...to my knowledge there's been very little success in finding any early childhood characteristics that have a strong positive correlation to adult success...

...to my knowledge there's been very little success in finding any early childhood characteristics that have a strong positive correlation to adult success... The Stanford Marshmallow study is one that springs to mind - delayed gratification in children correlates strongly with adult success: http://www.sybervision.com/Discipline/marshmallow.htm http://www.sybervision.com/Discipline/marshmallow.htm Of course, one of the really interesting conclusions of that study was that children can improve their capacity for delayed gratification through practice.