The Marshmallow Test: Understanding Self-control and How To Master It

Walter Mischel

sept 2014 · Random House

Acerca de este libro electrónico

'A brilliant book' Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking, Fast and Slow
‘A book that can show you how to change your behaviour' Evening Standard

A child is presented with a marshmallow and given a choice: Eat this one now, or wait and enjoy two later. What will she choose? And what does her decision say about the person she'll become?

Walter Mischel’s now iconic 'marshmallow test,' one of the most famous experiments in the history of psychology, proved that the ability to delay gratification is critical to living a successful and fulfilling life: self-control not only predicts higher marks in school, better social and cognitive functioning, and a greater sense of self-worth; it also helps us manage stress, pursue goals more effectively, and cope with painful emotions. But is willpower prewired, or can it be taught?

In his groundbreaking new book, Dr. Mischel draws on decades of compelling research and life examples to explore the nature of willpower, identifying the cognitive skills and mental mechanisms that enable it and showing how these can be applied to challenges in everyday life--from weight control to quitting smoking, overcoming heartbreak, making major decisions, and planning for retirement.

With profound implications for the choices we make in parenting, education, public policy and self-care, The Marshmallow Test will change the way we think about who we are and what we can be. And since, as Mischel argues, a life with too much self-control can be as unfulfilling as one with too little, this book will also teach you when it’s time to ring the bell and enjoy that marshmallow.

What readers are saying:

***** ‘Accessible read that is both fascinating and has the potential to help change the way we approach self-control.’
***** ‘Fascinating, empowering, a brilliant aid to taking ownership of your life.’
***** ‘Encourages the reader that they have the power to change . . . thought-provoking.’

Acerca del autor

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.