Unfortunately, the nuances of what the marshmallow experiment reveals about children and behavior is lost in the shuffle. The limits of the marshmallow test as predictive of future outcomes are significant. Follow-up studies revealed underlying complexities to children’s responses to the marshmallow test. Researchers realized that in some cases the results of the marshmallow test actually reflected how often children experience adults breaking faith with children. If you live in an unstable situation and are promised future rewards that never come, you would be foolish to turn down a reward
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