video suggests that while personality plays a role, traits like patience and long-term planning can be learned, especially if children are shown that hard work leads to future rewards.

💡Poverty and Gratification

The video touches on the impact of socioeconomic status on behaviors like delayed gratification. Poor children, in particular, may choose immediate rewards because they are accustomed to scarcity, where resources disappear quickly. The video emphasizes that teaching these children to plan for a 'pot of gold' in the future can help shift this mindset.

💡Time

Time is a key distinction between humans and animals, as mentioned in the video. Humans have the unique ability to understand and plan for the future, unlike animals who live in the present. This understanding of time allows humans to dream, scheme, and anticipate future outcomes, which is integral to success.

💡Intelligence

Intelligence in the video is framed not just as high IQ, but as the ability to foresee and plan for the future. The speaker contrasts this with short-sighted decisions, illustrating that true intelligence involves mapping out and preparing for potential future events.

💡Self-Discovery

Self-discovery is presented as the ongoing process of learning about oneself and redefining one's purpose in life. The speaker suggests that life’s meaning is not handed down from a higher authority but is something we must constantly reinvent and explore through personal growth and introspection.

💡Reinvention

Reinvention refers to the concept that humans must continually adapt, change, and rediscover themselves to find meaning in life. The video portrays this as a core element of human intelligence and personal success, encouraging individuals to embrace new ideas and reshape their lives over time.

Highlights

Theories about what makes successful kids are often wrong because they haven't been verified.

High IQ does not necessarily correlate with success in life; many high IQ individuals end up as marginal members of society.

The marshmallow test is the one psychological test that correlates strongly with success in life.

In the marshmallow test, children choose between getting one marshmallow immediately or two if they wait.

Children who wait for the second marshmallow tend to be more successful in life, with higher income, lower divorce rates, and higher social status.

The marshmallow test illustrates the importance of delayed gratification as a predictor of success.

Taking shortcuts and opting for immediate rewards is a common trait of those who struggle to succeed.

Success in life is tied to the ability to delay gratification and not take shortcuts.

Part of the ability to delay gratification is formed very young, but it can be taught, especially in underprivileged communities.

Poor children often opt for the immediate reward because they are conditioned to believe resources are scarce and fleeting.

Teaching the value of delayed gratification and showing a 'pot of gold' at the end can help people learn this skill.

Humans have the unique ability to understand time and plan for the future, which is a key trait that sets us apart from animals.

Intelligence is the ability to simulate and map the future, which gives humans the ability to daydream, plot, and create worlds that don't exist.

Even low IQ individuals can be good at certain tasks, such as robbing a bank, because they are able to foresee consequences and outcomes.

The meaning of life isn't handed to us but involves self-discovery, reinvention, and recreating ourselves.

Transcripts

- What is this marshmallow test?

Well, when you look at children,

and you look at all the different theories

about what makes successful kids,

you realize that almost all the theories are wrong,

because they haven't been verified.

Like, for example, high IQ.

You have a lot of high IQ people

who become marginal members of society,

and so what is the one psychological test

that correlates with success in life?

And I found out that it's the marshmallow test.

You get kids, and ask them, do you want a marshmallow now,

or two marshmallows a few hours from now?

And the kids that want the marshmallow now

tend to be those that want shortcuts.

Those that don't want to do the hard work.

They want the quick kill, they grab that marshmallow.

But the other ones say, now wait a minute.

If I wait two hours, I can get two marshmallows.

I can hold out, there's a pot of gold waiting for me.

They're not gonna take the shortcut.

And so, you say to yourself, well that's a test for kids.

But then you track them, decade by decade by decade,

and you find that they are more successful,

they have a lower divorce rate, higher income,

higher status in society,

that don't want that simple payoff now,

but are gonna delay gratification into the future.

And so I realized that's the key to success in life,

not just science, but in life.

Don't take the shortcuts.

- But can it be taught?

- Well, part of it is your personality

that is formed when you are very young, okay,

let's be very clear about that.

But I think that yes.

I think that, for example, it turns out

that if you do the same thing with poor children

and the same thing with middle class children,

it turns out that poor children, in general,

will go for the quick kill,

because they know that things disappear real fast.

If there's money in the house, it's gone in the future.

If you can show people that there's a pot of gold out there,

that yes, you hold out, you go to college,

you learn a discipline, there's a pot of gold out there.

You can learn to appreciate that fact.

What we have in the brain that is different from animals

is we understand time.

We understand the future.

My grandparents came to California a hundred years ago.

But imagine, back then, life expectancy was 49 years of age.

I mean, you were born, you had kids, and died.

Life was a bitch.

(laughing)

Now, we have an increased life span,

we have all the luxury goods,

instead of yelling out the window,

which is what my grandparents did to communicate,

we have the internet.

And so when you look at it long term, decade for decade,

you realize the enormous progress that we've made,

we constantly daydream, we scheme, we plot,

we constantly think about what could be.

Now let's do an experiment.

Go home tonight, and teach your dog the concept of tomorrow.

Try it.

Teach your dog the concept of tomorrow.

The next week, the next year.

And you realize, you can't.

Animals live in the present.

And that's what I think intelligence is.

Intelligence is being able to map the future,

simulate the future.

So if you get an experiment

of people with low IQ, and high IQ,

put them in the same room, and you give them the same job.

Rob a bank.

You'll find out that the low IQ people

probably do a much better job of robbing a bank,

plotting the bank robbery, than high IQ people,

who get all messed up with legal implications

and stuff like that.

The point is that you can have some very smart robbers,

because they see the future,

and that's what we humans do that animals cannot.

We constantly daydream.

We constantly create worlds that don't exist.

And to me, that's what intelligence is.

Some people ask me, well what is the meaning of life, then?

And I say to myself that is somebody gives you,

from up high, the meaning of life,

it's too easy.

I mean, is that all?

My attitude is that it's self discovery.

We have to reinvent ourselves.

That we have to recreate ourselves,

that the meaning of life is rediscovery.

(Upbeat music)