Why some people find exercise harder than others | Emily Balcetis

Translator: Clara Reigosa Lombao Reviewer: Serv. de Norm. Lingüística U. de Santiago de Compostela

Vision is the most important

A vista é o sentido máis importante

and prioritized sense that we have.

e fundamental que temos.

We are constantly looking

Estamos constantemente mirando

at the world around us,

ao mundo que nos rodea,

and quickly we identify and make sense

e rapidamente identificamos e

of what it is that we see.

comprendemos o que estamos vendo.

Let's just start with an example

Comecemos cun exemplo

of that very fact.

disto que comento.

I'm going to show you a photograph of a person,

Vouvos ensinar a fotografía dunha persoa,

just for a second or two,

tan só durante un ou dous segundos,

and I'd like for you to identify

gustaríame que identificarades

what emotion is on his face.

cal é a emoción da súa cara.

Ready?

Estades listos?

Here you go. Go with your gut reaction.

Veña! Dicide o primeiro que pensedes.

Okay. What did you see?

Vale. Que vistes?

Well, we actually surveyed

Nós preguntámoslles

over 120 individuals,

a máis de 120 persoas,

and the results were mixed.

e os resultados foron variados.

People did not agree

A xente non se poñía de acordo

on what emotion they saw on his face.

en cal era a emoción que vían.

Maybe you saw discomfort.

Quizais, vistes malestar.

That was the most frequent response

Esa é a resposta máis común

that we received.

que recibimos.

But if you asked the person on your left,

Pero, a persoa da vosa esquerda

they might have said regret or skepticism,

puido dicir arrepentimento ou escepticismo,

and if you asked somebody on your right,

e a da vosa dereita

they might have said something entirely different,

se cadra dixo algo completamente distinto,

like hope or empathy.

como esperanza ou empatía.

So we are all looking

Todos estamos vendo

at the very same face again.

a mesma cara.

We might see something

E podemos ver algo

entirely different,

totalmente diferente,

because perception is subjective.

porque a percepción é subxectiva.

What we think we see

O que pensamos que vemos

is actually filtered

en realidade pasa polo filtro

through our own mind's eye.

da nosa propia mente.

Of course, there are many other examples

Por suposto, hai moitos máis exemplos

of how we see the world through own mind's eye.

de como vemos o mundo desde a nosa perspectiva.

I'm going to give you just a few.

Imos ver algúns.

So dieters, for instance,

As persoas que están a dieta, por exemplo,

see apples as larger

ven as mazás máis grandes

than people who are not counting calories.

que os que non están contando calorías.

Softball players see the ball as smaller

Os xogadores de sóftbol ven a pelota máis pequena

if they've just come out of a slump,

se pasan unha mala racha

compared to people who had a hot night at the plate.

en comparación cos que tiveron éxito.

And actually, our political beliefs also

De feito, as nosas conviccións políticas tamén

can affect the way we see other people,

afectan á forma na que vemos á xente,

including politicians.

incluídos aos políticos.

So my research team and I decided to test this question.

O meu equipo de investigación e mais eu decidimos probar esta hipótese.

In 2008, Barack Obama was running for president

En 2008, Barack Obama era candidato á presidencia

for the very first time,

por primeira vez,

and we surveyed hundreds of Americans

e levamos a cabo un estudo con centos de estadounidenses

one month before the election.

un mes antes das eleccións.

What we found in this survey

A enquisa mostrou

was that some people, some Americans,

que algúns estadounidenses pensan

think photographs like these

que fotos coma estas

best reflect how Obama really looks.

reflicten o aspecto real de Obama.

Of these people, 75 percent

Desas persoas, o 75%

voted for Obama in the actual election.

votaron por el nas eleccións.

Other people, though, thought photographs like these

Outros, porén, pensaban que fotos coma estas

best reflect how Obama really looks.

reflectían mellor o verdadeiro aspecto de Obama.

