No More Marshmallows!?
A Case Study, delayed Gratification, Julian Rotter, and The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
The works by psychologist Julian Rotter and Walter Mischel’s Stanford marshmallow experiment provide insight and scientific context into delayed gratification, motivation, and personality. Rotter and Mischel's frameworks allow analysis of everyday events and interactions. The purpose of this paper is to examine a personal observation in the context of Rotter’s theoretical frameworks and Mischel’s Stanford marshmallow experiment.
To illustrate the connection between delayed gratification, motivation, and personality, consider the following “hypothetical” workplace scenario. In a waiver home that provides care for residents with significant intellectual/physical disabilities, a site manager is responsible for overseeing a team of approximately twelve staff members and ensuring a professional and policy-compliant living environment. One particular staff member, a middle-aged woman named Jane, exhibited a pattern of toxic interpersonal relationships, neurotic tendencies, emotional instability, and impulsivity.
Jane, who for years had worked for the company on several occasions and was pursuing a human resources degree for three years, consistently demonstrated erratic emotional and logical behavior. She frequently left work early, called in sick, and visibly appeared to be in poor physical and psychological health. Jane regularly complained, defied company policies, and actively sought to undermine the employment of her fellow team members.
After one of Jane's numerous incidents with other staff members, the resident manager was compelled to conduct a non-disciplinary but mandatory retraining session. Throughout the retraining, Jane was visibly shaking, crying, and refused to accept accountability for her actions. Within days or weeks, Jane applied for and accepted a human resources position at another company, resigning from her current role despite admittedly being ill-prepared for the new job. This decision appeared to be driven by a clear desire for validation through the pursuit of an employment opportunity she was not yet ready to undertake. “Surprisingly”, just one month after her resignation, it was discovered that Jane had discreetly returned to work part-time for the original company.
The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment
In the backdrop of the early nineteen sixties, renowned psychologist and Stanford professor Walter Mischel conducted a study known as the Stanford marshmallow experiment. Mischel utilized preschool-aged children as participants in his research study, which focused on self-control, self-control tactics, delayed gratification, and the corresponding life outcomes related to the displayed behavioral patterns (Campbell, 2023). The researchers presented the young children with two options as a fundamental part of the study's design. Once the researcher left the child alone, the young child could opt to ring a bell and accept the immediate reward of the one marshmallow (sometimes an alternative item) in front of them or wait for the researcher to return a short period later and receive a doubled reward (Campbell, 2023). Mischel sought to investigate the underlying mechanisms behind people's ability to delay immediate gratification. He questioned whether this ability was a cognitive skill that could be cultivated or an innate characteristic predetermined in individuals (Campbell, 2023). The observations of the preschool-aged children offered great insight into decision-making, individual perspectives, behavioral tendencies, self-control tactics, and the ability to learn delayed gratification. Some children consumed the marshmallow at the first chance; meanwhile, other children successfully outlasted the time delay to receive the increased reward (Campbell, 2023). Mischel discovered that a significant number of children who successfully delayed gratification took great pride in their achievement. Interestingly, some children who earned the double reward chose not to consume the marshmallows, opting instead to display their prizes to their parents (Campbell, 2023). In addition, the children’s diverse range of delay tactics proved interesting. Some children shielded their eyes from the temptation of the treat, kicked the desk where they were seated, played with their hair, and even played with the marshmallow (Westby, 2012). Some children shielded their eyes from the temptation of the treat, kicked the desk where they were seated, played with their hair, and even played with the marshmallow (Westby, 2012). Perhaps most significant is the correlation between the child’s success in achieving delayed gratification and more positive life outcomes. According to a study by Watts et al. (2018), the display of young participants ability to delay gratification increased the quality of their life outcomes; however, intelligence and familial variables were germane to the ability to delay gratification and the corresponding life outcomes.
