Why some people find exercise harder than others | Emily Balcetis

Prevoditelj: Djurdjica Ercegovac Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Vision is the most important

Vid je najvažnije

and prioritized sense that we have.

i naprioritetnije osjetilo kojega imamo.

We are constantly looking

Mi stalno gledamo

at the world around us,

svijet oko sebe

and quickly we identify and make sense

i brzo prepoznajemo i shvaćamo smisao

of what it is that we see.

onoga što vidimo.

Let's just start with an example

Započnimo jednim primjerom

of that very fact.

upravo te činjenice.

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

Pokazat ću vam fotografiju jedne osobe

just for a second or two,

samo na sekundu ili dvije,

and I'd like for you to identify

a od vas ću tražiti da prepoznate

what emotion is on his face.

koju emociju izražava njeno lice.

Ready?

Spremni?

Here you go. Go with your gut reaction.

Evo ga. Recite prvo što vam padne na pamet.

Okay. What did you see?

Dobro. Što vidite?

Well, we actually surveyed

Dakle, mi smo ustvari anketirali

over 120 individuals,

preko 120 ljudi

and the results were mixed.

i rezultati su mješoviti.

People did not agree

Ljudi se ne slažu oko toga

on what emotion they saw on his face.

koju emociju izražava njegovo lice.

Maybe you saw discomfort.

Možda ste vi vidjeli nelagodu.

That was the most frequent response

To je bio najčešći odgovor

that we received.

koji smo dobili.

But if you asked the person on your left,

No ako upitate osobu sebi s lijeva,

they might have said regret or skepticism,

ona će možda reći žaljenje ili skeptičnost,

and if you asked somebody on your right,

a ako upitate nekog s desna,

they might have said something entirely different,

on će možda reći nešto potpuno različito,

like hope or empathy.

kao nada ili empatija.

So we are all looking

Dakle, mi svi gledamo

at the very same face again.

to isto lice ponovo.

We might see something

Možda možemo vidjeti nešto

entirely different,

potpuno različito,

because perception is subjective.

zato jer je percepcija subjektivna.

What we think we see

Ono što mislimo da vidimo

is actually filtered

ustvari se filtrira

through our own mind's eye.

kroz oči našeg vlastitog uma.

Of course, there are many other examples

Naravno, ima mnogo drugih primjera za to

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

kako vidimo svijet očima našeg uma.

I'm going to give you just a few.

Ja ću vam dati samo nekoliko.

So dieters, for instance,

Ljudi na dijeti, na primjer,

see apples as larger

vide jabuke veće

than people who are not counting calories.

nego ljudi koji ne broje kalorije.

Softball players see the ball as smaller

Igrači softballa vide loptu manjom

if they've just come out of a slump,

nakon razdoblja loše igre,

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

u usporedbi s ljudima koji su odigrali dobru igru.

And actually, our political beliefs also

Zapravo i naši politički stavovi također

can affect the way we see other people,

mogu utjecati na to kako vidimo druge ljude,

including politicians.

uključujući političare.

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

Stoga smo, moj istraživački tim i ja odlučili provjeriti ovo pitanje.

In 2008, Barack Obama was running for president

2008. godine Barack Obama se kandidirao za predsjednika

for the very first time,

po prvi puta,

and we surveyed hundreds of Americans

i mi smo anketirali stotine amerikanaca

one month before the election.

mjesec dana prije izbora.

What we found in this survey

Ono što smo ustanovili tom anketom

was that some people, some Americans,

bilo je da neki ljudi, neki amerikanci,

think photographs like these

misle da fotografije poput ovih

best reflect how Obama really looks.

najbolje odražavaju kako Obama uistinu izgleda.

Of these people, 75 percent

75 posto tih ljudi

voted for Obama in the actual election.

glasalo je za Obamu na stvarnim izborima.

Other people, though, thought photographs like these

Drugi ljudi, međutim, mislili su da fotografije poput ovih

best reflect how Obama really looks.

najbolje odražavaju kako Obama uistinu izgleda.

89 percent of these people

89 posto tih ljudi

voted for McCain.

glasalo je za McCaina.