89 percent of these people

O 89% destas persoas votaron por McCain.

voted for McCain.

We presented many photographs of Obama

Mostramos moitas fotos de Obama unha de cada vez,

one at a time,

so people did not realize that what we were changing

de modo que a xente non se daba conta de que o que cambiábamos

from one photograph to the next

dunha foto a outra

was whether we had artificially lightened

era que aclaráramos ou escurecéramos

or darkened his skin tone.

artificialmente o ton da pel.

So how is that possible?

Como é isto posible?

How could it be that when I look at a person,

Como pode ser que cando miramos a unha persoa,

an object, or an event,

un obxecto ou un acontecemento

I see something very different

vexamos algo completamente diferente

than somebody else does?

de como o ven os demais?

Well, the reasons are many,

Hai moitas razóns,

but one reason requires that we understand

pero unha require que entendamos

a little bit more about how our eyes work.

un pouco mellor o funcionamento dos nosos ollos.

So vision scientists know

Os especialistas en visión saben

that the amount of information

que a cantidade de información

that we can see

que podemos percibir nun momento dado,

at any given point in time,

what we can focus on, is actually relatively small.

que podemos enfocar,

en realidade é moi pequena.

What we can see with great sharpness

O que podemos ver con gran nitidez,

and clarity and accuracy

claridade e precisión

é equivalente

is the equivalent

á superficie do noso polgar

of the surface area of our thumb

on our outstretched arm.

tendo o brazo estendido.

Everything else around that is blurry,

Todo o demais é borroso,

rendering much of what is presented

o que fai que o resto da información

to our eyes as ambiguous.

se presente como ambigua

para os nosos ollos.

But we have to clarify

Pero hai que aclarar

e dar sentido ao que vemos,

and make sense of what it is that we see,

and it's our mind that helps us fill in that gap.

e é a nosa mente a que nos axuda a completar os espazos baleiros

As a result, perception is a subjective experience,

Como consecuencia, a percepción é unha experiencia subxectiva

e é así como acabamos vendo desde o noso punto de vista.

and that's how we end up seeing

through our own mind's eye.

So, I'm a social psychologist,

Son psicóloga social,

and it's questions like these

son estes temas os que espertan en min verdadeiro interese.

that really intrigue me.

Fascínanme estes casos nos que as persoas non ven o mesmo.

I am fascinated by those times

when people do not see eye to eye.

Why is it that somebody might

Por que alguén pode ver

literally see the glass as half full,

o vaso medio cheo

mentres que outros, literalmente,

and somebody literally sees it

o ven medio baleiro?

as half empty?

What is it about what one person is thinking and feeling

Que pensamentos e sentimentos

os leven a ver o mundo

that leads them to see the world

dunha maneira completamente diferente?

in an entirely different way?

And does that even matter?

E acaso importa?

So to begin to tackle these questions,

Para responder a estas preguntas

my research team and I decided to delve deeply

o meu equipo de investigación e máis eu decidimos investigar a fondo

into an issue that has received

un tema que recibiu

international attention:

moita atención internacional:

our health and fitness.

a saúde e a condición física.

Across the world,

En todo o mundo

people are struggling to manage their weight,

a xente loita por controlar o seu peso,

and there is a variety of strategies

e hai unha serie de estratexias

que nos axudan a evitar eses quilos de máis.

that we have to help us keep the pounds off.

For instance, we set the best of intentions

Por exemplo, poñemos moito empeño

to exercise after the holidays,

en facer exercicio despois das vacacións,

but actually, the majority of Americans

pero a maioría de estadounidenses

find that their New Year's resolutions

descobren que

os seus propósitos de aninovo

are broken by Valentine's Day.

quedan en nada o día de San Valentín.

We talk to ourselves

Falámonos

in very encouraging ways,

e dámonos ánimo,

telling ourselves this is our year

prometéndonos que este é o ano

to get back into shape,

para poñerse en forma,

but that is not enough to bring us back

pero non é suficiente para que volvamos

to our ideal weight.

ao noso peso ideal.

