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Coping Through the Lens of a Camera

May 31, 201900Attention, Career, Ethics and Morality, Featured news, Media, Trauma, Work May, 19

Source: American Documentary, Inc at Flickr, Creative Commons

Documentaries tell compelling stories. But while we become captivated by moments on screen, we forget there is someone behind the camera, watching events unfold in real-time. Cameraperson, a recently released documentary by Kirsten Johnson, portrays her experiences filming documentaries, and it includes footage captured while traveling and filming.

Johnson has travelled the world – from the United States, to South America, to Europe – filming documentaries on topics such as America’s hunger problem or a notorious FBI burglary. She worked on Citizen Four, a documentary about a former CIA agent leaking government information. Sometimes, the stories are about traumatic historical events such as the Rwandan Genocide and the Bosnian War. She has visited the sites of mass killings and heard the stories of people who have survived tragedies.

I had the opportunity to speak with Johnson, and learn about her experiences. Born in Seattle, she was always curious about the world and wanted to travel. She describes herself as a “visual person.” And as the daughter of a psychiatrist, she always wondered about the unique experiences of others. Her personal background, along with an interest in political inequalities, led her to pursue a career in documentary filmmaking.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Johnson explains why she followed this path:

“As a doc filmmaker you’re trying to help reveal a human rights injustice, or a problem that people haven’t looked at or paid attention to, and you know people don’t want to hear it. People don’t want to watch a film about rape in Bosnia. Then the question is, how do you find a way for people to look at things they don’t want to look at?”

I asked Johnson about one of her first jobs filming documentaries:

“I filmed over 200 interviews with holocaust survivors, it was one of the first experiences I had in filmmaking and being deeply interested in how people tell the stories of their trauma. I got interested in the stories themselves, and how people remember them because some people remember different aspects. What I found surprising was that over half the people I interviewed had never talked to anyone about it before—this was the first time they had ever talked about it. There was just a curiosity in me, how could it be that somebody experienced something so devastating and never spoke of it?”

Many filmmakers have likely had similar experiences, so I was curious if Johnson had ever shared her experiences with other people in the industry:

“As camera people, we work so much we rarely get the chance to talk together. I have always talked a great deal with the people who I film with as they’re listening and I’m watching. We process our experience together. Or the translators, those are the kinds of people I’ve had deep conversations about things we were witnessing together.”

Johnson described some of the unspeakable events she had witnessed, and how she copes with the trauma while still doing her work:

“There’s often an aesthetic pleasure even though you may be filming a terrible moment—somehow, the light, the fabric, their skin, what they are wearing, helps you as the camera person cope with the things you are taking in. That’s what I realized when I was looking back at my own footage. It’s this active creative process you’re involved with when you’re trying to organize it and see it differently and search for the beauty in it.”

She described one such experience with a Bosnian family:

“We were filming about how rape was a weapon during the Bosnian war and listening to horrible stories about people who had to leave their homes. Being with one of the few families who had returned to their home—it was beautiful to witness that.”

When asked about the particularly overwhelming and painful moments she is confronted with during film shoots, Johnson incorporates practical and simple strategies to maintain “psychological equilibrium”.

“ I try to sleep enough, eat with relish, laugh a lot and move in all kinds of ways. I read what others have written, talk to friends, see a therapist who has known me for years, watch movies and play with my kids. If I have been traveling too much, I stay home and if I have stayed somewhere too long, I go somewhere new and the world surprises me one more time.”

The importance of telling stories is integral to documentaries. Filmmaking is about more than just reporting on tragedies, it’s about giving people a voice. Yet, more often than not, we don’t think about the person behind the camera, who witnesses trauma in order to share stories with the world.

-Amanda Piccirelli, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

-Copyright Robert T. Muller

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Surprising Side Effect of Parkinson’s Drug: Creativity

August 6, 201800Career, Creativity, Dopamine, Featured news, Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Self-Control August, 18

Source: Image Credits Feature: Ingrid Hauff, Used With Permission

In 2014, Ingrid Hauff was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disorder that attacks the nervous system, leading to speech impairment, loss of control over body movement, and a long list of other symptoms. Plus, there is no cure.

Struggling with the diagnosis, Hauff checked herself into a psychiatric clinic where she was introduced to art therapy. The clinic supplied her with materials, and the staff asked her to paint what she felt. She initially used painting as a way to cope with the illness.

