ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sabine Doebel - Cognitive scientist
Sabine Doebel studies the developing mind to understand how experience shapes our thinking and executive control skills.

Why you should listen

Sabine Doebel conducts research with children in an effort to understand the nature of the mind, with much of her work focusing on how children develop the cognitive abilities that serve us so well as adults, like controlling impulses, thinking ahead, and staying on task.

Doebel is an incoming assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she will direct the brand new Developing Minds Lab. She earned her PhD from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Psychological Science, Cognition, Developmental Psychology and Child Development. A full list of her publications can be found here.

Doebel is also a passionate advocate of open science and has received funding from the National Science Foundation to help developmental scientists adopt transparency-enhancing practices that will allow them to build more easily on each other's work.

More profile about the speaker
Sabine Doebel | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxMileHigh

Sabine Doebel: How your brain's executive function works -- and how to improve it

Filmed:
2,412,954 views

You use your brain's executive function every day -- it's how you do things like pay attention, plan ahead and control impulses. Can you improve it to change for the better? With highlights from her research on child development, cognitive scientist Sabine Doebel explores the factors that affect executive function -- and how you can use it to break bad habits and achieve your goals.
- Cognitive scientist
Sabine Doebel studies the developing mind to understand how experience shapes our thinking and executive control skills. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So I have a confession to make.
0
708
2851
00:15
I only recently learned how to drive.
1
3583
2292
00:18
And it was really hard.
2
6750
1542
00:21
Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.
3
9125
3059
00:24
Do you remember what it was like
when you first learned how to drive?
4
12208
3268
00:27
When every decision you made
was so conscious and deliberate?
5
15500
2958
00:31
I'd come home from my lessons
completely wiped out mentally.
6
19208
3459
00:35
Now, as a cognitive scientist
I know that this is because I was using
7
23458
3435
00:38
a lot of something
called executive function.
8
26917
3791
00:43
Executive function is our amazing ability
to consciously control our thoughts,
9
31375
5393
00:48
emotions and actions
10
36792
1809
00:50
in order to achieve goals ...
11
38625
2018
00:52
like learning how to drive.
12
40667
1583
00:55
It's what we use when we need
to break away from habit,
13
43000
3018
00:58
inhibit our impulses and plan ahead.
14
46042
2500
01:01
But we can see it most clearly
when things go wrong.
15
49708
2792
01:05
Like, have you ever accidentally
poured orange juice on your cereal?
16
53250
3393
01:08
(Laughter)
17
56667
2059
01:10
Or, ever start scrolling on Facebook
18
58750
1893
01:12
and suddenly realize
you've missed a meeting?
19
60667
2142
01:14
(Laughter)
20
62833
1310
01:16
Or maybe this one's more familiar:
21
64167
1642
01:17
Ever plan to stop at the store
on the way home from work
22
65833
2685
01:20
and then drive all the way home
instead on autopilot?
23
68542
2851
01:23
(Laughter)
24
71417
2184
01:25
These things happen to everyone.
25
73625
2393
01:28
And we usually call it absentmindedness,
26
76042
1934
01:30
but what's really happening
27
78000
1309
01:31
is we're experiencing a lapse
in executive function.
28
79333
3125
01:35
So we use executive function
every day in all aspects of our lives.
29
83625
4393
01:40
And over the past 30 years,
30
88042
1434
01:41
researchers have found
that it predicts all kinds of good things
31
89500
3768
01:45
in childhood and beyond,
32
93292
2184
01:47
like social skills, academic achievement,
mental and physical health,
33
95500
4559
01:52
making money, saving money
34
100083
2018
01:54
and even staying out of jail.
35
102125
2143
01:56
Sounds great, doesn't it?
36
104292
2017
01:58
So it's no surprise
37
106333
1435
01:59
that researchers like me
are so interested in understanding it
38
107792
3434
02:03
and figuring out ways to improve it.
39
111250
2208
02:07
But lately, executive function has become
a huge self-improvement buzzword.
40
115167
5166
02:13
People think you can improve it
through brain-training iPhone apps
41
121042
3351
02:16
and computer games,
42
124417
1434
02:17
or by practicing it in a specific way,
like playing chess.
43
125875
3250
02:22
And researchers are trying
to train it in the lab
44
130250
3059
02:25
in the hopes of improving it
and other things related to it,
45
133333
2935
02:28
like intelligence.
46
136292
1291
02:31
Well, I'm here to tell you
47
139333
1476
02:32
that this way of thinking
about executive function is all wrong.
48
140833
3935
02:36
Brain training won't improve
executive function in a broad sense
49
144792
3559
02:40
