The Marshmallow Test (Day 6)

Schedule

8:00-9:15 Motivation lecture

11:00-12:15 Psychopharmacology lecture

2:00-3:15 Cognitive neuroscience lecture

3:30-5:30 Work

I have the same professor for my motivation and psychopharmacology class, and I am pretty sure that she may become one of my favorites at UCSB. Normally, I despise having classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays because they are an hour and fifteen minutes in length (as opposed to the fifty minute lectures held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). However, this professor is so cool that she manages to keep my attention for the entire length of both classes (one of which is at 8:00 AM).

In this morning's motivation lecture, we discussed delayed gratification and "the marshmallow test", in which a child was given the option of eating one marshmallow immediately or waiting with a promise of another marshmallow. I had not seen a video detailing this experiment, so I browsed YouTube to find a good one.

Warning: Extremely cute!

In the original study, the test was performed on two- and four-year-olds. Almost all of the former were unable to wait the 15 minutes to receive a second marshmallow. Contrastingly, approximately half of the four year olds were successful and were rewarded with a second marshmallow. What is the significance of the difference between four-year-olds? In a follow-up study, it was shown that the children who demonstrated self-control in this test were more likely to get good grades, stay out of trouble, etc... 

I wonder what I would have done. My self-control really depends on the circumstances. As a vegetarian who loves meat, I think I have pretty good self-control. However, when it comes to chocolate, I am a lost cause (which is why I was only vegan for ten days... stupid homemade brownies).

Tangential Note

When did 8:00 AM class become such a horrid thing? In elementary school, class began at 8:25 AM (or something like that... my driver/mom was always running late). In junior high, my "zero period" choir class began at 7:00 AM (of course, that did not last long after I learned that I would have to sing in front of people... crazy talk, I know). Even after that, class began promptly at 8:00 AM. In high school, I had to rise even earlier to attend morning water polo practices. If you think an 8:00 AM lecture is unappealing, imagine jumping into a body of water at 6:30 AM... *Sigh* Those were the days...

Father-Daughter Date Night

I asked my not-so-old man (he got carded at dinner!) to accompany me to the Fun. concert, featuring Tegan and Sara, last Saturday. He was a good sport and joined me even though he was only vaguely familiar with their music.

Him: What's with the dot?
Me: It's a period.
Him: So, are they called "Fun Period"?
Me: No, it's just Fun.

Then, the Fun. puns commenced...

"This is going to be Fun."

"I love Fun."

"Fun. is awesome."

"That was so much Fun."

... and so on.

It was Fun.
Okay, that was the last one.

Before heading over to the concert, we stopped for dinner at the Sojourner Cafe. I love this place. As a vegetarian, I am usually limited to a few choices (and most of them are salads) at restaurants. The Sojourner is a self-proclaimed "veggie cafe"; I was overwhelmed with all the possibilities.

When we got to the concert, I was more than a little panicked. Our seats were not together, and we were going to need to negotiate with some people in order to sit next to each other. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that everyone was extremely obliging, and a few seemed to be in the same boat.

The View from the Santa Barbara Bowl 

Tegan and Sara opened, and they were incredible. I first heard their music while watching Grey's Anatomy, which featured a number of their songs from their album So Jealous. However, they almost exclusively played songs from their new album, Heartthrob. It is so different from their first album, but I am absolutely obsessed with it, especially after hearing them live.

"Now I'm All Messed Up" by Tegan and Sara

They also happened to be hilarious. Tegan was trying to convince the crowd that she was determined to move to Santa Barbara and we were now her home town crowd. She went on about looking for houses and how beautiful it was in Santa Barbara until Sara finally interrupted her, "I would just like you all to know that Tegan has already told at least two lies tonight."

Tegan and Sara absolutely crushed it!

They were a tough act to follow, but Fun. managed. The crowd was insane, and they were extraordinary. I was really stoked that they began with "Some Nights (Intro)".

"Some Nights (Intro)" by Fun.

They played almost every song on their second album Some Nights and a few from their first album called Aim and Ignite. I highly recommend both!

Confetti Canons!

Every member was extremely talented, but the lead singer, Nate, was incredible. I am still perplexed by the amount of energy that man possessed. He sang as well as a Broadway singer while running and jumping all over the stage. 

Crazy!

Like Tegan and Sara, the members of Fun. were hilarious, and I will give you the gist of one particularly funny tangent. As this happened a week ago and I do not have perfect memory, they are not exact quotes; I am just paraphrasing...

Jack: I just wanted to explain that I am not making fashion statement by "one-gloving" it. I crashed on my motorcycle. [Crowd chuckles.]

Jack: No, it was pretty serious-

Nate: Dude, it was a scooter.[Crowd laughs. One guy "boos".]

Jack: Did somebody just "boo" me? [Scans the crowd.] It was you! [Points to guy.] Why are you laughing at me, Chopper Guy? My scooter does the same thing as your motorcycle. It goes just as fast.

Nate: Yeah, except you weren't. You were going too slow and it fell over. 

Jack: Hey, it's harder to go slow!

After Jack continued to explain why he was not a total loser for crashing a scooter, he described his mother's reaction, which involved a crazed panic, Betadine, and some foul language. Basically, his mom sounds awesome...

Nate: That is actually a perfect segue into our next-

Andrew: No, it was a SCOOTER.

Fun. was fun. (Okay, that was the last one, I swear.)