I would recommend this book to someone who wants to understand the historical evolution of the marshmallow test and can appreciate it written like a memoir. I would not recommend this to someone looking to increase willpower or modify habits while there are elements of strategies and tips, they are hard to extract and with limited examples. “Part I leaves us with a mystery: why does the preschooler’s ability to wait for more treats, rather than ring the bell and settle for less, predict so much about future success and well being?.And while Part II shows the benefits of self-control, it makes its limits equally clear: a life with too much of it can be as unfulfilling as one with too little…In Part III…I look at the implications of the research for public policy…then summarize the concepts and strategies examined throughout this book that can help with everyday self-control struggles” (pp.

In Part III, From Lab to Life, the author looks at public policy, applying core strategies, and human nature.

Part II, From Marshmallows in Pre-K to Money in 401(k), covers the engine of success, your future self, self-distancing, cooling emotions, if-then planning, and will fatigue. Part I, Delay Ability: Enabling Self-Control, covers the Stanford University’s surprise room, the roots of self-control, the grasshopper versus the ant, and the concept of genetics. The Marshmallow Test provides extensive details recounting the initial marshmallow test and its iterations over time, measured outcomes, and how these have been applied in real life. This is not a self-help book it does not provide a scientific program to increase your self-control. The marshmallow test: Mastering self-control. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

The marshmallow test book