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Sabine Doebel: How your brain's executive function works -- and how to improve it
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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.
Sabine Doebel - Cognitive scientist
Sabine Doebel studies the developing mind to understand how experience shapes our thinking and executive control skills. Full bio
Sabine Doebel studies the developing mind to understand how experience shapes our thinking and executive control skills. Full bio
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00:12
So I have a confession to make.
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I only recently learned how to drive.
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And it was really hard.
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Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.
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Do you remember what it was like
when you first learned how to drive?
when you first learned how to drive?
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When every decision you made
was so conscious and deliberate?
was so conscious and deliberate?
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I'd come home from my lessons
completely wiped out mentally.
completely wiped out mentally.
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Now, as a cognitive scientist
I know that this is because I was using
I know that this is because I was using
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a lot of something
called executive function.
called executive function.
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Executive function is our amazing ability
to consciously control our thoughts,
to consciously control our thoughts,
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emotions and actions
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in order to achieve goals ...
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like learning how to drive.
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It's what we use when we need
to break away from habit,
to break away from habit,
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inhibit our impulses and plan ahead.
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But we can see it most clearly
when things go wrong.
when things go wrong.
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Like, have you ever accidentally
poured orange juice on your cereal?
poured 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
you've missed a meeting?
you've missed a meeting?
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(Laughter)
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Or maybe this one's more familiar:
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Ever plan to stop at the store
on the way home from work
on the way home from work
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and then drive all the way home
instead on autopilot?
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
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is we're experiencing a lapse
in executive function.
in executive function.
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So we use executive function
every day in all aspects of our lives.
every day in all aspects of our lives.
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And over the past 30 years,
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researchers have found
that it predicts all kinds of good things
that it predicts all kinds of good things
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in childhood and beyond,
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like social skills, academic achievement,
mental and physical health,
mental and physical health,
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making money, saving money
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and even staying out of jail.
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Sounds great, doesn't it?
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So it's no surprise
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that researchers like me
are so interested in understanding it
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
a huge self-improvement buzzword.
a huge self-improvement buzzword.
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People think you can improve it
through brain-training iPhone apps
through brain-training iPhone apps
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and computer games,
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or by practicing it in a specific way,
like playing chess.
like playing chess.
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And researchers are trying
to train it in the lab
to train it in the lab
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in the hopes of improving it
and other things related to it,
and other things related to it,
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like intelligence.
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Well, I'm here to tell you
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that this way of thinking
about executive function is all wrong.
about executive function is all wrong.
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Brain training won't improve
executive function in a broad sense
executive function in a broad sense
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because it involves
exercising it in a narrow way,
exercising it in a narrow way,
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outside of the real-world contexts
in which we actually use it.
in which we actually use it.
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So you can master that executive
function app on your phone,
function app on your phone,
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but that's not going to help you stop
pouring OJ on your Cheeerios twice a week.
pouring OJ on your Cheeerios twice a week.
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02:55
(Laughter)
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If you really want to improve
your executive function
your executive function
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in a way that matters for your life,
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you have to understand
how it's influenced by context.
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
that we use in the lab
that we use in the lab
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to measure executive function
in young children
in young children
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called the "dimensional change card sort."
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In this task, kids have to sort
cards in one way --
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
keep sorting the cards in the old way
keep sorting the cards in the old way
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no matter how many times you remind
them of what they should be doing.
them of what they should be doing.
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(Video) Woman: If it's blue, put it here.
If it's red, put it here.
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
a different game.
a different game.
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We're not going to play
the color game anymore.
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
and all the trucks go here, OK?
and all the trucks go here, OK?
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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, stars 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.
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Here's a star.
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(Laughter)
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SB: So it's really compelling,
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and it's really obvious when she fails
to use her executive function.
to use her executive function.
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But here's the thing:
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we could train her on this task
and others like it
and others like it
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and eventually she'd improve,
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but does that mean
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that she would've improved
her executive function outside of the lab?
her executive function outside of the lab?
