Don't Eat the Marshmallow!

In light of some recent comments from Sen. Tom Coburn (pictured at left) about armadillos and marshmallows, I think it's about time for a post I've been working on about Philip Zimbardo's marshmallow experiment. If you haven't heard about Zimbardo's experiment, I highly encourage you to check out Zimbardo himself speaking about it at a recent TED conference (as a sidebar, I highly encourage regular viewing of these TED talks...I'm always amazed and come away with greater insight).

For those of you who don't take time to watch, here's a synopsis. Philip Zimbardo (pictured at right), the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment ("average" people given roles of prisoner and guard), also did an experiment on the ability of children to wait for later rewards. Using kids as test subjects, Zimbardo put a marshmallow in front of the kids. He then told them he was going to leave the room for a while. If the marshmallow was still there when he got back, they got another marshmallow. If they had eaten it...no extra marshmallow.

The results were amazing, though a bit predictable I guess. 2/3 of the kids ate the marshmallow. Only 1/3 had a "future" mindset that prioritized the reward of another marshmallow over instant gratification. But what was more amazing was the follow-up. 15 years later, Zimbardo brought the kids back in, now having completed their SAT testing. The kids who did not take the marshmallow scored 250 points higher on their SAT than had the 2/3 who chose instant gratification. That's a significant difference, and Zimbardo uses it to make a great case for the importance of having a "future" perspective. The video is really worth watching.

I've been thinking a lot about this experiment over the past month for three reasons. The first is that I also just read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Not great literature by any imagination, but a great reminder of the power of childhood dreams and what is possible with luck, hard work, and help along the way. It's a gripping story, not the least of which because the author died shortly after the book was published (not really a spoiler...it was all over the press). Randy Pausch certainly had the future perspective as a child, as a professor, and as one who believes that even his work was not as important as that which would build upon it. And his future perspective carried him to live into his dreams. A great story and one that helped me as I prepare to be a dad to encourage my own children to dream big dreams.

Which brings me to the second reason this experiment has been on my mind: I'm about to raise a child. I want to raise my child to be the best he can be. I want him to know that his dreams can happen, that God has great plans for him, and that--with hard work, help, and a little good fortune--those dreams can come true. And I want to teach my son to fight the cultural impetus on instant gratification and leave the marshmallow on the table...knowing that greater rewards are possible than those the world provides. I'm truly excited to be a dad, and I want to be the best I can be.

And I've had a little practice lately at fatherhood, as we just finished an 8-week summer camp at our church called Project Transformation. It is an amazing camp that takes kids from our lower-income neighborhood and provides one-on-one reading, math, computers, arts and crafts, recreation, and great afternoon activities (not to mention breakfast, lunch, and a snack). All for $5 for the summer. Again, it is an amazing camp. But as I pondered this experiment, I realized something important: the kids I was seeing are the ones who probably would take the marshmallow--but then again, they don't have a lot of choice. Some of them have had such painful experiences in the past that a "past perspective" as Zimbardo calls it is simply inevitable. Others--over 75% based on our summer--have fears that they will not have food over the weekend, let alone at dinner time. They can hardly be blamed for having a "present perspective" if it means getting food now that they may not get later. What I soon came to realize was that, while some of these kids might have a "future perspective, such a perspective is significantly harder for those in poverty to maintain in the midst of past and current trials.

So what do we do with all this? For those of us who are Christians, our call in response to these facts is clear: live into our baptismal vows. If you are like me, you have made many vows in churches across the country to raise children in the example of Christ only to never see those children grow into adulthood. While that says something about the nature of Christian community in our times, I think it also offers a larger call to go and serve all children...to help all children see the example of Christ...to help all children come to see the Kingdom of God. That certainly calls us to be good dads and moms to our own kids, but I think it also calls us to be good brothers and sisters to all kids--those in our neighborhoods and communities--especially those who are less fortunate. Maybe part of our task as Christians who have made vows to so many kids over the years is to live out those vows with the children in our midst--to help all children dream big dreams and know God's plan, to help all children see the coming Kingdom. Maybe part of our call is to help build a world where the marshmallows aren't as tempting, because we know what God has in store for us.

But who knows...I probably would have taken the marshmallow.