Not hugely surprising but still of interest.
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A new test of cephalopod smarts has reinforced how important it is for us humans to not underestimate animal intelligence.

Cuttlefish have been put to a new version of the marshmallow test, and the results appear to demonstrate that there’s more going on in their strange little brains than we knew.

Their ability to learn and adapt, the researchers said, could have evolved to give cuttlefish an edge in the cutthroat eat-or-be-eaten marine world they live in.

The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

This ability to delay gratification demonstrates cognitive abilities such as future planning, and it was originally conducted to study how human cognition develops; specifically, at what age a human is smart enough to delay gratification if it means a better outcome later.

Because it’s so simple, it can be adjusted for animals. Obviously you can’t tell an animal they’ll get a better reward if they wait, but you can train them to understand that better food is coming if they don’t eat the food in front of them straight away.

Some primates can delay gratification, along with dogs, albeit inconsistently. Corvids, too, have passed the marshmallow test.

Last year, cuttlefish also passed a version of the marshmallow test. Scientists showed that common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) can refrain from eating a meal of crab meat in the morning once they have learnt dinner will be something they like much better – shrimp.

sciencealert.com/cuttlefish-can-pass-a-cognitive-test-designed-for-children

This is a bit of a weird one. I suppose I’m more taken by those octopuses that can solve physical puzzles.

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

mollwollfumble said:

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

A really smart kid might say to him or herself “I don’t want to grow up to be a fat fuck, but I could certainly go for one marshmallow” and then scoff the provided treat in an instant.

sibeen said:

mollwollfumble said:

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

A really smart kid might say to him or herself “I don’t want to grow up to be a fat fuck, but I could certainly go for one marshmallow” and then scoff the provided treat in an instant.

Marshmallows should be eaten carefully, not scoffed in an instant. They’re a choking hazard.

mollwollfumble said:

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

The marshmallow experiment itself was interesting, but the followup was much more so. The children who couldn’t wait didn’t go on to higher education but either dropped out of high school or started work immediately after; some of them became addicted to drugs. The ones who could wait did go on to college, didn’t do drugs, and finished up with better jobs.

btm said:

mollwollfumble said:

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

The marshmallow experiment itself was interesting, but the followup was much more so. The children who couldn’t wait didn’t go on to higher education but either dropped out of high school or started work immediately after; some of them became addicted to drugs. The ones who could wait did go on to college, didn’t do drugs, and finished up with better jobs.

that apparent deferral of more immediate reward associated with occupational success i’ve read of quite a few times, and as it goes occupational success corresponds fairly reliably with higher IQ, probably related instrumental desires, formation and holding of, need do this to get that sort of thing

I say apparent because the capacity for instrumental desires may have its own more immediate rewards, or is generated by something that is more immediately rewarding, a native enjoyment

I don’t much like the word gratification, so avoid it

sibeen said:

mollwollfumble said:

> The marshmallow test, or Stanford marshmallow experiment, is pretty straightforward. A child is placed in a room with a marshmallow. They are told if they can manage not to eat the marshmallow for 15 minutes, they’ll get a second marshmallow, and be allowed to eat both.

I’m not sure that I’d pass that one.

For me, “delayed gratification” is usually defined as “toast”.

A really smart kid might say to him or herself “I don’t want to grow up to be a fat fuck, but I could certainly go for one marshmallow” and then scoff the provided treat in an instant.

Or, better, knowing that two marshmallows is the end of the experiment, keep taking one marshmallow with the idea of extending the experiment for as long as possible.