Hauff tells the Trauma and Mental Health Report:

“Before my diagnosis, I never painted. I could never have imagined that painting would be so important to me like it is today. I paint every day. It is a great pleasure for me to paint. I forget every trouble, and I find the [disease’s] side effects are lessened.”

Painting has become more than therapy for Hauff. It’s now a fundamental part of her life, and her unique artistic style and choice of colour have helped her become a successful artist. She has even held an exhibition of her landscape paintings in Berlin.

But her story of artistic knack and creative development is, surprisingly, not a rare one for those diagnosed with PD. Some scientists are investigating whether medications, such as Levodopa and Pramipexol, prescribed to relieve PD symptoms, heighten creativity. These drugs increase the neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical in the brain that regulates movement. Dopamine is gradually depleted as PD progresses, so boosting this neurotransmitter allows patients to retain regular movement and regain control over their bodies.

Like all medications, though, these drugs have a multitude of side effects, ranging from headaches and nausea, to tremors and hallucinations. Unlike other medications, however, one side effect stands out from the rest: uninhibited creativity.

Neurologist Rivka Inzelberg and colleagues published a study in 2014, finding that patients treated with dopaminergic drugs showed enhanced verbal and visual creativity in comparison to neurologically healthy individuals who were not on the medication. This is one of several studies where Inzelberg demonstrated that PD medications are associated with higher rates of creative capability.

But in some instances, patients claim to produce artwork to a point where they can’t restrain themselves. Eugénie Lhommée and her colleagues interviewed people with PD and published a case study on the influence of increased dopamine on creativity. In it, the patient reported:

“I transformed my home into a studio, with tables and canvases everywhere [and] started painting from morning till night. I used knives, forks, sponges […] I would gouge open tubes of paint—it was everywhere. I started painting on the walls, the furniture, even the washing machine. I would paint any surface I came across. I could not stop myself from painting and repainting every night in a trance-like state. My partner could no longer bear it. People close to me realized that I crossed some kind of line into the pathological, and, at their instigation, I was hospitalized.”

Hauff also experienced an “extreme influence” on her artwork when prescribed Pramipexol:

“I began painting for hours every night. I didn’t have any ability to stop. I lost a lot of sleep and was constantly without energy after these sessions, so I decided, together with my neurologist, to stop [Pramipexol]. I’ve been off of it since the beginning of February 2017, and now after one month [on new medication], I can declare that my feeling of control has come back.”

While these experiences can be damaging to patients and their loved ones, Hauff was able to take advantage of this unique side effect by exhibiting and selling the artwork she had produced. Her solution to the problem was to switch to a different medication. The creative boost remained, but the compelling drive disappeared. Hauff explains:

“My creativity is still there, but the ‘painting time’ is now reduced radically. I am painting only during the daytime. My opinion is that Pramipexol limits my ability to maintain self-control.”

But Hauff has no regrets about her experience with Pramipexol:

“It let me find my creativity and showed me what I can do. It showed me secret parts of my soul. It showed me what has slept in my brain and in my heart for nearly 60 years. It showed me a way to live with my Parkinson’s.”

As is the case for most individuals considering a drug therapy, people with PD have to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of medication options. But as more research on this unexpected and artistic by-product emerges, it begs the question of whether similar medications can be used to boost creativity in the future.

– Ty LeBlanc, Contributing Writer. The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

-Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Workplace Alcohol Tests: Where Do We Draw the Line?

February 22, 201840Addiction, Alcoholism, Career, Featured news, Health, Law and Crime, Work February, 18

Source: Bousure at flickr, Creative Commons

Keeping our personal and professional lives separate is something many of us strive for. But, as Johnene Canfield recently discovered, we only have so much control over this process. In the spring of 2015, Canfield was fired from her six-figure position as a Minnesota Lottery official after a DUI conviction and a stint in rehab for alcohol abuse. The following October, she filed a lawsuit to reclaim her job.

Canfield’s former employers say the reason they dismissed her was to ensure the safety of other employees and clients, as well as to preserve employee productivity at the Minnesota Lottery. But these reasons reveal how problem drinkers are viewed as incapable of workplace competence.

According to Linda Horrocks, a former health care aide at Flin Flon’s Northern Lights Manor, a long-term care home for seniors, “Employers often act based on what they think they know about addiction and alcohol addicts”—but not necessarily on the reality of living with addiction. Horrocks, like Canfield, was fired for alcohol addiction.