Julian Rotter and Predictability
Psychologist Julian Rotter is well known for his theoretical contributions involving locus of control and social learning theory. Rotter’s theories are anchored in perception and cognition. Rotter and Mischel view individuals as cognitive beings, placing greater emphasis on their subjective perceptions of events rather than the objective nature of the events themselves (Feist, 2020). The four elements of Rotter’s social learning model are comprised of behavior potential, expectancy, reinforcement value, and the psychological situation Rotter’s locus of control deals with the degrees in which an individual believes they are controlled internally or externally. In a sense, Rotter’s locus of control refers to a spectrum of free will. Those with a high level of internal locus of control believe they are the primary forger of their life’s accomplishments or outcomes; however, those with a high level of external locus of control attribute life outcomes to the influences of socioenvironmental factors (Keenan, 2023). Studies have shown that individuals with a strong internal locus of control generally excel in various aspects of life compared to those with an external locus of control. These individuals tend to achieve higher academic success, attain greater professional accomplishments, display more independence, enjoy better health, possess superior coping abilities, and experience lower levels of depression (Keenan, 2023).
An individual with a high degree of external locus of control often feels helpless to the environment; therefore, the individual is actionably less accountable, far less likely to be coherently goal orientated, more impulsive, and determined to follow a path of completion. “Deficits in impulse control are discussed as key mechanisms for major worldwide health problems such as drug addiction and obesity. For example, obese subjects have difficulty controlling their impulses to overeat when faced with food items.” (Weygandt et al., 2013). According to Rotter’s theory, motivation is predominantly goal directed. Assuming all other factors remain constant, individuals are most powerfully motivated and reinforced by actions that propel them closer to their desired objectives (Feist, 2020).
Interaction Analysis
The observable and expressed data by the subject were used to analyze the gratification seeking behavior and linked personality determinants related to the expressed behavior. It is important to note that the modern western culture of immediate reward seeking is prevalent and cannot be discounted; however, there is no other known cultural significance for the individuals in the scenario. In the reference scenario, Jane chose to seek the immediate reward of obtaining an employment opportunity that boosted her ego in relation to her interpersonal relationships opposed to delaying the gratification to the appropriate timing despite being ill-prepared for the action. There were examples of instant gratification opposed to delayed gratification, notable expressions of personality traits, and insights into potential biological and social determinants in my experience with Jane in the workplace. Contrary to Rotter, one could make the argument that Jane chose to prematurely seek to obtain an alternative employment to avoid environmental discomfiture; however, there are also indicators in the interactions or events that offer congruence within Rotter’s framework. A far greater reward would likely have existed for Jane if she were to accept accountability from an internal locus of control standpoint; however, her behavior indicated that this was not her disposition. By playing a perpetual victim of circumstances, Jane exhibited clear features of someone with a powerful external locus of control; therefore, her pursuit of any academic or professional goals was not representative of serious endeavors. Jane’s primary goal was likely in fact to seek out “roadblocks” to her “goals” to enshrine her victim-hood; thus, Jane’s pursuit of victim-hood is well in line with Rotter’s goal oriented principle of motivation.
Jane’s destructive impulsivity, adoption of the victim role, self-stated issues with mental health, a lack of social trust, among additional details disseminated by Jane indicate high levels of trait neuroticism. The physiological correlates of Jane’s behavior were mostly apparent. Jane is a heavy ritual smoker, partakes in illicit drugs, and has visible health issues.A prominent theory suggests that individuals with higher levels of neuroticism tend to adopt less healthy behaviors, such as smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, which may consequently result in premature mortality (Mroczek et al., 2009). Jane’s interpersonal behavior provided clear evidence of train neuroticism. According to (Gabay et al., 2020), the tendency for her his, her, their, etc. interpersonal victim-hood is positively linked to personality trait neuroticism. By nature, trait neuroticism is linked to difficulties with social trust; furthermore, individuals are less likely to engage in delayed gratification whereas social trust is a variable. According to Michaelson et al. (2013), a lack of relevant social trust will put the conceptual reward in jeopardy; therefore, the cynical person will abandon the promise of delayed gratification.
Conclusion
The intent of this paper was to examine an instance of gratification seeking with consideration of Rotter and Mischel’s frameworks. Mischel’s Stanford marshmallow experiment provided referential insight into the behaviors related to gratification seeking. What's more, Rotter’s locus of control and view of motivation being primarily goal orientated offers an interesting framework for predictability and analysis. There were clear personality links to the case scenario of Jane discussed in this paper; furthermore, personality trait determinants were identified in the case of Jane. The author of this paper found the correlation between delayed gratification and personality to possess vast depths of revealing data within a seemingly innocuous scenario.
References
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Keenan, M. (2023). Locus of control. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health.
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