because it involves
exercising it in a narrow way,
50
148375
3226
02:43
outside of the real-world contexts
in which we actually use it.
51
151625
4417
02:48
So you can master that executive
function app on your phone,
52
156875
2851
02:51
but that's not going to help you stop
pouring OJ on your Cheeerios twice a week.
53
159750
3774
02:55
(Laughter)
54
163538
1105
02:56
If you really want to improve
your executive function
55
164667
2517
02:59
in a way that matters for your life,
56
167208
2185
03:01
you have to understand
how it's influenced by context.
57
169417
3750
03:06
Let me show you what I mean.
58
174083
1601
03:07
There's a great test
that we use in the lab
59
175708
2351
03:10
to measure executive function
in young children
60
178083
2226
03:12
called the "dimensional change card sort."
61
180333
2584
03:16
In this task, kids have to sort
cards in one way --
62
184000
3434
03:19
like by shape --
63
187458
1518
03:21
over and over until they build up a habit.
64
189000
2768
03:23
And then they're asked to switch
65
191792
2184
03:26
and sort the same cards in another way,
66
194000
2851
03:28
like by color.
67
196875
1333
03:31
Now, really young kids struggle with this.
68
199083
3226
03:34
Three- and four-year-olds will usually
keep sorting the cards in the old way
69
202333
3601
03:37
no matter how many times you remind
them of what they should be doing.
70
205958
3375
03:42
(Video) Woman: If it's blue, put it here.
If it's red, put it here.
71
210125
3184
03:45
Here's a blue one.
72
213333
1250
03:47
OK, so now we're going to play
a different game.
73
215083
2268
03:49
We're not going to play
the color game anymore.
74
217375
2226
03:51
Now we're going to play the shape game,
75
219625
1893
03:53
and in the shape game,
76
221542
1267
03:54
all the stars go here
and all the trucks go here, OK?
77
222833
3226
03:58
Stars go here, trucks go here.
78
226083
2060
04:00
Where do the stars go?
79
228167
1291
04:02
And where do the trucks go?
80
230667
1559
04:04
Excellent.
81
232250
1268
04:05
OK, stars go here, trucks go here.
82
233542
2309
04:07
Here's a truck.
83
235875
1250
04:10
(Laughter)
84
238542
1809
04:12
Stars go here, trucks go here.
85
240375
2268
04:14
Here's a star.
86
242667
1250
04:17
(Laughter)
87
245208
2351
04:19
SB: So it's really compelling,
88
247583
1893
04:21
and it's really obvious when she fails
to use her executive function.
89
249500
4101
04:25
But here's the thing:
90
253625
1268
04:26
we could train her on this task
and others like it
91
254917
2725
04:29
and eventually she'd improve,
92
257666
2018
04:31
but does that mean
93
259708
1268
04:33
that she would've improved
her executive function outside of the lab?
94
261000
3268
04:36
No, because in the real world,
she'll need to use executive function
95
264292
3434
04:39
to do a lot more than switching
between shape and color.
96
267750
3476
04:43
She'll need to switch
from adding to multiplying
97
271250
2976
04:46
or from playing to tidying up
98
274250
2268
04:48
or from thinking about her own feelings
to thinking about her friend.
99
276542
3851
04:52
And success in real-world situations
depends on things
100
280417
2976
04:55
like how motivated you are
and what your peers are doing.
101
283417
3809
04:59
And it also depends
on the strategies that you execute
102
287250
3101
05:02
when you're using executive function
in a particular situation.
103
290375
3250
05:06
So what I'm saying is
that context really matters.
104
294667
3708
05:11
Now let me give you an example
from my research.
105
299250
2726
05:14
I recently brought in a bunch of kids
to do the classic marshmallow test,
106
302000
4393
05:18
which is a measure
of delay of gratification
107
306417
2184
05:20
that also likely requires
a lot of executive function.
108
308625
3125
05:24
So you may have heard about this test,
109
312708
1851
05:26
but basically, kids are given a choice.
110
314583
2018
05:28
They can have one marshmallow right away,
111
316625
2309
05:30
or if they can wait for me
to go to the other room
112
318958
2393
05:33
and get more marshmallows,
113
321375
1518
05:34
they can have two instead.
114
322917
1791
05:37
Now, most kids really want
that second marshmallow,
115
325417
4017
05:41
but the key question is:
How long can they wait?
116
329458
3226
05:44
(Laughter)
117
332708
1101
05:45
Now, I added a twist
to look at the effects of context.
118
333833
4000
05:50
I told each kid that they were in a group,
119
338750
2976
05:53
like the green group,
120
341750
1643
05:55
and I even gave them
a green T-shirt to wear.
121
343417
3142
05:58
And I said, "Your group
waited for two marshmallows,
122
346583
4101
06:02
and this other group, the orange group,
123
350708
2351
06:05
did not."
124
353083
1268
06:06
Or I said the opposite:
125
354375
1476
06:07
"Your group didn't wait
for two marshmallows
126
355875
2059
06:09
and this other group did."
127
357958
2060
06:12
And then I left the kid alone in the room
128
360042
2309
06:14
and I watched on a webcam
to see how long they waited.
129
362375
2833
06:17
(Laughter)
130
365792
4059
06:21
