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They call it the "marshmallow test." A four-to-six-year-old-child sits alone in a room at a table facing a marshmallow on a plate. The child is told: "If you don't eat this treat for 15 minutes you can have both it and a second one." Kids on average wait for five or six minutes before eating the marshmallow. The longer a child can resist the treat has been correlated with higher general competency later in life.
人們稱之為“棉花糖測試”：一名四五歲左右的孩子獨自坐在房間里的桌子前，桌上擺著裝有一根棉花糖的盤子。這個孩子被告知：“如果等足15分鐘再吃，我會獎勵你第二根棉花糖”。平均每個孩子等五六分鐘就忍不住吃起來。孩子抵住美味誘惑的時間越長，在今后人生中表現出的綜合能力也就越高。
Now a study shows that ability to resist temptation isn't strictly innate—it's also highly influenced by environment.
目前一項研究證明抵制誘惑的能力并不完全是天生的，也深受環境的影響。
Researchers gave five-year-olds used crayons and one sticker to decorate a sheet of paper. One group was promised a new set of art supplies for the project—but then never received it. But the other group did receive new crayons and better stickers.
研究人員給五歲大的孩子們舊蠟筆和貼紙用來裝飾紙張，并承諾會給其中一組孩子一套新的繪畫用具，但之后并沒有兌現。但是另一組卻得到了新的蠟筆和更漂亮的貼紙。
Then both groups were given the marshmallow test. The children who had been lied to waited for a mean time of three minutes before eating the marshmallow. The group that got their promised materials resisted an average of 12 minutes.
之后對這兩組孩子進行棉花糖測試。被騙的那組孩子平均只等了3分鐘就把棉花糖吃掉了。另一組孩子則平均等了12分鐘。
Thus, the researchers note that experience factors into a child's ability to delay gratification. When previous promises have been hollow, why believe the next one?
因此研究人員指出，判斷孩子們克制欲望的能力也需要考慮到經驗的因素。當希望落空時，誰還會相信下一個承諾呢？
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