Por que?

So why?

Claro que non hai unha resposta simple,

Of course, there is no simple answer,

but one reason, I argue,

pero unha das razóns que sosteño,

is that our mind's eye

é que o noso punto de vista

might work against us.

traballa contra nós.

Some people may literally see exercise

Algunhas persoas ven o exercicio físico

as more difficult,

como algo difícil,

and some people might literally

mentres que outras o ven

see exercise as easier.

como algo moi fácil.

So, as a first step to testing these questions,

Como primeiro paso

para comprobar estas cuestións

we gathered objective measurements

reunimos datos obxectivos

sobre a condición física dos candidatos.

of individuals' physical fitness.

Medimos a súa cintura,

We measured the circumference of their waist,

comparámola coa circunferencia das súas cadeiras.

compared to the circumference of their hips.

A higher waist-to-hip ratio

Un índice cintura-cadeira alto

is an indicator of being less physically fit

indica unha peor forma física

than a lower waist-to-hip ratio.

que un índice cintura-cadeira baixo.

After gathering these measurements,

Despois de tomar estas medidas,

we told our participants that

pedímoslles aos participantes

que camiñaran ata unha liña de meta

they would walk to a finish line

while carrying extra weight

levando peso,

in a sort of race.

como nunha carreira.

But before they did that,

Pero antes de facelo,

we asked them to estimate the distance

pedímoslles que estimaran a distancia

ata a liña de meta.

to the finish line.

Pensamos que a súa condición física

We thought that the physical states of their body

might change how they perceived the distance.

podería cambiar a forma na que percibían esa distancia.

So what did we find?

Que encontramos?

Well, waist-to-hip ratio

Ben, a proporción entre cintura e cadeira

predicted perceptions of distance.

predixo a percepción da distancia.

People who were out of shape and unfit

A xente que non estaba en forma

actually saw the distance to the finish line

veu a distancia á liña de meta

considerablemente maior

as significantly greater

que os que estaban en mellor forma.

than people who were in better shape.

People's states of their own body

A súa condición física

changed how they perceived the environment.

afectaba á maneira na que percibían o seu contorno.

But so too can our mind.

O cerebro tamén é capaz de facelo.

In fact, our bodies and our minds

De feito, os nosos corpos e mentes

work in tandem

actúan conxuntamente

to change how we see the world around us.

para cambiar a forma na que vemos o mundo que nos rodea.

That led us to think that maybe people

Isto levounos a pensar que tal vez

with strong motivations

a xente moi motivada

and strong goals to exercise

e coa seria intención de facer exercicio,

might actually see the finish line as closer

podería ver a liña de meta máis achegada

than people who have weaker motivations.

que as persoas menos motivadas.

So to test whether motivations

Para comprobar se a motivación

affect our perceptual experiences in this way,

afecta á nosa percepción desta maneira,

we conducted a second study.

realizamos un segundo estudo.

Again, we gathered objective measurements

Unha vez máis, recollimos datos obxectivos

of people's physical fitness,

acerca da condición física das persoas,

measuring the circumference of their waist

medindo a circunferencia da cintura

and the circumference of their hips,

e da cadeira,

e realizámoslles outras probas físicas.

and we had them do a few other tests of fitness.

Based on feedback that we gave them,

Baseándose na información que lles demos

algúns participantes dixéronnos

some of our participants told us

they're not motivated to exercise any more.

que non estaban motivados para facer máis exercicio.

They felt like they already met their fitness goals

Sentían que xa alcanzaran os seus obxectivos

and they weren't going to do anything else.

e non tiñan intención de facer máis.

These people were not motivated.

Non estaban motivados.

Other people, though, based on our feedback,

Porén, outros, polos nosos comentarios,

told us they were highly motivated to exercise.

dixeron que estaban máis motivados para exercitarse.

