Page 128 - The Power to Change Anything

Surpass Your Limits 117

One thing was clear from these studies: The ability to delay
gratification did predict a large number of long-term results.
That part of the marshmallow research nobody was arguing
about. However, for years scientists continued to debate the
cause of this strong effect. Did self-control stem from an
intractable personality characteristic or something more mal-
leable and thus learnable?
In 1965, Dr. Mischel collaborated on a study with Albert
Bandura who openly challenged the assumption that will was
a fixed trait. Always a student of human learning, Bandura
worked with Mischel to design an experiment to test the sta-
bility of subjects who had delayed gratification. In an experi-
ment similar to the marshmallow studies, the two scholars
observed fourth- and fifth-graders in similar circumstances.
They placed children who had not demonstrated that they
could delay gratification into contact with adult role models
who knew how to delay. The greedy kids observed adults who
put their heads down for a nap or who got up from the chair
and engaged in some distracting activity. The original “grab-
bers” saw techniques for delaying gratification. And to every-
one’s delight, they followed suit.
After a single exposure to an adult model, children who pre-
viously hadn’t delayed suddenly became stars at delaying. Even
more interesting, in follow-up studies conducted months later,
the children who had learned to delay retained much of what
they’d learned during the brief modeling session. So what
about those hardwired genetic characteristics or traits that had
predicted so much?
The answer to this important question is good news to all
of us and most certainly offers hope to Henry. When Mischel
took a closer look at individuals who routinely held out for
the greater reward, he concluded that delayers are simply
more skilled at avoiding short-term temptations. They didn’t
merely avoid the temptation; they employed specific, learnable
techniques that kept their attention off what would be merely