[thedevil]

> The failed replication of the marshmallow test

Actually, the result DID replicate here even though the experiment was slightly different. Other variables were introduced that might suggest additional explanations of the replicated result.

[ouid]

Marshmallow willpower is still correlated with future success, but only because it is correlated with wealth. This means that there's isn't a causal link between eating marshmallow willpower and success. which is a different result, as the previous result included that as a possibility.

[gnicholas]

If success is correlated with wealth, then wouldn't the original study (done with kids at a Stanford preschool) have shown a small/null result? That is, most of the kids have wealthy and well-educated parents.

[htaunay]

Agreed. If I understood correctly, the recent experiment possibly indicated that socio-economical factors can influence more the future "success" of a subject than other variables, e.g. delayed gratification.

The original experiment, by only containing children of the same socio-economical background isolated these variables, and achieved an orthogonal conclusion.