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No, because in the real world,
she'll need to use executive function
she'll need to use executive function
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to do a lot more than switching
between shape and color.
between shape and color.
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She'll need to switch
from adding to multiplying
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
to thinking about her friend.
to thinking about her friend.
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And success in real-world situations
depends on things
depends on things
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like how motivated you are
and what your peers are doing.
and what your peers are doing.
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And it also depends
on the strategies that you execute
on the strategies that you execute
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when you're using executive function
in a particular situation.
in a particular situation.
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So what I'm saying is
that context really matters.
that context really matters.
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Now let me give you an example
from my research.
from my research.
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I recently brought in a bunch of kids
to do the classic marshmallow test,
to do the classic marshmallow test,
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which is a measure
of delay of gratification
of delay of gratification
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that also likely requires
a lot of executive function.
a lot of executive function.
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So you may have heard about this test,
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but basically, kids are given a choice.
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They can have one marshmallow right away,
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or if they can wait for me
to go to the other room
to go 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
that second marshmallow,
that second marshmallow,
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but the key question is:
How long can they wait?
How long can they wait?
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(Laughter)
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Now, I added a twist
to look at the effects of context.
to look at the effects of context.
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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 T-shirt to wear.
a green T-shirt to wear.
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And I said, "Your group
waited for two marshmallows,
waited for two marshmallows,
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and this other group, the orange group,
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did not."
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Or I said the opposite:
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"Your group didn't wait
for two marshmallows
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
to see how long they waited.
to see how long they waited.
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(Laughter)
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So what I found was that kids who believed
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that their group waited
for two marshmallows
for two marshmallows
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were themselves more likely to wait.
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So they were influenced by a peer group
that they'd never even met.
that they'd never even met.
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(Laughter)
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Pretty cool, isn't it?
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Well, so with this result
I still didn't know
I still didn't know
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if they were just copying their group
or if it was something deeper than that.
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,
I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,
I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,
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and I told them, "One of these kids
likes to have things right away,
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
more of these things."
more of these things."
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And then I asked them,
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"Which one of these two kids
do you like more
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
who believed that their group waited
who believed that their group waited
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tended to prefer other kids
who liked to wait for things.
who liked to wait for things.
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So learning what their group did
made them value waiting more.
made them value waiting more.
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And not only that,
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these kids likely used executive function
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to generate strategies
to help themselves wait,
to help themselves wait,
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like sitting on their hands
or turning away from the marshmallow
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
is just how much context matters.
is just how much context matters.
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It's not that these kids
had good executive function or bad,
had good executive function or bad,
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it's that the context
helped them use it better.
helped them use it better.
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So what does this mean
for you and for your kids?
for you and for your kids?
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Well, let's say that you want
to learn Spanish.
to learn Spanish.
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You could try changing your context
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and surrounding yourself
with other people who also want to learn,
with other people who also want to learn,
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and even better if these are people
that you really like.
that you really like.
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That way you'll be more motivated
to use executive function.
to use executive function.
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Or let's say that you want to help
your child do better on her math homework.
your child do better on her math homework.
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You could teach her strategies
to use executive function
to use executive function
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in that particular context,
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like putting her phone away
before she starts studying
before she starts studying
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or planning to reward herself
after studying for an hour.
after studying for an hour.
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Now, I don't want to make it sound
like context is everything.
like context is everything.
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Executive function is really complex,
and it's shaped by numerous factors.
and it's shaped by numerous factors.
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But what I want you to remember
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is if you want to improve
your executive function
your executive function
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in some aspect of your life,
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don't look for quick fixes.
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Think about the context
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and how you can make
your goals matter more to you,
your goals matter more to you,
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and how you can use strategies
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to help yourself
in that particular situation.
in that particular situation.
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I think the ancient Greeks said it best
when they said, "Know thyself."
when they said, "Know thyself."
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And a key part of this is knowing
how context shapes your behavior
how context shapes your behavior
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and how you can use that knowledge
to change for the better.
to change for the better.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sabine Doebel - Cognitive scientistSabine 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.
Sabine Doebel | Speaker | TED.com