Resources
Delay of Gratification in Children
This is Walter Mischel, Yuichi Shoda, and MI Rodriguez's iconic Marshmallow study, which analyzed the nature of future-oriented self-control and the psychological processes that underlie it.
Rational Snacking: Young Children’s Decision-Making on the Marshmallow Task is Moderated by Beliefs about Environmental Reliability
A brilliant extension of Walter Mischel's work, showing the role of context and environment, which has ramifications beyond just the self-control work.
Briefing on Social and Emotional Learning and Student Benefits
Written by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) in collaboration with the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, this briefing shares the latest research on the effects of SEL on students and includes strategies for implementing SEL.
The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools
CASEL shares the results of a national teacher survey, which overwhelmingly shows the linkages among SEL, student outcomes, and school performance.
SEL as a Catalyst for Academic Excellence
A paper by Antonio G. Marchesi and Kimberly Cook discusses how to distinguish emotional intelligence from conventional perspectives of IQ, and how SEL relates to academic excellence.
How Children Succeed
Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter most when it comes to children succeeding have to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, optimism, and self-control.
Character Compass
Scott Seider offers portraits of three high-performing urban schools in Boston, Massachusetts that have made character development central to their mission of supporting student success, yet define character in three very different ways.
Mindset: How You Can Fulfill Your Potential
Author Carol S. Dweck explains why it's not just our abilities and talent that bring us success, but the mindset we approach them with. People with a "fixed" mindset believe abilities are set and do not change; people with a "growth" mindset believe that abilities can be developed and expanded over time.
A Primer in Positive Psychology
Christopher Peterson covers major topics of concern to the field of positive psychology: positive experiences such as pleasure and flow; positive traits such as character strengths, values, and talents; and the social institutions that enable these elements.
Flourish
Psychologist Martin E. P. Seligman offers a new theory on what makes people flourish, and how to truly get the most out of life.