The Science of Delayed Gratification

Picture this: you’re four years old, sitting alone at a tiny table in a quiet room.

In front of you is a single, perfect treat. Maybe it’s a marshmallow, maybe it’s a cookie,

maybe it’s a salty pretzel stick. It’s right there. You can smell it. You can almost taste

it. And a grown-up has just told you something that feels like psychological torture:

“You can eat this one now… or, if you wait until I come back, you’ll get two.”

Then they leave. The door closes. The clock starts. What happens next doesn’t just predict

whether you get one treat or two. According to one of the most influential research programs

in psychology, what you do in those moments—how you look, think,