The cuttlefish shows that it is as intelligent as the children in the study of the “ marshmallow test ”

Treats can be hard to resist no matter your age or species. But a new study finds that cuttlefish – yes, the marine mollusk – can adapt to a well-known psychological test given to human children and learn to defer gratification in order to have a better snack.

Known to some as the Stanford Marshmallow Test, the original test was a delayed gratification study conducted by psychologist and professor Walter Mischel, who started it in 1970 and published its results in 1972. The participating children saw each other. offer a pretzel stick or marshmallow, but they were told if they could wait for the treat they would get two. Follow-up studies have looked at whether children who could wait successfully end up with better outcomes in life.

“The cuttlefish in the present study were all able to expect the best reward and tolerated delays of up to 50-130 seconds, which is comparable to what we see in large-brained vertebrates such as chimpanzees, crows and parrots, ”said the lead author. Alexandra Schnell from the University of Cambridge in England.

The cuttlefish, of course, cannot simply be offered the verbal choice of two different snacks. In the study, they were shown two different food options behind clear walls. One showed raw king prawns, and the other their favorite food of live grass prawns. The cuttlefish learned that certain symbols on the bedroom doors meant the door would open right away, open after a while, or not open at all.

The shrimp door opened right away, but if the cuttlefish ate it, the shrimp option was removed. If the shrimp door opened and the cuttlefish left it alone, they were finally given a chance on the shrimp.

Scientists are not sure why the cuttlefish developed such self-control, but they theorize that it could be related to the fact that they are vulnerable to ocean predators, so it is to their advantage to stay in hiding until the correct one. food appears.

“Cuttlefish spend most of their time camouflaging, sitting and waiting, punctuated by brief periods of foraging,” Schnell said in a statement. “They break the camouflage when they feed, so they’re exposed to all the predators in the ocean that want to eat them. We believe that deferred gratification may have evolved as a byproduct of this, so cuttlefish can optimize foraging while waiting to choose a better quality. food.”