How your brain's executive function works -- and how to improve it | Sabine Doebel
Understanding Executive Function: A Cognitive Science Perspective
The Challenge of Learning to Drive
- The speaker shares a personal experience of recently learning to drive, highlighting the mental exhaustion that comes with it.
- This struggle is attributed to the use of executive function, which involves conscious control over thoughts, emotions, and actions to achieve goals.
Defining Executive Function
- Executive function helps in breaking habits, inhibiting impulses, and planning ahead; lapses in this function can lead to absentmindedness.
- Research indicates that strong executive function predicts positive outcomes such as social skills, academic success, and overall well-being.
Misconceptions About Improving Executive Function
- There is a popular belief that executive function can be improved through brain-training apps or specific games like chess.
- The speaker argues against this notion, stating that narrow exercises do not translate into real-world improvements in executive function.
Context Matters for Executive Function
- To genuinely enhance executive function, one must understand how context influences its application in daily life.
- An example from research involves the "dimensional change card sort" task where children struggle to switch sorting methods due to ingrained habits.
Real-Life Applications of Executive Function
- Success in real-world scenarios requires more than just switching tasks; motivation and peer influence play significant roles.
- The speaker emphasizes that effective use of executive function varies based on situational strategies rather than isolated training.
Insights from the Marshmallow Test
- In a modified marshmallow test designed to measure delay of gratification and executive function, children's waiting times were influenced by group identity.
Understanding the Role of Context in Executive Function
The Impact of Group Dynamics on Waiting Behavior
- Children who believed their group valued waiting showed a preference for peers who also liked to wait, indicating that social context influences behavior.
- This preference suggests that learning from group norms can enhance the value placed on patience and delayed gratification among children.
Strategies for Enhancing Executive Function
- Kids utilized executive function strategies such as distraction techniques (e.g., sitting on hands, turning away from temptations) to manage their impulses effectively.
- The effectiveness of these strategies was significantly influenced by the surrounding context rather than inherent executive function abilities.
Practical Applications for Learning and Homework
- To improve personal learning experiences (e.g., learning Spanish), changing one's environment to include supportive peers can increase motivation and engagement with executive function tasks.
- For helping children with homework, teaching specific strategies like minimizing distractions (e.g., putting away phones) can enhance focus and productivity in academic settings.
Understanding Complexity in Executive Function
- While context plays a crucial role, it is important to recognize that executive function is complex and shaped by various factors beyond just environmental influences.
- Quick fixes are not effective; instead, understanding how context affects motivation and employing tailored strategies is essential for improving executive function skills over time.
Self-Awareness as a Key to Improvement