ABSTRACT

The popularity of the subject of self-control can be seen in the context of the emergence of the field of social learning theory in psychology, which emphasizes cognitive learning in interaction with social surroundings. The most famous study of self-control's scientific value is without doubt Mischel and colleagues' discovery that the ability to postpone gratification at the age of four years can be a predictor of academic and social functioning more than a decade later. The experiment that has become known as the 'marshmallow experiment' is actually a series of studies that Mischel carried out in the 1960s and 1970s after his original curiosity was awakened for the first time through the anthropological studies in Trinidad and Tobago done by his former wife. From a purely scientific standpoint, Mischel and his colleagues succeeded in demonstrating how important the capacity for self-control is in order to succeed in life, with respect to education, working life and social functioning.