They had a strong goal to make it to the finish line.

Tiñan un grande interese en chegar á meta.

But again, before we had them walk to the finish line,

Pero, unha vez máis, antes de poñerse a camiñar

we had them estimate the distance.

pedímoslles que estimaran a distancia.

How far away was the finish line?

A canto estaba a liña de meta?

And again, like the previous study,

E, de novo, coma no estudo previo,

encontramos que a relación cintura-cadeira

we found that waist-to-hip ratio

predicted perceptions of distance.

predixo a percepción da distancia.

Unfit individuals saw the distance as farther,

A xente en baixa forma observou unha distancia maior

saw the finish line as farther away,

e sentiu que a meta estaba máis lonxe

than people who were in better shape.

que as persoas en mellor forma.

Importantly, though, this only happened

O importante e que isto só lles ocorría

for people who were not motivated

a persoas que non estaban motivadas

to exercise.

para facer exercicio.

On the other hand,

Fronte a estes,

people who were highly motivated to exercise

os que estaban moi motivados para adestrar

saw the distance as short.

vían a distancia máis curta.

Even the most out of shape individuals

Incluso os participantes en peor forma

saw the finish line

viron a liña de meta

as just as close,

tan cerca ou incluso máis cerca

if not slightly closer,

than people who were in better shape.

que os que estaban en mellor forma.

So our bodies can change

Así que o noso corpo pode cambiar

how far away that finish line looks,

a distancia aparente ata a liña de meta,

but people who had committed to a manageable goal

pero a xente comprometida cunha meta alcanzable,

á que se pode ater nun futuro próximo,

that they could accomplish in the near future

and who believed that they were capable

e que cre que é capaz

of meeting that goal

de logralo,

actually saw the exercise as easier.

en realidade ve a proba máis fácil.

That led us to wonder,

Isto fixo que nos preguntáramos se

is there a strategy that we could use

haberá algunha estratexia que

poidamos utilizar,

and teach people that would help

e que lle ensine á xente,

que axudara a cambiar as súas percepcións da distancia,

change their perceptions of the distance,

help them make exercise look easier?

e que lles fixera ver que facer exercicio pode ser máis fácil?

So we turned to the vision science literature

Así que buscamos na literatura especializada

to figure out what should we do,

para determinar o que debíamos facer,

and based on what we read, we came up with a strategy

e a partir do que limos, desenvolvemos unha estratexia

that we called, "Keep your eyes on the prize."

que chamamos "Mantén os ollos na meta".

So this is not the slogan

Este non é un slogan

from an inspirational poster.

dalgún cartel motivacional.

It's an actual directive

É realmente unha directriz

for how to look around your environment.

para saber como ver o contorno.

People that we trained in this strategy,

Ás persoas que adestraban con esta estratexia

we told them to focus their attention on the finish line,

dixémoslles que puxeran a súa atención na liña de meta,

que evitaran mirar ao redor,

to avoid looking around,

to imagine a spotlight

que se imaxinaran un punto

was shining on that goal,

brillando na meta

and that everything around it was blurry

e que deixaran todo ao seu redor borroso

and perhaps difficult to see.

e difícil de ver.

We thought that this strategy

Criamos que esta estratexia

would help make the exercise look easier.

axudaría a que o exercicio parecese máis fácil.

We compared this group

Comparouse este grupo

to a baseline group.

cun grupo de control.

To this group we said,

Dixémoslle a este último grupo

just look around the environment

que seguise observando o seu contorno

as you naturally would.

como xa facía.

You will notice the finish line,

Que viran a liña de meta,

but you might also notice

pero que tamén observaran

the garbage can off to the right,

o caldeiro do lixo da dereita

or the people and the lamp post off to the left.

ou a xente e o farol da esquerda.

We thought that people who used this strategy

Pensabamos que a xente que ía utilizar esta estratexia

would see the distance as farther.

percibiría a súa meta a unha maior distancia.

