... and I guess another question is, how stable is this trait?
E.g. if we got really used to telling 12 year olds that the marshmallow test finding indicates that the ability to put of immediate rewards for larger later rewards is really important, could you effectively get (slightly older) kids to learn to delay gratification more, such that their performance as small children matters less?
Or (more likely) if you raise a generation with more distracting technology, can you destroy a whole generation's ability to patiently wait for a larger reward?
E.g. if we got really used to telling 12 year olds that the marshmallow test finding indicates that the ability to put of immediate rewards for larger later rewards is really important, could you effectively get (slightly older) kids to learn to delay gratification more, such that their performance as small children matters less?
Or (more likely) if you raise a generation with more distracting technology, can you destroy a whole generation's ability to patiently wait for a larger reward?