Physics teacher stunned by his granddaughter's moving reaction to "marshmallow test"

A scientist revealed how his granddaughter had stunned him a bit by his response to the "marshmallow test," a well-known experiment that tested a child's ability to delay gratification.

Richard Muller, 74, a physics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, went to the Quora website to tell the surprisingly touching reaction of his daughter to the test.

Layla was three when Richard tried the test on her. The experience is to give a child a candy like a marshmallow and tell him that he can either eat it right away or wait 15 minutes, in which case he will get a second one.

When Richard did the experiment with Layla, he did it with chocolate, that she liked "a lot more," and told him that she would have another one if she was waiting 10 minutes.

"According to many experiences, children who" pass "the marshmallow test are much more successful later," writes Richard.

"They learned a fundamental truth in life, namely that delayed gratification can lead to much better results in the long run."

Layla managed to let it run for 10 minutes and just watched the chocolate.

At that time, she asked for her extra chocolate, which Richard gave her, which meant that she had two pieces of chocolate in her hand.

"That's when she looked up at me and asked," Would you like one, my grandfather? ", Said the proud grandfather.

Richard was deeply touched by Layla's response to the test, which exceeds the usual expectations of children who experience it.

While the test is generally seen as a way to test a child's reaction to the possibility of a larger but delayed reward, Layla's reaction was an unexpected act of generosity.

"Needless to say, from then on, I would gladly give my life for her," he wrote.

The marshmallow test has faced a new skepticism in recent months.

Researchers at New York University and the University of California, Irvine, conducted a new version of the 900-child experiment – a much larger sample size than before – while taking into account factors such as the household income of each child, as indicated by the Atlantic.

The new study challenged the notion that a child's ability to delay gratification was a reliable indicator of his likelihood of success later in life.

On the contrary, it seemed to show that a child's ability to delay gratification was highly dependent on their economic and social context, which means that these factors would in fact affect the future success of the child.