Walter Mischel: biography of this psychologist and researcher

Walter Mischel (1930-2018) was an Austrian-born psychologist who developed important research on stimulus control, delayed reinforcement and self-control, especially in childhood and adolescence. He is considered one of the leading psychologists in the cognitive behavioral approach clinic and one of the most cited authors of the 20th century.

We'll see now a biography of Walter Mischel, as well as some of his main contributions to psychology.

• Related article: "History of Psychology: main authors and theories"

Walter Mischel: life and work of this clinical psychologist

Walter Mischel was born on February 22, 1930 in Vienna, Austria. Eight years later, he and his family moved to the United States due to the recent Nazi occupation. He was the youngest of three brothers, sons of businessman Salomón Mischel and Lola Leah Schreck who was a housewife.

Mischel grew up in Brooklyn, New York since 1940, where he attended high school, as well as college training at the state university, while he worked in his business his family. Despite having started his studies in the medical area, Mischel ended up becoming interested in psychology, especially in its clinical application.

Thus, in 1956, Mischel he earned a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Ohio State University, where he was trained by one of the most recognized psychologists in the cognitive behavioral clinic, George Kelly. Likewise, he was decisive in his professional training Julian Rotter, a psychologist remembered for laying the foundations of theories of Control locus.

Thereafter he served for two years as a professor and researcher at the University of Colorado, for two years at Harvard University and during the same time at the University of Stanford.

International recognitions

In 1983, Mischel was a professor at Columbia University, and in 1991 he was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Later, in 2004, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and from 2007 to 2008 he was president of the Association for Psychological Science.

Finally, in 2011 she received the Grawemeyer Award for Psychology from the University of Louisville, for her work in stimulus control, delayed reinforcement, self-control, and willpower. In 2002, Mischel was ranked 25th by the American Psychological Association on the list of the most cited psychologists in this discipline during the 20th century.

The Marshmallow Test

In the late 1960s, Mischel conducted an experiment in which he wanted to observe the effects of delayed reinforcement, also called delayed gratification.

The latter is the ability to refrain from receiving a rewarding item immediately, in order to receive another more desired item even though it involves a longer wait. We will now see what this experiment was about and the implications it had for cognitive-behavioral psychology.

Does self-control influence learning?

This experiment consisted of the following: boys and girls between the ages of four and six were selected and taken to a room where there was only one table and one chair. On the table there was a marshmallow, oreo cookie, or some other treat previously selected by the child.

The investigators left the boy alone inside the room, after giving him the following options: ring a bell to call the researcher and upon her return eat the treat, or wait until the researcher voluntarily returns, and receive a treat more. Obviously, the second option involved an immediate rewarding experience, while the second involved a late rewarding experience. For this reason, the terms "delayed gratification" or "delayed reinforcement" are used.

As a result of the experiment, some children decided to wait up to 20 minutes and receive two treats instead of one. These were called "high retarders". What's more, to endure the wait they developed various distraction techniques, like covering the eyes with the hands, singing or shouting, looking around the chair to avoid turning towards the marshmallow, among others. Instead, other children decided to avoid the long wait (they waited less than 1 minute to call the researcher) and preferred to eat just one. The latter were called "low retarders".

But the experiment did not end there. Under a longitudinal design, which allowed us to know the effects of waiting over time, the same children (now adolescents) were again studied. In this new study, he found a relationship between the ability to wait (delayed reinforcement) and greater school performance in numerical terms (i.e. better test scores or grades academic). Similarly delayed gratification was linked to increased resistance to substance abuse and greater satisfaction in interpersonal relationships.

Not only that, but subsequent research with the same participants has linked delayed high reinforcement to increased cortex activity. prefrontal, which is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain and is related to complex planning, decision-making, and fitness Social.

Broadly speaking, these studies conclude that self-control and willpower are one of the keys to academic and personal achievement. The marshmallow test or experiment has subsequently been replicated with some variants that allow in-depth analysis of self-control mechanisms and its implications for learning.

Likewise, they have allowed us to analyze some dilemmas and complexities of self-control related to the immediate pleasures that offer the impulsive decisions, and the difficulties that are planned when the long waits are not finally gratified.

• You may be interested: "Delayed gratification and the ability to resist impulses"

Some gender differences in the Marshmallow Test

Another issue that has been possible to analyze through this experiment and some of its replications is the cultural interpretation of delayed gratification based on gender.

When a girl decided to wait to receive the reward, such behavior was interpreted by adults as "great intellectual capacity", "high competence", "resourcefulness". On the other hand, those who opted for immediate gratification were understood as "emotionally labile", "moody" or "complaining" (Conti, 2018).

In contrast, children who delayed gratification were described as "shy," "reserved," "obedient," or "anxious," while those who decided to get reinforcement immediately were described as "vital", "energetic", "lively", "self-affirming" (ibid).

This may be a reflection of the values ​​associated with self-control within American culture. For example, it may indicate a greater acceptance of impulsivity among children, and increased approval of tolerant behaviors among girls. The latter can generate guidelines to explain learning and behavior patterns that are differentially reinforced according to gender.

Bibliographic references:

• Conti, R. (2018). Delay of gratification. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved September 18, 2018. Available in https://www.britannica.com/science/delay-of-gratification#ref1206154.
• Rohrich, R. (2015). So… are you failing the Marshmallow Test? Connecting and Disconnecting in Our Information-Rich World. Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 135 (6): 1751-1754.
• Walter Mischel (2018). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved September 18. Available in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mischel.