The article, and especially the headline, are extremely misleading.
The actual result: measures of self-control either weakly or strongly predict positive life outcomes, depending on the measure and how much adjusting was done, e.g.
> [The study] created a new measure of the time each original preschooler waited before taking a bite (or getting the reward) to adjust for variables such as age, gender and experiment conditions.
This study found that the "marshmallow test"—as a single measure—is no more or less predictive than a basket of other measures of self-control the study tested, or any of those other measures of self-control taken alone.
Despite the misleading article and headline, the study itself seems well-designed (e.g. pre-registered), but the conclusion in the headline is utterly wrong as that is not what the study found: self-control matters, can be measured, and those measures weakly or strongly predict positive life outcomes.
Here's an accurate headline: Self-control still predicts positive life outcomes, Marshmallow Test creator finds.
The actual result: measures of self-control either weakly or strongly predict positive life outcomes, depending on the measure and how much adjusting was done, e.g.
> [The study] created a new measure of the time each original preschooler waited before taking a bite (or getting the reward) to adjust for variables such as age, gender and experiment conditions.
This study found that the "marshmallow test"—as a single measure—is no more or less predictive than a basket of other measures of self-control the study tested, or any of those other measures of self-control taken alone.
Despite the misleading article and headline, the study itself seems well-designed (e.g. pre-registered), but the conclusion in the headline is utterly wrong as that is not what the study found: self-control matters, can be measured, and those measures weakly or strongly predict positive life outcomes.
Here's an accurate headline: Self-control still predicts positive life outcomes, Marshmallow Test creator finds.