The Evidence: Senioritis (330)

On pages 329 and 330, Shenk discusses the Stanford study on immediate versus delayed gratification in children originally discussed on page 140. While some of the children tried to distract themselves from eating the marshmallow, those methods proved inconsistent in achieving the desired outcome. Rather, mental discipline was sustained when children in a follow-up experiment saw symbolic representations of their rewards (but was not exposed to the reward itself). On page 140, Shenk discusses how children who demonstrated mental discipline at a young age showed significant academic success over those who gave in to instant gratification. Similarly, studies have shown that high school students that hang a poster of the college they want to go to (a symbolic representation of their goal) have higher academic achievement, but being presented the reward of being accepted into that school triggers a decrease in self-discipline in high school seniors commonly known as senioritis. While there are still benefits to maintaining the same caliber of work, many seniors become too caught up in the possible rewards. How can schools (both colleges and high schools) alter the acceptance process or high school environment so that students achieve the benefits of their last year of high school education? How does the culture and environment of seniors (specifically second semester) affect their behavior? Refer to the biological theme of interdependence in nature and chapter 51 of Campbell on behavior (do symbolic representations act as a kind of stimulus? What about acceptance letters?) to answer these questions.

-Kyle Mueting (kylemueting@comcast.net)