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W: With some 10,000 baby boomers hitting retirement age every day, the problem of financial self-control, saving for the future, has become more and more pronounced. Our economics correspondent, Paul Solman, has been following the connection between saving and psychology for years. Today, we have him with us.
    M: Thank you, hostess. How hard is it for you personally to save instead of spending your money right away on something you want?
    W: This is a tough question. You know, we’re not born knowing all these things.
    M: Many of our fellow Americans, who, on average, according to the Federal Reserve, have less than 4,000 dollars in savings, 57% of whom have less than 1,000 dollars to their names.
    W: These numbers sound rather shocking. I heard a supposition which says that if we can maintain self-control, we’ll have got a much better chance of taking the future into account, and likely to have better economic outcomes. Can you talk about it?
    M：Yes. And there are lots of researches that support this supposition. For example, psychologist Michel is known for an experiment he first ran at Stanford in 1960 with 4- to 6-year-olds. You’re probably familiar with it—the marshmallow test, which goes like this: I will give you a marshmallow now, or if you wait a little while, I will give you two marshmallows. Would it be hard to wait?
    W: For me, it would be very hard to wait. Just looking at this marshmallow right now makes me want that marshmallow right now.
    M: Leaving aside the dubious charms of the foodstuff, the marshmallow test itself is actually among the most famous and replicated in the history of psychology. Of the 600 preschoolers at Stanford on whom it was run, most wolfed down the little pillow of pleasure. But one-third delayed gratification long enough to get another.
    W: So the majority of people can’t resist temptation even if they know if they do, they will have a greater benefit. There is a correlation between self-discipline and future development according to this experiment.
    M: Yes, there is. Follow-up research found that the more temperate types had higher SAT scores as teens. And, later, an ongoing study of 1,000 random New Zealanders from birth to their 30s yielded even stronger findings. Their self-control, or lack of it, almost perfectly predicted their future prosperity.
    W: I heard that the children who are of very low self-control are in deep financial trouble by their 30s. Those who are very high self-control are doing really well. They turn out to be entrepreneurs. They have got retirement accounts. They own their own homes. And those who are average self-control are right in the middle.
    M: One challenge to the marshmallow results has suggested that trust in the experimenter is the key to resisting temptation.
    W: As simple as that? But in an age of suspicion and denial, how should we teach trust into the minds of our kids?
    M: It is quite amazing that the successful self-deniers employ very simple strategies. They transform an impossibly difficult situation into a relatively easy one by distracting themselves, by turning around.
    W: One last question. Is self-control hard-wired?
    M: I think some people find it much easier to exert control than others. But no matter whether one is reasonably good at this overall or reasonably bad at this overall, it can be enormously improved.
    W: I see. Thank you again for joining us.
    6. What has the Federal Reserve found about Americans’ savings?
    7. According to the supposition, what will bring us better economic outcomes?
    8. What does the marshmallow experiment show?
    9. What happens to the kids with high self-control?
    10. What does the interviewee say about self-control?