Background
This category is inspired by the famous 'marshmallow study,' in which
it was found that 4 year-olds who held out longer for a second marshmallow
when left alone with one did better
years later on their SAT scores. The authors concluded that self control was a cognitive leg-up when it comes to
success in school and life. That's fine as far as it goes, but one might also conclude that the kids who waited for the
second marshmallow had a higher tolerance for risk. How did they know
the experimenter would return? Perhaps those 'without self control' were simply more conservative: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
Is risky behaviour to be associated with high SAT as well, then? In fact, it is. In another study, students praised for intelligence rather than effort began making safer choices (e.g., choosing to take an easy test rather than challenging themselves and risking their "intelligent" status), which lowered their overall success. Risk and self control are two sides of the same coin. By gaining practice at balancing them we learn to make better decisions. These games emphasize both risk taking and self control--a winning cognitive combination! References
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Other programs
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