0:00:00.822,0:00:02.929
So I have a confession to make.

0:00:03.751,0:00:05.895
I only recently learned how to drive.

0:00:06.810,0:00:08.395
And it was really hard.

0:00:09.158,0:00:11.654
Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.

0:00:12.190,0:00:15.431
Do you remember what it was like[br]when you first learned how to drive?

0:00:15.431,0:00:18.451
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.

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Now, as a cognitive scientist[br]I know that this is because I was using

0:00:26.932,0:00:30.365
a lot of something[br]called executive function.

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

0:00:36.806,0:00:38.690
emotions and actions

0:00:38.690,0:00:40.656
in order to achieve goals ...

0:00:40.656,0:00:42.175
like learning how to drive.

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

0:00:46.154,0:00:47.548
inhibit our impulses

0:00:47.548,0:00:48.735
and plan ahead.

0:00:49.829,0:00:52.266
But we can see it most clearly[br]when things go wrong.

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Like, have you ever accidentally poured[br]orange juice on your cereal?

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(Laughter)

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Or, ever start scrolling on Facebook

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

0:01:03.021,0:01:04.021
(Laughter)

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Or maybe this one's more familiar:

0:01:05.840,0:01:08.677
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 absentmindedness,

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but what's really happening

0:01:19.380,0:01:22.112
is we're experiencing a lapse[br]in executive function.

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

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And over the past 30 years,

0:01:29.620,0:01:33.380
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?

0:01:46.334,0:01:47.855
So it's no surprise

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that researchers like me[br]are so interested 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

0:02:20.947,0:02:24.190
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[br]function 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

0:02:58.159,0:03:00.513
to measure executive function[br]in young children

0:03:00.513,0:03:02.985
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,

0:03:16.890,0:03:18.188
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[br]them of what they should be doing.

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(Video) Woman: If it's blue put it here,[br]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[br]and all the trucks go here, OK?

0:03:46.123,0:03:48.174
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?

0:03:52.405,0:03:53.408
Excellent.

0:03:53.408,0:03:55.870
OK, stars go here, trucks go here.

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Here's a truck.

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(Laughter)

0:04:00.495,0:04:02.524
Stars go here, trucks go here.

0:04:02.685,0:04:03.804
Here's a star.

0:04:05.315,0:04:07.036
(Laughter)

0:04:07.624,0:04:09.619
SB: So it's really compelling

0:04:09.619,0:04:13.156
and it's really obvious when she fails[br]to use her executive function.

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But here's the thing:

0:04:15.018,0:04:17.757
we could train her on this task[br]and others like it

0:04:17.757,0:04:19.780
and eventually she'd improve,

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but does that mean

0:04:20.777,0:04:24.023
that she would've improved[br]her executive function outside of the lab?

0:04:24.314,0:04:27.818
No, because in the real world,[br]she'll need to use executive function

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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

0:04:36.555,0:04:39.795
or from thinking about her own feelings[br]to thinking about her friend.

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And success in real-world situations[br]depends on things

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like how motivated you are[br]and what your peers are doing.

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And it also depends[br]on the strategies that you execute

0:04:50.334,0:04:53.607
when you're using executive function[br]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.

0:05:02.015,0:05:06.514
I recently brought in a bunch of kids[br]to do the classic marshmallow test,

0:05:06.514,0:05:08.608
which is a measure of delay[br]of gratification

0:05:08.608,0:05:11.719
that also likely requires[br]a lot of executive function.

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So you may have heard about this test,

0:05:14.637,0:05:16.619
but basically, kids are given a choice.

0:05:16.619,0:05:18.949
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,

0:05:23.100,0:05:24.999
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[br]is how long can they wait?

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(Laughter)

0:05:34.229,0:05:37.821
Now, I added a twist to look[br]at the effects of context.

0:05:38.799,0:05:41.880
I told each kid that they were in a group,

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like the green group,

0:05:43.507,0:05:46.145
and I even gave them[br]a green t-shirt to wear.

0:05:46.598,0:05:50.800
And I said, "You're group waited[br]for two marshmallows,

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and this other group,

0:05:52.183,0:05:53.182
the orange group,

0:05:53.182,0:05:54.273
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.

0:06:05.792,0:06:09.930
(Laughter)

0:06:09.930,0:06:13.739
So what I found was that kids who believed

0:06:13.739,0:06:15.951
that their group waited[br]for two marshmallows

0:06:15.951,0:06:18.562
were themselves more likely to wait.

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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?

0:06:27.741,0:06:30.476
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,

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I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,

0:06:42.156,0:06:45.884
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."

0:06:51.910,0:06:52.977
And then I asked them,

0:06:52.977,0:06:55.136
"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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And what I found was that kids[br]who believed that their group waited

0:07:01.753,0:07:05.121
tended to prefer other kids[br]who liked to wait for things.

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So learning what their group did[br]made them value waiting more.

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And not only that,

0:07:12.829,0:07:15.098
these kids likely used executive function

0:07:15.098,0:07:18.180
to generate strategies[br]to help themselves wait,

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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[br]with other people 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

0:08:07.757,0:08:09.673
in that particulary context,

0:08:09.673,0:08:12.778
like putting her phone away[br]before she starts studying

0:08:12.778,0:08:16.309
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.

0:08:20.359,0:08:25.475
Executive function is really complex[br]and it's shaped by numerous factors,

0:08:25.475,0:08:27.050
but what I want you to remember

0:08:27.050,0:08:29.624
is if you want to improve[br]your executive function

0:08:29.624,0:08:31.883
in some aspect of your life,

0:08:31.883,0:08:33.553
don't look for quick fixes.

0:08:34.006,0:08:35.194
Think about the context

0:08:35.194,0:08:38.239
and how you can make[br]your goals matter more to you,

0:08:38.239,0:08:39.806
and how you can use strategies

0:08:39.806,0:08:42.303
to help yourself[br]in that particular situation.

0:08:43.345,0:08:48.311
I think the ancient Greeks said it best[br]when they said, "Know thyself."

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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)