Remembrance For Walter Mischel, Psychologist Who Devised The Marshmallow Test
Walter Mischel had an idea that became a pop culture touchstone. He wanted to see if preschoolers seated in front of a marshmallow could delay their gratification. What did the experiment really mean?
by Julie Carli
Sep 21, 2018
2 minutes
Walter Mischel, a revolutionary psychologist with a specialty in personality theory, died of pancreatic cancer on Sept. 12. He was 88.
Mischel was most famous for the marshmallow test, an experiment that became a pop culture touchstone. But, he said, the thrust of the experiment and its results were often misinterpreted. (You can hear Mischel at the top of this page).
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