We presented many photographs of Obama

Mi smo pokazivali mnogo Obaminih fotografija

one at a time,

jednu po jednu,

so people did not realize that what we were changing

tako da ljudi nisu shvatili da je jedina razlika

from one photograph to the next

između pojedinih fotografija

was whether we had artificially lightened

bila u nijansi boje njegove kože

or darkened his skin tone.

koju smo mi umjetno posvijetlili ili zatamnili.

So how is that possible?

Pa kako je to moguće?

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

Kako to može biti da kada gledam neku osobu

an object, or an event,

ili neki objekt, ili neki događaj,

I see something very different

vidim nešto vrlo različito

than somebody else does?

od nekog drugog?

Well, the reasons are many,

Dakle, ima mnogo razloga,

but one reason requires that we understand

a jedan razlog zahtijeva da razumijemo

a little bit more about how our eyes work.

nešto malo više o tome kako funkcioniraju naše oči.

So vision scientists know

Znanstvenici koji se bave vidom znaju

that the amount of information

da količina informacija

that we can see

koju možemo vidjeti u pojedinom trenutku,

at any given point in time,

ono na što se možemo fokusirati,

what we can focus on, is actually relatively small.

ustvari je relativno mala.

What we can see with great sharpness

Ono što možemo vidjeti

s velikom oštrinom, jasnoćom i točnošću

and clarity and accuracy

is the equivalent

ekvivalentno je površini palca

of the surface area of our thumb

on our outstretched arm.

naše ispružene ruke.

Everything else around that is blurry,

Sve okolo toga je nejasno,

rendering much of what is presented

i mnogo od onoga što je pred našim očima

to our eyes as ambiguous.

ostaje neodređeno.

But we have to clarify

No, mi moramo pojasniti

and make sense of what it is that we see,

i dati smisao onome što vidimo,

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

i tu uskače naš um koji nam pomaže da popunimo tu prazninu.

As a result, perception is a subjective experience,

Rezultat toga je da je naša percepcija subjektivni doživljaj,

and that's how we end up seeing

i tako mi na kraju gledamo

through our own mind's eye.

očima našeg uma.

So, I'm a social psychologist,

Dakle, ja sam socijalni psiholog,

and it's questions like these

a pitanja poput ovoga

that really intrigue me.

su ta koja me stvarno intrigiraju.

I am fascinated by those times

Mene fasciniraju trenuci

when people do not see eye to eye.

kada ljudi ne vide nešto na isti način.

Why is it that somebody might

Zašto neki mogu

literally see the glass as half full,

doslovno vidjeti čašu napola punu,

and somebody literally sees it

a drugi je doslovno vide napola praznu?

as half empty?

What is it about what one person is thinking and feeling

Što je to u razmišljanju i osjećanju neke osobe

that leads them to see the world

što je navodi da svijet vidi

in an entirely different way?

na potpuno drugačiji način?

And does that even matter?

I je li to uopće važno?

So to begin to tackle these questions,

Dakle, da bismo odgovorili na ova pitanja,

my research team and I decided to delve deeply

moj istraživački tim i ja, odlučili smo

da se dublje pozabavimo jednim problemom

into an issue that has received

international attention:

kojemu se poklanja internacionalna pažnja:

našim zdravljem i fitnessom.

our health and fitness.

Across the world,

Diljem svijeta

people are struggling to manage their weight,

ljudi se bore da održe odgovarajuću težinu

and there is a variety of strategies

i postoji mnoštvo strategija

that we have to help us keep the pounds off.

koje nam pomažu u borbi protiv suvišnih kilograma.

For instance, we set the best of intentions

Na primjer, mi si zacrtamo najbolje namjere

to exercise after the holidays,

da ćemo vježbati nakon praznika,

but actually, the majority of Americans

ali ustvari, većina Amerikanaca

find that their New Year's resolutions

ustanovi da su svoje čvrste novogodišnje odluke

are broken by Valentine's Day.

prekršili do Valentinova.

