Impulse Control, Rejection Sensitivity (RS) & Bullying

As you dive deeper into the wealth of information contained in The Marshmallow Test, the more you can understand what underlies bullying, unwanted weight, smoking, anger, AND overall health. Here is an excerpt from this remarkable longitudinal study and book by Columbia University psychologist Walter Mischel.

“THE MOST EXCITING FINDINGS from the marshmallow studies are not the unexpected long-term links between seconds of waiting on the Marshmallow Test and doing well later in life. More impressive is that if we have delay ability and use it, we are better protected from our personal vulnerabilities—such as a predisposition to gain unwanted weight, become angry, feel hurt and rejected, and so on—and can live with these predispositions more constructively. The research that shows how and why self-control has this positive effect has focused on a widespread and pernicious vulnerability called rejection sensitivity (RS), and I turn here to what has been learned about it.

In middle school, high RS children are more easily victimized and bullied by their peers and are lonelier. In the long run, people who are high in this vulnerability continue to experience more rejection, which in time erodes their sense of personal worth and self-esteem, making depression more likely.”