Delayed gratification is the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants. This ability is usually considered to be a personality trait which is important for life success. Author Daniel Goleman has suggested that impulse control is an important component of Emotional Intelligence. People who lack this trait may suffer from poor impulse control.
The marshmallow experiment is a famous test of this concept conducted by Walter Mischel at Stanford University In the 1960s, a group of four-year olds were given a marshmallow and promised another, only if they could wait 15 minutes before eating the first one. Some children could wait and others could not. The researchers then followed the progress of each child into adolescence, and demonstrated that those with the ability to wait were better adjusted and more dependable (determined via surveys of their parents and teachers), and scored an average of 210 points higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