So what did we find?

Que encontramos?

When we had them estimate the distance,

Cando lles pedimos que estimaran a distancia,

was this strategy successful

tivo éxito a estratexia

for changing their perceptual experience?

que lles axudaba a cambiar a percepción do contorno?

Yes.

Si.

People who kept their eyes on the prize

As persoas que mantiveron os ollos fixos na meta

saw the finish line as 30 percent closer

viron a liña de meta un 30% máis cerca que a xente

than people who looked around

que á vez observaba o seu contorno como de costume.

as they naturally would.

We thought this was great.

Pensamos que era fantástico.

We were really excited because it meant

Estábamos moi contentos porque iso significaba

that this strategy helped make

que esta estratexia axudaba a que facer exercicio

the exercise look easier,

but the big question was,

parecese máis fácil.

Pero a gran pregunta era:

could this help make exercise

podería isto axudar a mellorar o adestramento?

actually better?

Could it improve the quality

Podería tamén mellorar a calidade

of exercise as well?

do adestramento?

So next, we told our participants,

A continuación, dixémoslles aos nosos participantes

you are going to walk to the finish line

que ían ir á liña de meta

while wearing extra weight.

levando unha carga adicional.

Puxémoslles pesos nos nocellos

We added weights to their ankles

that amounted to 15 percent of their body weight.

equivalentes ao 15% do seu peso corporal.

We told them to lift their knees up high

Dixémoslles que levantaran os xeonllos

and walk to the finish line quickly.

e que camiñaran máis rápido á liña de meta.

We designed this exercise in particular

Deseñamos este exercicio en particular

to be moderately challenging

para que fora moderadamente difícil

but not impossible,

pero non imposible,

like most exercises

como a maioría de exercicios

that actually improve our fitness.

que realmente melloran a condición física.

So the big question, then:

A gran pregunta era:

Did keeping your eyes on the prize

manter os ollos na meta,

and narrowly focusing on the finish line

ben enfocados na liña de meta,

change their experience of the exercise?

cambiou a súa experiencia ao facer exercicio?

It did.

Así foi.

People who kept their eyes on the prize

Os que centraron os seus ollos na meta

told us afterward that it required

indicaron máis tarde que tiveron

que facer un 17% menos de esforzo

17 percent less exertion

for them to do this exercise

para realizar os mesmos exercicios

than people who looked around naturally.

que a xente que observaba o seu contorno con naturalidade.

Isto modificou a súa experiencia subxectiva

It changed their subjective experience

of the exercise.

do exercicio.

It also changed the objective nature

Tamén cambiou o carácter obxectivo

do exercicio.

of their exercise.

People who kept their eyes on the prize

Os que mantiveron os seus ollos na meta

actually moved 23 percent faster

movéronse un 23% máis rápido

than people who looked around naturally.

que os demais.

To put that in perspective,

Para que se fagan unha idea,

a 23 percent increase

un aumento do 23%

is like trading in your 1980 Chevy Citation

e como intercambiar o seu Chevy Citation de 1980

for a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette.

por un Chevrolet Corvette de 1980.

We were so excited by this,

Estabamos moi contentos

porque significaba que unha estratexia

because this meant that a strategy

that costs nothing,

que non custa nada

that is easy for people to use,

e que é fácil de utilizar,

regardless of whether they're in shape

tanto para os que están en forma

or struggling to get there,

como para os que lles costa chegar,

had a big effect.

tiña un grande impacto.

Manter os ollos na meta

Keeping your eyes on the prize

made the exercise look and feel easier

facía que o exercicio parecera e fora máis fácil,

even when people were working harder

incluso aínda cando a xente se esforzaba máis,

because they were moving faster.

ao ir máis rápido.