She was eventually re-hired by the Northern Regional Health Authority, the health-governing body in northern Manitoba that oversees employment at Northern Lights Manor. But her employer required her to sign an agreement to abstain from drinking on and off the job, and to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Horrocks said:

“I didn’t object to the testing, but I didn’t want to commit to never drink again on my own time. My union even advised me against signing this agreement, because I would just be setting myself up for failure—I hadn’t gone through treatment yet. And so, I was fired again.”

Horrocks maintains that the employers’ offer to help her abstain from alcohol completely was based on misconceptions about alcoholism and treatment.

“The managers knew a little bit about alcoholism, as family and acquaintances had gone through treatment. They just decided that the counselling that I was going through with Addictions Foundation of Manitoba was not enough because it is a harm-reduction program, not a direct path to complete abstinence.”

Horrocks understands why some may think that abstinence is the only way:

“After all, if you’re a recovering alcoholic, alcohol is deemed ‘your enemy.’”

Proponents for abstinence-based treatments argue that periods of abstinence can repair brain and central nervous system functions that were impaired. Having problem drinkers self-moderate alcohol intake has had variable success in the past. For some, the temptation of having “just one drink” can be a precursor to relapse. And for them, total abstinence may be a better approach.

But Horrocks explains, abstinence may not be the best approach for everyone. The harm reduction model accepts that some use of mind-altering substances is inevitable, and that a minimal level of drug use is normal. This approach also recognizes research showing experimental and controlled use to be the norm for most individuals who try any substance with abuse potential.

Harm reduction seeks to reduce the more immediate and tangible harms of substance use rather than embrace a vague, abstract goal, such as a substance-free society. During intervention talk sessions, therapists explore and attempt to modify drinking patterns or behaviours with the client. The clinicians support autonomous decision-making and independent goal setting related to drinking.

Evidence published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal shows that these programs aim to reduce the short- and long-term harm to substance users and improve the health and functioning of these individuals. There are also benefits to the entire community through reduced crime and public disorder, in addition to the benefits that accrue from the inclusion into mainstream life of those previously marginalized.

Benjamin Henwood and colleagues from the University of Southern California also show that those who work on the front-line of severe mental illness and addiction prefer the harm-reduction approach to complete abstinence. Yet few employers have taken this approach into account when deciding the fate of employees with proven substance abuse problems outside of the workplace.

Horrocks’s and Canfield’s experience begs the question, where do we draw the line? How much say do employers have over their employees’ personal lives? It may just be that employers need to better respect the privacy of workers, so long as workplace productivity is not affected. And if employers maintain substance abuse policies that bleed over into the personal lives of staff, consideration of a harm-reduction approach is key.

–Veerpal Bambrah, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Models Face Routine Exploitation, Mental Health Problems

January 25, 2018130Body Image, Career, Eating Disorders, Featured news, Health, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder January, 18

Source: Richard George Davis, used with permission

Former model Nikki Dubose has graced the covers of fashion magazines from Maxim to Vogue to Vanity Fair. She’s modeled in Barcelona, Paris, London, and Tel Aviv, and has walked the runway for numerous fashion designers.

Despite the glamorous lifestyle, Dubose is also a sexual assault survivor, and has struggled with eating disorders and mental-health issues. The story is a common one for many in the modeling industry. In an article for the Huffington Post, Dubose describes her experience:

“There were regular pressures to sleep with the director of my agency, constant ‘model dinners’ he organized that involved the owner of the agency, the director and his friends, and select models. This led to [my] being drugged and raped. [I was] raped by a photographer at a lunch that was organized by the director of my agency. Later, when I confronted the director, I was shot down.”

A recent report from The Model Alliance shows that nearly thirty percent of models report being sexually harassed, while twenty-eight percent have been pressured into sex with someone in the industry. Most of the models surveyed said they never told anyone—over two-thirds of those who did report the harassment to their agents were essentially ignored.

In a 2014 Flare Magazine exposé, model Misty Fox also revealed being mistreated by a photographer. Fox said he took photos of her without consent as she was using the bathroom:

“He went to the next cubicle, leaned over like a kid in primary school and took my picture.”

When she asked for the film:

“He just sneered, ‘What are you going to do, tell your daddy?’”

When Fox reported this incident to her agent, the reply was:

“‘Honey, it’s [name redacted]; he’s a really big deal. You’re lucky to be there. Get some good shots. Gotta go.”

Stories of photographers preying on young models are commonplace, and there are few consequences. In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Dubose said:

“Education and legislation are critical here—talking about sexual abuse in workshops so that models can develop safety plans, know what organizations to reach out to, and who to call if something happens. Prevention is key. Plus, predators need to be held accountable. Adopting regulations is also important to change the way the industry currently runs.”

Recently, Dubose worked alongside California State assembly-member Marc Levine on Bill AB 2539, which addressed the need for “workplace protections and health standards in the modeling industry.” This proposal was based on the current French law that prohibits using models with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 18 or lower. Disappointingly, the bill was not passed by the California state legislature. Dubose said:

“The government continues not to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of models in an industry that puts them at risk.”

People often associate modeling with a luxurious lifestyle, but working in the industry can have an impact on mental health. Studies in the past decade have shown that models run a higher risk of developing psychological disorders and report lower life satisfaction compared to other occupations. The Model Alliance reports that sixty-eight percent of models surveyed suffer from anorexia, depression, or a combination of both.

Dubose recognizes how common mental health issues are in her industry. Her memoir “Washed Away: From Darkness to Light” recounts the painful struggles and abuses she suffered as a young, aspiring model. Success often comes at a great cost, with young hopefuls developing an array of dangerous disorders and unhealthy coping mechanisms in the pursuit of fame. She explains:

“Models are often forced into doing things that they don’t want to do, such as losing weight for jobs or sleeping with photographers and other people in the business, and are often victims of wage theft. Most of these girls and boys are minors. It is not acceptable for them to be subjected to abuse, rape, financial theft, and so on.”

A movement for change is emerging in response to these problems. Dubose and many others like her are fighting to create a future where young models perform their jobs in a safe environment without worrying about sexual and financial exploitation, eating disorders, and mental-health issues. Dubose concludes:

“It’s only a matter of time before we see major, positive change. I’m confident.”

–Ty LeBlanc, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Crushing Debt Affects Student Mental Health

January 4, 201860Anxiety, Career, Depression, Education, Featured news, Health, Politics January, 18

Source: thisisbossi at flickr, Creative Commons

Brian, a graduate from a university in California, struggled financially and emotionally. He often experienced anxiety, panic, and shame about his student loans.

Upon graduating, Brian moved to Germany, and to this point, has not paid back a cent of his debt. So long as Brian continues to live abroad, earns a living in a foreign country, does not pay U.S. taxes, and does not collect social security, loan companies are unable to contact him.

Brian’s story of “debt dodging” is just one way, albeit extreme, some students cope with the stress of educational loans, which play a very large role in higher education in North America. And Brian is not the only student who has left his home, family, and friends to escape.

In Canada, average student debt estimates hover in the mid-to-high $20,000 range. This estimate is close to the $26,300 figure that many students said they expected to owe after graduating, according to a recent Bank of Montreal survey.

When she was granted a large enough loan to pay for four years of university and one year of college, Aneeta (name changed for anonymity), a recent graduate of the journalism program at the University of Guelph-Humber in Canada, says she did not understand the consequences of accepting such a large sum of money.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Aneeta explained:

“I really didn’t grasp the gravity of having so much financial assistance from the government, and then having to owe all that money back until after I actually graduated. And it was even more anxiety-provoking because I really struggled to find permanent, full-time work after leaving school.”

Since graduating, Aneeta still lives with her parents and has bounced between temporary retail jobs. The toll the debt has taken on her mental wellbeing includes frequent feelings of self-doubt, embarrassment, and even days of relentless anxiety and depression.

“Honestly, my plan after graduation was to score an awesome job in my field and save up enough money to move out and rent. I just forgot to consider the 25+ thousand dollars that I owe—which I think a lot of undergraduates do, to be honest with you. And every time I think of how much I owe and how much of a long way I have to be debt-free, it freaks me out. And then I feel guilty for spending the money I do have.”

Unable to afford much at all, Aneeta feels isolated and out of the loop; she seldom sees her friends. For students like Aneeta, high debt loads represent not only financial stress, but they can delay the time it takes to reach certain life milestones.

Denise Lopez, a registration and financial aid assistant at the University of Toronto (U of T), said in an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report:

“The number of former students I see who are well into their 30s and 40s and are still paying off their student loans is overwhelming. And many of them admit to being financially restricted from the things they really want to do like buy a car or property.”

Lopez distinctly recalls one U of T alumnus who shared his fear that, when his kids hit university age, he’ll still be paying off his own student loans. And with university tuition rising to record levels in Canada, his fears may not be unfounded.

According to research by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the cost of a university degree in Canada is getting steeper, with tuition and other compulsory fees expected to triple from 1990 to 2017.

The mental wellbeing of students is not the only area affected by steep tuition and loans—their parents’ lives are also altered. For example, parents are postponing retirement and taking on additional debt to help put their children through school or pay off loans. In Aneeta’s words:

“My dad recently became an UBER driver to help me pay off my loans because I can’t do this on my own. I feel guilty. I can see the financial burden and stress in his face. If he had the choice, he wouldn’t want to be working on-top of the hours he puts in at his day job.”

–Veerpal Bambrah, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Crushing Debt Affects Student Mental Health

January 4, 201800Anxiety, Career, Depression, Education, Featured news, Health, Politics January, 18

Source: thisisbossi at flickr, Creative Commons

Brian, a graduate from a university in California, struggled financially and emotionally. He often experienced anxiety, panic, and shame about his student loans.

In an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report, Aneeta explained:

Denise Lopez, a registration and financial aid assistant at the University of Toronto (U of T), said in an interview with the Trauma and Mental Health Report:

“My dad recently became an Uber driver to help me pay off my loans because I can’t do this on my own. I feel guilty. I can see the financial burden and stress in his face. If he had the choice, he wouldn’t want to be working on-top of the hours he puts in at his day job.”

–Veerpal Bambrah, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report.

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

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Lack of Regulation in Porn Industry Leaves Women Unprotected

January 25, 201700Career, Featured news, Health, Law and Crime, Pornography, Sex, Trauma January, 17

The documentary film ‘Hot Girls Wanted’, produced by Rashida Jones and released in the spring of 2015, follows several young women living in a North Miami Beach home as they attempt to enter the amateur pornography industry. Since its release, the film has sparked major discussion about the experiences of female performers and the porn industry itself.

There is very little research available on the impact on performers within this poorly regulated industry. In the U.S., the government turns a blind eye to many of the issues surrounding the production of pornography, unless it involves performers under the age of 18. And despite laws prohibiting the employment of performers under the legal age, there are still issues involving consent among newly legal women in the 18-21 age range.

During an AOL BUILD discussion led by Jones, Gail Dines, a professor of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston, emphasized the lack of understanding that some young women seem to have:

“I meet woman after woman who went into this industry, thinking they were going through consent. They’re young. They don’t know what they’re up against.”

Jones also interviews one of the film’s main performers Rachel Bernard, who has since left the industry, and who openly speaks about her experience working in amateur pornography. She addressed the concept of consent, and how it can become even more problematic on porn sets:

“When you walk in, your agent might’ve told you what you’ll be doing or they were general about it because they don’t want you to have an opinion whether you like it or not.”

In the AOL BUILD discussion, Bernard explained how it was common for her to enter onto a set without previously being told the details of her performance and, eventually, she would be pressured to perform acts she was not comfortable with. In one instance, she was told to say a highly demeaning line. When she refused, the director responded by saying, “Well, it’s part of the script, so you have to.”

A lack of agency in young people entering into any field of work is problematic. But working in pornography can open performers to elevated health risks and uncomfortable situations. During the AOL BUILD discussion, Bernard described how sex work was not comparable to most other lines of work because it required a higher degree of vulnerability:

“Every job does have points where it’s maybe uncomfortable but, when you go to a regular job, you’re not showing every single part of your body. The fact that I am out there and I am completely open. Every part of my body, soul, and mind is having to be in that position. It’s a little bit more than uncomfortable.”

Not only can pornography be uncomfortable, but due to the lack of regulation in the industry, the work can also have a negative impact on performers’ health. Condom use is reported to be very low in heterosexual adult films, with only 17% of performers using condoms. And performers in the study reported feeling pressured to work without condoms to remain employed.

The average age of performers entering the industry could explain a hesitance to speak up about rights on set.

For over 40 years, the average age of entry for female porn performers has been approximately 22. In an interview with VICE, Jones expressed the significance of the age of performers in influencing how they experience this line of work:

“When you’re 18 and you’re making choices for yourself, you’re not thinking about the eternal effects of footage online. You’re not thinking about the external and internal costs; the psychological, emotional, physiological, physical costs of having sex for a living. You’re thinking about the fame part. And so you may not be the best candidate to make a decision for yourself but you’re allowed to because you’re 18 and that’s all you need to be.”

So what do performers say about the development of regulations for this industry?

In February 2016, California officials in charge of workplace safety rejected a proposal requiring the use of condoms, dental dams, and goggles for porn actors on set. The decision was made after six hours of testimony from almost 100 performers and producers who strongly opposed the proposal.

