Despite being one of the most well-known laboratory-based tasks in psychology, certain methodological and theoretical considerations surrounding the marshmallow test have gone largely unstudied until recently. These considerations reflect gaps in the delay of gratification literature and broader contemporary issues concerning the replicability of seminal findings and the lack of an agreed upon theoretical framework in the field. Accordingly, my dissertation uses the classic marshmallow test to explore the contemporary issues of replication and theory in psychology in a series of three studies. In Study 1, the marshmallow test is at the center of a case study unpacking the nuances of direct and conceptual replication; a tool designed to support ongoing replication efforts is proposed. Study 2 executes a full-scale replication of the paradigm from the case study, and introduces a methodological extension to improve the paradigm’s experimental rigour while making it amenable to an evolutionary–developmental framework. Finally, Study 3 applies an evolutionary–developmental framework to examine how this perspective might help account for individual differences in marshmallow test behavior. Through these three studies, my dissertation provides an example of how engaging in replication and applying an evolutionary–developmental framework to the marshmallow test literature to inform outstanding theoretical questions in psychology might be mutually beneficial endeavors. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation uses an iconic measure in psychology, “the marshmallow test,” to explore issues currently relevant to the field today. The marshmallow test measures delay of gratification––how children chose between a small reward now or a larger reward later. However, despite being one of the most well-known laboratory-based tasks in psychology, certain methodological and theoretical considerations surrounding the marshmallow test have gone largely unstudied until recently. These considerations reflect two bigger issues relevant to psychology more broadly: that of how well findings in psychology can be replicated, and the lack of an overarching and unifying theory in the field. Using the marshmallow test, this dissertation 1) proposes a tool to support ongoing replication efforts, 2) executes a replication and extension of a recent well-cited study, and 3) introduces ways of exploring how a framework that takes evolutionary–developmental principles into account might help address outstanding theoretical questions in the study of delay of gratification.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/30302 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Fortier, Paz |
| Contributors | Schmidt, Louis, Psychology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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