Walter Mischel facts for kids

Walter Mischel (February 22, 1930 – September 12, 2018) was an American psychologist. He was born in Austria. He studied how people's personalities work and how they behave in different situations. He was a professor at Columbia University. In 2002, a survey showed he was one of the most often mentioned psychologists of the 20th century.

Early Life and Education

Walter Mischel was born in Vienna, Austria, on February 22, 1930. His parents were Salomon and Lola Mischel. When he was eight years old, his family, who were Jewish, had to leave Austria. They moved to the United States in 1938 because of the Nazi occupation.

He grew up in Brooklyn, New York City. He went to New York University and earned his first two degrees there. Later, he studied at Ohio State University. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 1956. For much of his career, he studied how people control themselves and what happens to them later in life.

Walter Mischel's Career

Mischel taught at several famous universities. He worked at the University of Colorado from 1956 to 1958. Then he taught at Harvard University from 1958 to 1962. After that, he moved to Stanford University, where he taught from 1962 to 1983. From 1983 until his death, he was a professor at Columbia University.

He was chosen to be part of important groups like the National Academy of Sciences in 2004. He also became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991. In 2007, Mischel was elected president of the Association for Psychological Science. He received many awards for his scientific work. These included awards from the American Psychological Association. He also won the Grawemeyer Award in Psychology in 2011 for his studies on self-control.

Understanding Personality

In 1968, Mischel wrote a book called Personality, and Assessment. This book caused a lot of discussion in the field of personality psychology. Before his book, many people thought that a person's behavior was always the same. They believed it was based on fixed personality traits.

How Situations Affect Behavior

Mischel's research showed something different. He found that how a person acts often depends a lot on the situation they are in. He said that people don't always act the same way in every situation. Instead, their behavior changes based on what is happening around them.

He suggested that we should look at how people act in specific situations. For example, someone might be shy in a big group but very outgoing with close friends. Mischel called these patterns "personality signatures." These signatures show that a person's behavior is consistent in a unique way. It's not about always acting the same. It's about acting in predictable ways in certain situations.

The Marshmallow Experiment

One of Mischel's most famous studies was about self-control. This work started in the late 1960s. It is often called the "marshmallow experiment." He studied young children, usually preschoolers. The experiment looked at how children could wait for a bigger reward.

The test was simple: A child was given a choice. They could eat one treat (like a marshmallow or an Oreo) right away. Or, they could wait a short time, maybe ten minutes. If they waited, they would get two treats instead of one.

Years later, Mischel checked in with the children who took the test. He found a surprising connection between their ability to wait and their lives as adults. Children who had trouble waiting for the treat often had higher rates of obesity. They also tended to have lower academic success later on.

On the other hand, children who could wait longer had different results. They often had a lower body mass index. They also scored higher on school tests. Mischel also found that children from lower-income families were more likely to eat the treat right away. Children whose parents had gone to college were more likely to wait.

Mischel believed that the marshmallow test also showed how much children trusted others. Children who had parents who were not always there might not trust the adult. They might not believe they would get a second treat if they waited. So, they would eat the first treat right away. Children who waited often had a strong ability to reach their goals. They also had positive expectations for the future.

Media Appearances

Walter Mischel appeared on TV and radio to talk about his work. In September 2014, he was on The Colbert Report. This was after his book, The Marshmallow Test, came out. He also had interviews on PBS NewsHour in late 2014 and early 2015. In 2016, he was interviewed on the Invisibilia Podcast on National Public Radio. He talked about how personality works and how it can change.

Personal Life

Walter Mischel lived in New York City. He enjoyed painting and traveling. He had three daughters: Linda, Rebecca, and Judy Mischel. He also had six grandchildren. Mischel spoke several languages, including English and French. He often visited Paris, France. He passed away at his home in New York on September 12, 2018, from pancreatic cancer.

See also

In Spanish: Walter Mischel para niños

• Situationism