Performers who spoke up in protest of the proposal worried that those particular regulations would either hurt the porn industry and their job security, or drive it underground, resulting in even more dangerous conditions.

In an interview with The Guardian, Ela Darling, a porn performer who spoke at the hearing, explained how those regulations would further limit performers’ rights:

“This law denies bodily autonomy to an already marginalized population, and it denies us our voice.”

In a statement made after the February decision, Erich Paul Leue, the executive director of the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, discussed industry members’ interest in being involved in deciding industry regulations.

“We’re not opposed to regulation,” he said. “We’re opposed to this regulation.”

In terms of regulation, the aim should be to provide performers with the freedom to make their own decisions without fear of risking job security or safety. Individuals working in the industry should not be required to compromise health, safety, or wellbeing. And despite the current lack of understanding about the implications of working in porn, one thing is clear: Performers who wish to enter and remain in the industry should be able to do so without having to check their rights at the door.

–Abbi Sharvendiran, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

–Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

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Book Review: The Marshmallow Test

June 23, 201620Behaviorism, Career, Child Development, Cognition, Emotion Regulation, Featured news, Self-Control June, 16

Source: Jørgen Schyberg on flickr

Walter Mischel, a psychologist best known for the Marshmallow Test, produced his first book at the age of 84.

The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control hit bookshelves in the fall of 2014, and became an instant media sensation. Part memoir and part scientific analysis of Mischel’s work on self-control, the book reviews research on the Marshmallow Test, which he first carried out at Stanford University, and which has since been replicated around the world.

The Marshmallow Test is a way of assessing children’s capacity for delaying gratification and resisting temptation. Children are placed in a room by themselves and given one marshmallow. An experimenter explains that if the child waits 15 minutes, they will receive a total of two marshmallows to eat. If they don’t wait, they’ll receive only one. After the experimenter leaves the room, the child is observed through a one-way mirror or recorded. The longer a child is able to wait, the greater the ability to delay gratification.

Many videos of children taking the Marshmallow Test have been posted to YouTube, often showing amusing coping strategies children use to maintain restraint. The Marshmallow Test has been so widely popularized that even the Wall Street Journal referred to it in assessing a proposed budget by U.S. president Barack Obama.

In his book, Mischel looks at the correlation between outcome on the test at age 5 or 6 with social skills and academic performance later in life. Results show that children who are able to wait longer for two marshmallows have better social skills and higher academic test scores. The book provides several explanations for this phenomenon, including the possibility that the Marshmallow Test accesses characteristics, such as delay of gratification, that are related to developing positive social skills and performing well academically later on.

For those seeking a step-by-step guide to improve self-control and achieve higher grades, this is not the right book. Mischel discusses theoretical concepts and summarizes research. Although he integrates many personal narratives to add a human touch, the book is not meant as a guide to self-improvement.

With critical and thorough analysis, Mischel instead explains how genetic, environmental, and social factors can impact self-control. He emphasizes that self-control is not predetermined or universal across all areas of an individual’s life. Someone who shows a great deal of control in academia may struggle to show that same level of control when overcoming problem drinking.

Making the content more personal, Mischel often incorporates his own challenges with overcoming a nicotine addiction and how his research was often affected by observations of his own children.

Empowerment is another important issue discussed throughout the book. In one section, Mischel refers to his time as a trainee in a clinical psychology doctoral program, recalling how he watched his mentor, George Kelly, work with an extremely anxious woman. The woman had asked Dr. Kelly, “Am I falling apart?” to which he replied, “Would you like to?”

Using this case, Mischel shifts the focus from the Marshmallow Test and how it might predict future action to how perceived self-control can impact demonstrated self-control. This is an idea that Mischel calls the ‘The Engine of Success.’

The idea is that there are essential resources nurturing and cultivating self-control. Mischel explains this theory through the case of George, a student completing his bachelor degree on a full scholarship at Yale University.

At the age of nine, George was enrolled in a KIPP school, which is an American charter school. Mischel explains how such schools attempt to integrate self-control, self-discipline, brain development, and delay of self-gratification into their curriculum. He emphasizes the need for more schools like this.

Although the original Marshmallow Test predicts a specific type of self-control in later life, Mischel stresses that self-control is fluid. Taking control of any area of your life, he suggests, starts with asking the very question George Kelly asked his client: Would you like to?

– Genevieve Hayden, Contributing Writer, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

– Chief Editor: Robert T. Muller, The Trauma and Mental Health Report

This article was originally published on Psychology Today

Category: Career