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By Sharon Johnson for the Mail Tribune October 12. 2014 12:01AM Can I offer you a marshmallow? I’m reading it now. And I simply cannot wait to share the information in this book. Oops — perhaps I should wait. It's about the benefits of waiting. You may have seen the beckoning-blue cover if you were meandering through a book store recently, “The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control." The author, Walter Mischel, is touted as “one of the most influential psychologists of the 20 th century.”  Rightly so. He’s also “lively and fun” according to actor Alan Alda, who wrote a comment about the book on its hardcover jacket and clearly enjoyed reading it as much as I am. I intend to give each of our three children a copy for Christmas this year. Maybe sooner. Here’s the premise: A child is presented with a marshmallow (or a cookie or sweet treat of preference) and given a choice. Eat this one now or wait and enjoy two later. What will she do? What are the implications for her behavior later in life?   Underlying the decades of research and the colorful life examples in his book is the imbedded observation that the ability to delay gratification is critical to living a successful and fulfilling life. As Mischel says in his introduction, the book discusses “what willpower is and is not” and “the conditions that undo it, the cognitive skills and motivations that enable it and the consequences of having it and using it.” It’s a journey. There’s the initial “mystery” of how certain preschoolers exhibit incredible (sometimes agonizing or hilarious) self-restraint in waiting for treats while other 5-and 6-year-olds opt for immediate gratification. In one of the research observations, a little boy decides on Oreos instead of marshmallows, and while the researcher is out of the room (watching through a one-way glass, of course), he carefully picks up and meticulously licks the creamy center from the single cookie in front of him, replacing  the filling-free cookie on the tray. He then does exactly the same thing with the two cookies on the other end of the tray, skillfully replacing them in in their exact positions. When the researcher returns, the boy appears to have waited the allotted 20 minutes in order to get two cookies instead one. Deferring gratification (or not), or developing workarounds, continues throughout our lives. For some it ends in retirement satisfaction and an internalized understanding of self-restraint that’s “less effortful and increasingly automatic.” The findings in this research play out in countless ways. Improving our awareness of the power and possibilities of self-restraint can range from assisting us in positively influencing our children and grandchildren in their decisions to “understanding our own vulnerabilities and strengths.” If you read this book, the impact for you may relate to weight management or smoking cessation. Maybe the ideas will help you think about managing emotional volatility or passivity. The list of potential influencers is long. There are public policy considerations, as well. Some reviewers have said, “This book is about changing the way we think.” It’s worth the test. Sharon Johnson is a retired Oregon State University associate professor emeritus. Reach her at [email protected]. http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20141012/NEWS/141019997 © 2015 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->