How to Not Eat the Marshmallow: Strategies to Increase Self-Control

In the 1960s Dr. Walter Mischel conducted a series of now legendary studies at Stanford University assessing delayed gratification. In the study preschoolers were given marshmallows and had the choice of immediately enjoying them (immediate gratification) or waiting 15 minutes to earn an additional treat (delayed gratification).

Those children have been tracked over the past 50 years and Dr. Mischel has found that the children who displayed the ability to delay gratification have been consistently more successful in their lives. The children who delayed gratification were viewed by their parents as more capable and competent, had higher academic achievement, better social skills,  performed better on standardized tests, such as the SATs, are healthier, have fewer drug and alcohol problems, and have had more long-term occupational success.

What is most interesting isn't who succeeded, as the researchers initially thought, but what strategies were successful at helping the children wait those 15 minutes, according to a recent article in the New York Times. According to Dr. Mischel the most effective strategies for self-control were distraction and distancing. 

Self-control is a skill that can be taught and practiced. Dr. Mischel explained that " there are two warring parts of the brain: a hot part demanding immediate gratification (the limbic system), and a cool, goal-oriented part (the prefrontal cortex). The secret of self-control, he says, is to train the prefrontal cortex to kick in first."

One treatment that provides self-control skills training is Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), an evidence based treatment that teaches individuals how to increase their emotional and behavioral regulation. The use of distraction enables individuals to survive emotionally distressing periods without engaging in unhelpful behaviors, which is taught in the Distress Tolerance Skills module of DBT. Distress Tolerance Skills Training helps individuals practice self-control when they are feeling more emotionally reactive and are focusing on immediate gratification rather than long-term consequences. 

To learn more about Dr. Micshel's recent interview with the New York Times read Learning How to Exert Self-Control.