Turns out the Marshmallow Test is strongly affected by economic status, and is therefore debunked as a universal test of child development:
"Affluence—not willpower—seems to be what’s behind some kids' capacity to delay gratification."
https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/06/marshmallow-test/561779/
@cathal If it turns out that being raised in more affluent circumstances or being taught somehow by your parents can create more useful time preference, that's at least good since we can try and conduct interventions along those lines.
But fundamentally the marshmallow test teaches us that, apart from perhaps an instrumental justification, there's nothing 'good' and 'just' and 'right' about rewarding people who had the good luck to be savers and hard workers.
@cathal Was it used as that? I took it as a predictor of long-term success.
But if anything this new result tells us just what we knew anyway. Having 'willpower' and 'delayed gratification' and making 'rational choices' isn't something someone decides to do or can take credit for.
Going all "I'm good and I DESERVE to be well off unlike /those/ people who made poor choices." is complete crap even if it's completely genetic. Whoop-de-doo you won the zygote lottery.