0:00:00.962,0:00:02.939
So I have a confession to make.

0:00:03.871,0:00:05.795
I only recently learned how to drive.

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And it was really hard.

0:00:09.328,0:00:11.694
Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.

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Do you remember what it was like[br]when you first learned how to drive?

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When every decision you made[br]was so conscious and deliberate?

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I'd come home from my lessons[br]completely wiped out mentally.

0:00:23.612,0:00:27.092
Now, as a cognitive scientist,[br]know that this is because

0:00:27.092,0:00:30.245
I was using a lot of something[br]called executive function.

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Executive function is our amazing ability[br]to conciously control our thoughts,

0:00:36.946,0:00:38.750
emotions and actions

0:00:38.750,0:00:40.796
in order to achieve goals ...

0:00:40.796,0:00:42.175
like learning how to drive.

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It's what we use when we need[br]to break away from habit,

0:00:46.214,0:00:47.658
inhibit our impulses

0:00:47.658,0:00:48.565
and plan ahead.

0:00:49.899,0:00:52.096
But we can see it most clearly[br]when things go wrong.

0:00:53.384,0:00:56.509
Like, have you ever accidentally poured[br]orange juice on your cereal?

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(Laughter)

0:00:59.009,0:01:00.806
Or, ever start scrolling on Facebook

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and suddenly realize[br]you've missed a meeting?

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Or maybe this one's more familiar:

0:01:05.730,0:01:08.737
ever plan to stop at the store[br]on the way home from work

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and then drive all the way home[br]instead on autopilot?

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(Laughter)

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These things happen to everyone.

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And we usually call it absent-mindedness,

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but what's really happening

0:01:19.330,0:01:22.072
is we're experiencing a lapse[br]in executive function.

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So we use executive function every day[br]in all aspects of our lives.

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And over the past 30 years,

0:01:29.690,0:01:33.450
researchers have found that it predicts[br]all kinds of good things

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in childhood and beyond,

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like social skills, academic achievement,[br]mental and physical health,

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making money,

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saving money

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and even staying out of jail.

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Sounds great, doesn't it?

0:01:46.494,0:01:47.865
So it's no surprise

0:01:47.865,0:01:51.422
that researchers like me are so interested[br]in understanding it

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and figuring out ways to improve it.

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But lately, executive function has become[br]a huge self-improvement buzzword.

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People think you can improve it[br]through brain-training iphone apps

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and computer games,

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or by practicing it in a specific way[br]like playing chess.

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And researchers are trying[br]to train it in the lab

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in the hopes of improving it[br]and other things related to it,

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like intelligence.

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Well, I'm here to tell you

0:02:20.987,0:02:24.120
that this way of thinking[br]about executive function is all wrong.

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Brain training won't improve[br]executive function in a broad sense

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because it involves exercising it[br]in a narrow way,

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outside of the real-world contexts[br]in which we actually use it.

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So you can master that executive function[br]app on your phone,

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but that's not going to help you stop[br]pouring OJ on your cereals twice a week.

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(Laughter)

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If you really want to improve[br]your executive function

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in a way that matters for your life,

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you have to understand[br]how it's influenced by context.

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Let me show you what I mean.

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There's a great test[br]that we use in the lab

0:02:57.989,0:03:00.533
to measure executive function[br]in young children

0:03:00.533,0:03:02.985
called the Dimensional Change Card Sort.

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In this task, kids have to sort[br]cards in one way --

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like by shape --

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over and over until they build up a habit.

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And then they're asked to switch,

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and sort the same cards in another way,

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like by color.

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Now, really young kids struggle with this.

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Three and four-year-olds will usually[br]keep sorting the cards in the old way

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no matter how many times you remind them[br]of what they should be doing.

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(Video) Woman: If it's blue put it here,

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if it's red put it here.

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Here's a blue one.

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OK, so now we're going to play[br]a different game.

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We're not going to play[br]the color game anymore.

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Now we're going to play the shape game,

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and in the shape game,

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all the stars go here

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and all the trucks go here, OK?

0:03:46.333,0:03:48.194
Stars go here, trucks go here.

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Where do the stars go?

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And where do the trucks go?

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Excellent.

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OK, starts go here, trucks go here.

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Here's a truck.

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(Laughter)

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Stars go here, trucks go here.

0:04:02.795,0:04:05.214
Here's a star.

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(Laughter)

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SB: So it's really compelling

0:04:09.719,0:04:13.016
and it's really obvious when she fails[br]to use her executive function.

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But here's the thing,

0:04:15.068,0:04:17.807
we could train her on this task[br]and others like it

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and eventually, she'd improve.

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But that means she would've[br]improved her executive function

0:04:22.265,0:04:23.573
outside of the lab?

0:04:24.414,0:04:27.798
No, because in the real world,[br]she'll need to use executive function

0:04:27.798,0:04:30.768
to do a lot more than switching[br]between shape and color.

