Study: Self-Control Can Be Cultivated in Kids

Public News Service – Staff Writer

Self-control is critical to developing healthy adult behaviors, and researchers studying willpower in children say how children want to be perceived by peers may be just as influential as a child’s natural traits or abilities. Using the classic “marshmallow test” that allows children given one marshmallow to eat it immediately or wait until a second marshmallow is provided, researchers at the University of Colorado found that children who wanted approval from their social group were more likely to exercise self-control when deciding whether or not to eat the marshmallow. (more)