The Marshmallow Test is conceivably one of the most prominent developmental research studies on delay of gratification. In the late 1960s to early 70s, American Psychologist and Stanford University Professor, Dr. Walter Mischel, and his team sat children down at a table and placed a marshmallow (or other treat chosen by the child) in front of…
February 10, 2017
Pretend Play – How To Get Kids to Focus Using Superheroes
For young children, pretend play is so much more important than just having fun. In a study by Dr. Stephanie M. Carlson, University of Minnesota Professor and Reflection Sciences CEO and Co-founder, and U of MN alums Dr. Rachel White, Dr. Emily Prager, and Catherine Schaefer, children who pretend to be their strong-minded hero are…
September 12, 2016
How the Batman Effect Impacts Executive Function + Child Development
In her research, Dr. Stephanie Carlson has been able to help children to improve their executive function skills by encouraging them to pretend to be someone more competent than themselves, like Batman. She talks about this phenomenon, called psychological distancing, in an interview with Ginny from the Understood.org Team. Get a Free 5-minute Executive Function Assessment with EFgo for iPad and Android…