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She'll need to switch[br]from adding to multiplying

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or from playing to tidying up.

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Or from thinking about her own feelings[br]to thinking about her friend.

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And success in real-world situations

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depends on things[br]like how motivated you are

0:04:45.336,0:04:46.662
and what your peers are doing.

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And it also depends on the strategies

0:04:49.234,0:04:52.097
that you execute when you're using[br]executive function

0:04:52.097,0:04:53.706
in a particular situation.

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So what I'm saying[br]is that context really matters.

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Now let me give you an example[br]from my research.

0:05:02.205,0:05:06.614
I recently brought in a bunch of kids[br]to do the classic marshmallow test,

0:05:06.614,0:05:08.328
which is a measure of delay[br]of gratification

0:05:08.328,0:05:11.439
that also likely requires[br]a lot of executive function.

0:05:12.876,0:05:14.317
So you may have heard about this test,

0:05:14.317,0:05:16.519
but basically, kids are given a choice:

0:05:16.519,0:05:18.949
they can have one marshmallow right away,

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or if they can wait for me to go[br]to the other room

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and get more marshmallows,

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they can have two instead.

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Now, most kids really want[br]that second marshmallow,

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but they key question is how[br]long can they wait?

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(Laughter)

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Now, I added a twist to look[br]at the effects of context.

0:05:38.949,0:05:42.030
I told each kid that they were in a group,

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like the green group,

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and I even gave them a green[br]t-shirt to wear.

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And I said, "You're group waited[br]for two marshmallows,

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and this other group,

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the orange group,

0:05:53.292,0:05:54.383
did not."

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Or I said the opposite:

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"Your group didn't wait[br]for two marshmallows

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and this other group did."

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And then I left the kid alone in the room

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and I watched on a webcam[br]to see how long they waited.

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(Laughter)

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So what I found was that kids who believed[br]that their group waited

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for two marshmallows

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were themselves more likely to wait.

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(Laughter)

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So they were influeced by a peer group[br]that they'd never even met.

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(Laughter)

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Pretty cool, isn't it?

0:06:27.921,0:06:30.896
Well, so with this result[br]I still didn't know

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if they were just copying their group[br]or if it was something deeper than that.

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So I brought in some more kids,

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and after the marshmallow test,

0:06:38.588,0:06:42.236
I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,

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and I told them "one of these kids[br]likes to have things right away,

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like cookies and stickers.

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And the other kid likes to wait

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so that they can have[br]more of these things."

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And then I asked them,

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"Which one of these two kids[br]do you like more?

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And who would you want to play with?"

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(Laughter)

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And what I found was that kids[br]who believed that their group waited

0:07:01.873,0:07:04.891
tended to prefer other kids[br]who liked to wait for things.

0:07:06.200,0:07:09.690
So learning what their group did[br]made them value waiting more.

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And not only that,

0:07:12.939,0:07:15.238
these kids likely used executive function

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to generate strategies[br]to help themselves wait,

0:07:18.210,0:07:21.907
like sitting on their hands[br]or turning away from the marshmallow

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or singing a song to distract themselves.

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(Laughter)

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So what this all shows[br]is just how much context matters.

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It's not that these kids had good[br]executive function or bad,

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it's that the context[br]helped them use it better.

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So what does this mean[br]for you and for your kids?

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Well, let's say that you want[br]to learn Spanish.

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You could try changing your context

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and surrounding yourself with other people[br]who also want to learn,

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and even better if these are people[br]that you really like.

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That way you'll be more motivated[br]to use executive function.

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Or let's say that you want to help[br]your child do better on her math homework.

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You could teach her strategies[br]to use executive function

0:08:07.767,0:08:09.743
in that particulary context,

0:08:09.743,0:08:12.848
like putting her phone away[br]before she starts studying

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or planning to reward herself[br]after studying for an hour.

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Now I don't want to make it sound[br]like context is everything.

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Executive function is really complex[br]and it's shaped by numerous factors,

0:08:25.515,0:08:27.090
but what I want you to remember

0:08:27.090,0:08:29.664
is if you want to improve[br]your executive function

0:08:29.664,0:08:31.923
in some aspect of your life,

0:08:31.923,0:08:33.343
don't look for quick fixes.

0:08:34.086,0:08:35.274
Think about the context

0:08:35.274,0:08:37.919
and how you can make your goals[br]matter more to you.

0:08:38.368,0:08:40.846
And how you can use strategies

0:08:40.846,0:08:42.113
to help yourself[br]in that particular situation.

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I think the Ancient Greeks said it best

0:08:46.081,0:08:48.364
when they said, "Know thyself."

0:08:48.907,0:08:53.234
And a key part of this is knowing[br]how context shapes your behavior

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and how you can use that knowledge[br]to change for the better.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)