We talk to ourselves

Potičemo se na razne načine

in very encouraging ways,

govoreći si da je ovo naša godina

telling ourselves this is our year

to get back into shape,

za vraćanje u formu,

but that is not enough to bring us back

ali to nije dovoljno da nas vrati

to our ideal weight.

na našu idealnu težinu.

So why?

Pa zašto?

Of course, there is no simple answer,

Naravno, nema jednostavnog odgovora,

but one reason, I argue,

ali jedan razlog, ja tvrdim,

is that our mind's eye

je da oči našeg uma

might work against us.

možda rade protiv nas.

Some people may literally see exercise

Neki ljudi mogu doslovno vidjeti vježbe kao teže,

as more difficult,

and some people might literally

a drugi ih možda mogu doslovno vidjeti kao lakše.

see exercise as easier.

So, as a first step to testing these questions,

Dakle, kao prvi korak u provjeri ovih pitanja

we gathered objective measurements

prikupili smo objektivna mjerenja

of individuals' physical fitness.

fizičke sposobnosti učesnika.

Mjerili smo im obujam struka

We measured the circumference of their waist,

compared to the circumference of their hips.

u odnosu na obujam bokova.

A higher waist-to-hip ratio

Veći omjer struka i bokova

is an indicator of being less physically fit

indikator je slabije fizičke sposobnosti

than a lower waist-to-hip ratio.

nego kad je omjer struka i bokova manji.

After gathering these measurements,

Nakon prikupljanja tih mjerenja,

we told our participants that

rekli smo našim učesnicima

they would walk to a finish line

da će hodati do linije cilja

while carrying extra weight

noseći dodatni teret

in a sort of race.

u nekoj vrsti utrke.

But before they did that,

No prije nego što su krenuli,

we asked them to estimate the distance

tražili smo ih da procijene udaljenost do cilja.

to the finish line.

Mislili smo da će možda njihovo fizičko tjelesno stanje

We thought that the physical states of their body

might change how they perceived the distance.

utjecati na to kako uočavaju udaljenost.

So what did we find?

I što smo otkrili?

Well, waist-to-hip ratio

Pa, omjer struka i bokova

predicted perceptions of distance.

predodređivao je percepciju udaljenosti.

People who were out of shape and unfit

Ljudi koji su bili izvan forme i fizički nepodobni

actually saw the distance to the finish line

stvarno su udaljenost do cilja

as significantly greater

vidjeli značajno većom

than people who were in better shape.

nego ljudi koji su bili u boljoj formi.

People's states of their own body

Tjelesno stanje ljudi

changed how they perceived the environment.

utjecalo je na njihovu percepciju okoline.

But so too can our mind.

No, isto tako može i naš um.

In fact, our bodies and our minds

Ustvari, naše tijelo i naš um

work in tandem

rade u tandemu

to change how we see the world around us.

mijenjajući naše viđenje svijeta oko sebe.

That led us to think that maybe people

To nas je navelo da pomislimo da možda

with strong motivations

ljudi sa čvrstim motivacijama

and strong goals to exercise

i čvrstim ciljevima za vježbanje

might actually see the finish line as closer

možda uistinu mogu vidjeti cilj kao bliži

than people who have weaker motivations.

nego ljudi koji imaju slabije motivacije.

So to test whether motivations

Dakle, da bismo ispitali da li motivacije

affect our perceptual experiences in this way,

utječu na naše percepijske doživljaje na ovaj način

we conducted a second study.

proveli smo drugo istraživanje.

Again, we gathered objective measurements

Opet smo prikupili objektivna mjerenja

of people's physical fitness,

fizičke sposobnosti učesnika,

measuring the circumference of their waist

mjereći obujam struka i obujam bokova

and the circumference of their hips,

i dali smo im da obave još neke testove fizičke sposobnosti.

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

Based on feedback that we gave them,

Na temelju povratnih informacija koje smo im dali

neki učesnici su nam rekli

some of our participants told us

they're not motivated to exercise any more.

da nisu motivirani za daljnje vježbanje.

They felt like they already met their fitness goals

Činilo im se da su već ostvarili svoje ciljeve u vezi kondicije

and they weren't going to do anything else.

i nisu željeli ništa više raditi.

These people were not motivated.

Ti ljudi nisu bili motivirani.

Other people, though, based on our feedback,

Drugi ljudi, međutim, na temelju naših povratnih informacija

told us they were highly motivated to exercise.

rekli su nam da su visoko motivirani za vježbanje.

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

Imali su čvrstu namjeru da stignu do cilja.

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

No ponovo, prije nego što su krenuli

we had them estimate the distance.

tražili smo da procijene udaljenost.

How far away was the finish line?

Koliko je bila udaljena linija cilja?

And again, like the previous study,

I opet, kao i u prethodnom istraživanju,

we found that waist-to-hip ratio

ustanovili smo da omjer struka i bokova

predicted perceptions of distance.

predodređuje percepciju udaljenosti.

Unfit individuals saw the distance as farther,

Manje fizički sposobni vidjeli su udaljenost kao veću,

saw the finish line as farther away,

cilj su vidjeli dalje,

than people who were in better shape.

nego ljudi koji su bili u boljoj formi.

Importantly, though, this only happened

Važno je međutim, da se to dogodilo

for people who were not motivated

samo kod ljudi koji nisu bili motivirani za vježbanje.

to exercise.

On the other hand,

S druge strane,

people who were highly motivated to exercise

ljudi koji su bili visoko motivirani za vježbanje

saw the distance as short.

vidjeli su udaljenost kao kraću.

Even the most out of shape individuals

Čak i osobe u najslabijoj formi

saw the finish line

vidjele su liniju cilja

as just as close,

isto tako blizu,

if not slightly closer,

ako ne i malo bliže,

than people who were in better shape.

od ljudi koji su bili u boljoj formi.

So our bodies can change

Dakle naše tijelo može mijenjati

how far away that finish line looks,

kako daleko izgleda linija cilja,

but people who had committed to a manageable goal

ali ljudi koji su si postavili dostižan cilj

that they could accomplish in the near future

koji bi mogli ostvariti u skoroj budućnosti

and who believed that they were capable

i koji su vjerovali da su sposobni

of meeting that goal

ostvariti taj cilj,

actually saw the exercise as easier.

uistinu su vježbu vidjeli kao lakšu.

That led us to wonder,

To nas je navelo da se upitamo,

is there a strategy that we could use

postoji li strategija koju bismo mogli koristiti i naučiti ljude,

and teach people that would help

a koja bi pomogla da promijene svoju percepciju udaljenosti,

change their perceptions of the distance,

pomogla da vježba izgleda lakša?

help them make exercise look easier?

So we turned to the vision science literature

Tako smo se okrenuli znanstvenoj literaturi o vidu

to figure out what should we do,

kako bismo shvatili što nam je činiti,

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

i na temelju onoga što smo pročitali, osmislili smo strategiju

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

koju smo nazvali "Ne skidaj oči s nagrade"

So this is not the slogan

Dakle to nije slogan

from an inspirational poster.

s nekog inspirativnog postera.

It's an actual directive

To je realna direktiva

for how to look around your environment.

kako gledati na svoje okruženje.

People that we trained in this strategy,

Ljudima koje smo uvježbali u ovoj strategiji

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

rekli smo da svoju pažnju usmjere na cilj,

da izbjegavaju gledati naokolo,

to avoid looking around,

to imagine a spotlight

da zamisle da reflektor osvjetljava taj cilj

was shining on that goal,

and that everything around it was blurry

i da je sve oko njega mutno

and perhaps difficult to see.

i vjerojatno teško za vidjeti.

We thought that this strategy

Mislili smo da će ova strategija

would help make the exercise look easier.

pomoći da vježba izgleda lakša.

We compared this group

Usporedili smo ovu grupu

to a baseline group.

s polaznom grupom.

To this group we said,

Toj grupi smo rekli,

just look around the environment

slobodno gledajte naokolo

as you naturally would.

kako bi to prirodno radili.

You will notice the finish line,

Primijetit ćete cilj,

but you might also notice

ali možda ćete također primijetiti

the garbage can off to the right,

koš za otpatke s desna,

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

ili ljude i uličnu svjetiljku s lijeva.

We thought that people who used this strategy

Mislili smo da će ljudi koji su koristili ovu strategiju

would see the distance as farther.

udaljenost vidjeti kao veću.

So what did we find?

Pa što smo otkrili?

When we had them estimate the distance,

Kada smo ih tražili da procijene udaljenost,

was this strategy successful

je li ta strategija bila uspješna

for changing their perceptual experience?

u mijenjanju njihovog perceptivnog doživljaja?

Yes.

Da.

People who kept their eyes on the prize

Ljudi koji nisu skidali oči s nagrade

saw the finish line as 30 percent closer

vidjeli su liniju cilja 30 posto bliže

than people who looked around

nego ljudi koji su prirodno gledali naokolo.

as they naturally would.

We thought this was great.

Mislili smo da je to odlično.

We were really excited because it meant

Stvarno smo bili uzbuđeni jer je to značilo

that this strategy helped make

da je ova strategija pomogla

da vježba izgleda lakša,

the exercise look easier,

but the big question was,

no veliko je pitanje bilo,

could this help make exercise

može li to pomoći da vježba

actually better?

uistinu bude bolja?

Could it improve the quality

Može li to poboljšati i kvalitetu vježbe?

of exercise as well?

So next, we told our participants,

Sljedeće, rekli smo našim učesnicima,

you are going to walk to the finish line

sada ćete hodati do cilja

while wearing extra weight.

noseći dodatni teret.

Na gležnjeve smo im stavili utege

We added weights to their ankles

that amounted to 15 percent of their body weight.

od 15 posto njihove tjelesne težine.

We told them to lift their knees up high

Rekli smo im da visoko podižu koljena

and walk to the finish line quickly.

i brzo hodaju do cilja.

We designed this exercise in particular

Ovu smo vježbu posebno osmislili

to be moderately challenging

da bude umjereno zahtjevna,

but not impossible,

ali ne nemoguća,

like most exercises

kao što je većina vježbi

that actually improve our fitness.

koje stvarno popravljaju našu kondiciju.

So the big question, then:

Dakle veliko pitanje:

Did keeping your eyes on the prize

Je li ne skidanje očiju s nagrade

and narrowly focusing on the finish line

i pažljivo fokusiranje na cilj

change their experience of the exercise?

promijenilo njihov doživljaj vježbe?

It did.

Jest.

Ljudi koji nisu skidali oči s nagrade

People who kept their eyes on the prize

told us afterward that it required

rekli su nam poslije da im je trebalo

17 percent less exertion

17 posto manje napora

for them to do this exercise

da bi izveli vježbu

than people who looked around naturally.

nego ljudima koji su prirodno gledali naokolo.

To je promijenilo njihov subjektivni doživljaj vježbe.

It changed their subjective experience

of the exercise.

To je također promijenilo

It also changed the objective nature

objektivnu prirodu njihove vježbe

of their exercise.

People who kept their eyes on the prize

Ljudi koji nisu skidali oči s nagrade

actually moved 23 percent faster

uistinu su se kretali 23 posto brže

than people who looked around naturally.

od ljudi koji su prirodno gledali naokolo.

To put that in perspective,

Gledano iz druge perspektive,

a 23 percent increase

povećanje od 23 posto

is like trading in your 1980 Chevy Citation

to je kao da mijenjate svoj

Chevy Citation iz 1980.

for a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette.

za Chevrolet Corvette iz 1980.

We were so excited by this,

Bili smo zaista uzbuđeni zbog ovoga

because this meant that a strategy

jer je to značilo da ova strategija

that costs nothing,

koja ne košta ništa,

that is easy for people to use,

koju je ljudima lako koristiti,

regardless of whether they're in shape

bez obzira da li su u formi

or struggling to get there,

ili se bore da do nje dođu,

had a big effect.

ima veliki učinak.

Ne skidanje očiju s nagrade

Keeping your eyes on the prize

made the exercise look and feel easier

učinilo je da vježba izgleda i bude lakša

even when people were working harder

čak i kada su se ljudi više trudili

zbog toga jer su se brže kretali.

because they were moving faster.

Now, I know there's more to good health

E sad, ja znam da za dobro zdravlje

than walking a little bit faster,

treba više od malo bržeg hodanja,

but keeping your eyes on the prize

ali ne skidanje očiju s nagrade

might be one additional strategy

bi možda mogla biti dodatna strategija

that you can use to help promote

koju možete koristiti kao pomoć u promicanju zdravog stila života.

a healthy lifestyle.

Ako još uvijek niste uvjereni

If you're not convinced yet

da svi mi vidimo svijet očima svog vlastitog uma,

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

let me leave you with one final example.

dozvolite mi prije kraja jedan konačan primjer.

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

Ovdje je fotografija jedne prekrasne ulice u Stockholmu, sa dva auta.

The car in the back looks much larger

Auto u pozadini izgleda puno veći

than the car in the front.

od auta sprijeda.

However, in reality,

Međutim, u stvarnosti,

these cars are the same size,

ti auti su iste veličine,

but that's not how we see it.

ali to nije kako ih mi vidimo.

So does this mean that

Pa znači li to da su naše oči zakazale

our eyes have gone haywire

and that our brains are a mess?

ili da je naš mozak u neredu?

No, it doesn't mean that at all.

Ne, to uopće ne znači to.

To je samo način kako funkcioniraju naše oči.

It's just how our eyes work.

We might see the world in a different way,

Svijet možemo vidjeti na drugačiji način

and sometimes that might not

i ponekad to možda

line up with reality,

nije u skladu sa stvarnošću,

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

ali to ne znači

da je jedan od nas u pravu,

and one of us is wrong.

a drugi u krivu.

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

Svi mi vidimo svijet kroz oči našeg uma,

but we can teach ourselves to see it differently.

ali možemo se naučiti da ga gledamo drugačije.

So I can think of days

Tako se mogu prisjetiti dana

that have gone horribly wrong for me.

kada mi je sve išlo užasno naopako.

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

Svega mi je dosta, mrzovoljna sam, umorna sam,

and I'm so behind,

i toliko u zaostatku,

and there's a big black cloud

i veliki crni oblak visi iznad moje glave,

hanging over my head,

and on days like these,

i u takvim danima

it looks like everyone around me

izgleda kao da su i svi oko mene isto u depresiji.

is down in the dumps too.

My colleague at work looks annoyed

Moj kolega na poslu izgleda zlovoljan

when I ask for an extension on a deadline,

kad ga zamolim za produženje roka,

and my friend looks frustrated

a moja prijateljica izgleda frustrirana

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

kada zakasnim na ručak zato jer se sastanak oduljio,

and at the end of the day,

i na kraju dana

my husband looks disappointed

moj muž izgleda razočaran

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

jer bih ja radije išla u krevet nego u kino.

And on days like these, when everybody looks

I u takvim danima kada mi svi izgledaju

upset and angry to me,

uzrujani i ljuti,

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

ja se pokušavam podsjetiti da ima i drugih načina da ih vidim.

Perhaps my colleague was confused,

Vjerojatno je moj kolega bio zbunjen,

vjerojatno je moja prijateljica bila zabrinuta,

perhaps my friend was concerned,

a vjerojatno je moj muž osjećao empatiju umjesto toga.

and perhaps my husband was feeling empathy instead.

So we all see the world

Dakle svi mi vidimo svijet

through our own mind's eye,

kroz oči našeg vlastitog uma,

and on some days, it might look

i nekih dana možda može izgledati

like the world is a dangerous

kao da je svijet opasno

and challenging and insurmountable place,

i izazovno i nesavladivo mjesto,

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

no to ne mora tako izgledati stalno.

We can teach ourselves to see it differently,

Mi možemo sami sebe naučiti da ga vidimo drugačije

and when we find a way to make the world

i kada nađemo način da nam svijet

look nicer and easier,

izgleda ljepši i lakši,

it might actually become so.

tada uistinu možda može i postati takav.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Pljesak)

(Applause)