Now, I know there's more to good health

Xa sei que a boa saúde é algo máis

than walking a little bit faster,

que simplemente ir un pouco máis de présa,

but keeping your eyes on the prize

pero manter os ollos na meta

might be one additional strategy

pode ser unha estratexia adicional,

that you can use to help promote

útil para promover

a healthy lifestyle.

un estilo de vida saudable.

Se aínda non están convencidos

If you're not convinced yet

that we all see the world through our own mind's eye,

de que todos vemos o mundo desde o noso punto de vista,

let me leave you with one final example.

déixenme darlles un último exemplo.

Here's a photograph of a beautiful street in Stockholm, with two cars.

Esta é unha foto dunha fermosa rúa de Estocolmo

na que se ven dous coches.

The car in the back looks much larger

O coche de atrás parece máis grande

than the car in the front.

que o coche de diante.

However, in reality,

Porén, en realidade,

these cars are the same size,

estes coches son do mesmo tamaño,

but that's not how we see it.

pero esa non é a forma na que os vemos.

So does this mean that

Significa iso

our eyes have gone haywire

que o noso ollo non funciona ben

and that our brains are a mess?

e que o noso cerebro é un desastre?

No, it doesn't mean that at all.

Non, en absoluto.

It's just how our eyes work.

É só como funcionan os nosos ollos.

We might see the world in a different way,

Podemos ver o mundo de maneira diferente,

and sometimes that might not

e ás veces non coincide

line up with reality,

coa realidade,

pero iso non quere dicir que un de nós teña a razón

but it doesn't mean that one of us is right

and one of us is wrong.

e o outro non.

Todos vemos o mundo desde o noso punto de vista

We all see the world through our mind's eye,

but we can teach ourselves to see it differently.

pero podemos aprender a velo dunha maneira diferente.

So I can think of days

Podo pensar en días

that have gone horribly wrong for me.

nos que todo me saíu mal.

I'm fed up, I'm grumpy, I'm tired,

Estou farta, irritable, cansada,

and I'm so behind,

vou atrasada no traballo,

and there's a big black cloud

e hai unha gran nube negra

hanging over my head,

por riba da miña cabeza;

and on days like these,

e neses días,

it looks like everyone around me

paréceme que todos ao meu redor

is down in the dumps too.

tamén están deprimidos.

My colleague at work looks annoyed

O meu compañeiro de traballo parece irritado

when I ask for an extension on a deadline,

cando lle pido unha prórroga da data límite,

and my friend looks frustrated

e o meu amigo parece frustrado

when I show up late for lunch because a meeting ran long,

cando chego tarde ao xantar porque unha reunión se prolongou,

and at the end of the day,

e cara ao final do día

my husband looks disappointed

o meu home está decepcionado,

because I'd rather go to bed than go to the movies.

porque eu prefiro ir durmir que ao cine.

And on days like these, when everybody looks

E en días coma estes, cando todo o mundo parece

upset and angry to me,

molesto e enfadado comigo,

I try to remind myself that there are other ways of seeing them.

trato de recordar que hai outra maneira de velo.

Perhaps my colleague was confused,

Quizais o meu compañeiro estaba confundido,

perhaps my friend was concerned,

talvez, o meu amigo estaba preocupado,

and perhaps my husband was feeling empathy instead.

e talvez o meu home estaba sendo comprensivo.

So we all see the world

Todos vemos o mundo

through our own mind's eye,

desde o noso punto de vista,

and on some days, it might look

e algúns días, o mundo

like the world is a dangerous

pode parecer un lugar perigoso,

and challenging and insurmountable place,

difícil e insuperable,

but it doesn't have to look that way all the time.

pero non ten por que parecer así todo o tempo.

We can teach ourselves to see it differently,

Podemos aprender a velo dunha maneira diferente,

and when we find a way to make the world

e cando encontremos unha maneira de facer que o mundo

look nicer and easier,

se vexa máis agradable e todo pareza máis fácil,

it might actually become so.

tal vez, entón, se converta niso.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Aplausos)

(Applause)