So what I found was that kids who believed
131
369875
3768
06:25
that their group waited
for two marshmallows
132
373667
2142
06:27
were themselves more likely to wait.
133
375833
2834
06:32
So they were influenced by a peer group
that they'd never even met.
134
380042
4434
06:36
(Laughter)
135
384500
1393
06:37
Pretty cool, isn't it?
136
385917
1684
06:39
Well, so with this result
I still didn't know
137
387625
2601
06:42
if they were just copying their group
or if it was something deeper than that.
138
390250
4500
06:47
So I brought in some more kids,
139
395333
1685
06:49
and after the marshmallow test,
I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,
140
397042
5017
06:54
and I told them, "One of these kids
likes to have things right away,
141
402083
3685
06:57
like cookies and stickers.
142
405792
1976
06:59
And the other kid likes to wait
143
407792
1517
07:01
so that they can have
more of these things."
144
409333
2476
07:03
And then I asked them,
145
411833
1268
07:05
"Which one of these two kids
do you like more
146
413125
2143
07:07
and who would you want to play with?"
147
415292
1791
07:09
And what I found was that kids
who believed that their group waited
148
417833
3851
07:13
tended to prefer other kids
who liked to wait for things.
149
421708
3417
07:17
So learning what their group did
made them value waiting more.
150
425958
4125
07:22
And not only that,
151
430958
1768
07:24
these kids likely used executive function
152
432750
2309
07:27
to generate strategies
to help themselves wait,
153
435083
3060
07:30
like sitting on their hands
or turning away from the marshmallow
154
438167
3476
07:33
or singing a song to distract themselves.
155
441667
3101
07:36
(Laughter)
156
444792
1625
07:39
So what this all shows
is just how much context matters.
157
447500
4559
07:44
It's not that these kids
had good executive function or bad,
158
452083
3560
07:47
it's that the context
helped them use it better.
159
455667
3000
07:52
So what does this mean
for you and for your kids?
160
460417
3125
07:56
Well, let's say that you want
to learn Spanish.
161
464500
2643
07:59
You could try changing your context
162
467167
1726
08:00
and surrounding yourself
with other people who also want to learn,
163
468917
3934
08:04
and even better if these are people
that you really like.
164
472875
3018
08:07
That way you'll be more motivated
to use executive function.
165
475917
3416
08:12
Or let's say that you want to help
your child do better on her math homework.
166
480167
4267
08:16
You could teach her strategies
to use executive function
167
484458
3143
08:19
in that particular context,
168
487625
1934
08:21
like putting her phone away
before she starts studying
169
489583
3143
08:24
or planning to reward herself
after studying for an hour.
170
492750
3583
08:29
Now, I don't want to make it sound
like context is everything.
171
497083
3268
08:32
Executive function is really complex,
and it's shaped by numerous factors.
172
500375
4976
08:37
But what I want you to remember
173
505375
1518
08:38
is if you want to improve
your executive function
174
506917
2517
08:41
in some aspect of your life,
175
509458
2351
08:43
don't look for quick fixes.
176
511833
2143
08:46
Think about the context
177
514000
1268
08:47
and how you can make
your goals matter more to you,
178
515292
2934
08:50
and how you can use strategies
179
518250
1476
08:51
to help yourself
in that particular situation.
180
519750
2375
08:55
I think the ancient Greeks said it best
when they said, "Know thyself."
181
523332
5394
09:00
And a key part of this is knowing
how context shapes your behavior
182
528750
4309
09:05
and how you can use that knowledge
to change for the better.
183
533083
3810
09:08
Thank you.
184
536917
1267
09:10
(Applause)
185
538208
3125
Translated by Leslie Gauthier
Reviewed by Joanna Pietrulewicz

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sabine Doebel - Cognitive scientist
Sabine Doebel studies the developing mind to understand how experience shapes our thinking and executive control skills.

Why you should listen

Sabine Doebel conducts research with children in an effort to understand the nature of the mind, with much of her work focusing on how children develop the cognitive abilities that serve us so well as adults, like controlling impulses, thinking ahead, and staying on task.

Doebel is an incoming assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she will direct the brand new Developing Minds Lab. She earned her PhD from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota and subsequently was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in Psychological Science, Cognition, Developmental Psychology and Child Development. A full list of her publications can be found here.

Doebel is also a passionate advocate of open science and has received funding from the National Science Foundation to help developmental scientists adopt transparency-enhancing practices that will allow them to build more easily on each other's work.

More profile about the speaker
Sabine Doebel | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM