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A comment on The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure?.

Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by gaius on Sunday June 03, 2018 @04:15AM (#17218510)
Our cats have never in their lives had to worry about food, yet they still become anxious around mealtimes. That suggests that it is trait common to all mammals regardless of their "wealth".
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by popnroll on Sunday June 03, 2018 @04:26AM (#17218537)
You think the behavior of your cats represent the mammal population?
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by gaius on Sunday June 03, 2018 @05:46AM (#17218774)
Yes, it’s called sampling
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by popnroll on Sunday June 03, 2018 @05:59AM (#17218822)
Your cats are an unrepresentative sample of the mammal population, your conclusion is biased.
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by gaius on Sunday June 03, 2018 @06:09AM (#17218841)
That’s harsh, dude
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by always_good on Sunday June 03, 2018 @12:12PM (#17220204)
My cat has food laid out for it all day. It has no "mealtimes" to get anxious over. Not sure what conclusions you can draw from the fact that your cats did indeed build up an appetite between meals.
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by gaius on Monday June 04, 2018 @12:38AM (#17224700)
Ours too, there is always dry food available. That is the whole point of my observation that they demand mealtimes too.
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Re:The Marshmallow Test: What Does It Really Measure? by Broken_Hippo on Sunday June 03, 2018 @04:38AM (#17218577)
um... They naturally get hungry, in other words. They recognize patterns. This isn't the same.

This is more like giving your cat a treat, and testing whether or not the cat has the self-control to not eat it for a time so they can double their reward.

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