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

Translator: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Prevodilac: Dragana Savanovic Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

So I have a confession to make.

Imam jedno priznanje.

I only recently learned how to drive.

Tek nedavno sam naučila da vozim.

And it was really hard.

I bilo je baš teško.

Now, this wasn't an older brain thing.

To nije zbog toga što sam starija.

Do you remember what it was like when you first learned how to drive?

Sećate li se kako vam je bilo kada ste vi učili da vozite?

Kada je svaka odluka koju ste donosili bila tako svesna i promišljena?

When every decision you made was so conscious and deliberate?

I'd come home from my lessons completely wiped out mentally.

Dolazila bih kući sa časova potpuno mentalno iscrpljena.

Now, as a cognitive scientist I know that this is because I was using

Kao kognitivni naučnik, znam da je to zbog toga što sam koristila

a lot of something called executive function.

dosta onog što se zove izvršna funkcija.

Executive function is our amazing ability to consciously control our thoughts,

Izvršna funkcija je naša sjajna sposobnost da svesno kontrolišemo svoje misli,

emotions and actions

emocije i aktivnosti

in order to achieve goals ...

kako bismo postigli ciljeve...

like learning how to drive.

kao što je učenje vožnje.

It's what we use when we need to break away from habit,

To je ono što koristimo kada treba da pobegnemo od navike,

inhibit our impulses and plan ahead.

sputamo impulse i planiramo unapred.

But we can see it most clearly when things go wrong.

Najbolje je možemo videti kada stvari krenu po zlu.

Like, have you ever accidentally poured orange juice on your cereal?

Npr. da li ste ikada slučajno sipali đus preko žitarica?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Or, ever start scrolling on Facebook

Ili, da li ste ikada počeli da skrolujete Fejsbukom

and suddenly realize you've missed a meeting?

i odjednom shvatili da ste propustili sastanak?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Or maybe this one's more familiar:

Ili vam ovo zvuči poznatije:

Ever plan to stop at the store on the way home from work

da li ste ikada planirali da svratite u prodavnicu na putu s posla,

and then drive all the way home instead on autopilot?

a onda se, na autopilotu, odvezli kući?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

These things happen to everyone.

Ove stvari se dešavaju svima.

And we usually call it absentmindedness,

I to obično zovemo rasejanost,

but what's really happening

ali u stvari se dešava

is we're experiencing a lapse in executive function.

da doživljavamo zastoj u izvršnoj funkciji.

So we use executive function every day in all aspects of our lives.

Izvršnu funkciju koristimo svaki dan u svim aspektima života.

And over the past 30 years,

Tokom poslednjih 30 godina,

researchers have found that it predicts all kinds of good things

istraživači su otkrili da predviđa razne dobre stvari

in childhood and beyond,

u detinjstvu i kasnije,

like social skills, academic achievement, mental and physical health,

kao što su društvene veštine, akademski uspeh,

psihičko i fizičko zdravlje,

making money, saving money

zarađivanje, štednju,

and even staying out of jail.

čak i izbegavanje zatvora.

Sounds great, doesn't it?

Zvuči sjajno, zar ne?

So it's no surprise

Tako da ne iznenađuje

that researchers like me are so interested in understanding it

da su istraživači kao ja toliko zainteresovani da je razumeju

and figuring out ways to improve it.

i da shvate kako da je unaprede.

But lately, executive function has become a huge self-improvement buzzword.

Nedavno, izvršna funkcija je postala popularna formula za samopoboljšanje.

Ljudi misle da mogu da je unaprede kroz aplikacije za trening mozga

People think you can improve it through brain-training iPhone apps

and computer games,

i kompjuterske igre,

or by practicing it in a specific way, like playing chess.

ili uvežbavajući je konkretno, npr. igrajući šah.

And researchers are trying to train it in the lab

A naučnici pokušavaju da je treniraju u laboratoriji

in the hopes of improving it and other things related to it,

u nadi da će je unaprediti, kao i druge povezane stvari,

like intelligence.

kao što je inteligencija.

Well, I'm here to tell you

E pa, mogu vam reći

that this way of thinking about executive function is all wrong.

da je pogrešno ovako razmišljati o izvršnoj funkciji.

Brain training won't improve executive function in a broad sense

Treniranje mozga neće unaprediti izvršnu funkciju u širem smislu

because it involves exercising it in a narrow way,

jer podrazumeva vežbanje u užem smislu,

outside of the real-world contexts in which we actually use it.

van realnog konteksta u kojem je u stvari koristimo.

So you can master that executive function app on your phone,

Dakle, možete savladati aplikaciju za izvršnu funkciju u telefonu,

but that's not going to help you stop pouring OJ on your Cheeerios twice a week.

ali vas to neće sprečiti da sipate đus preko pahuljica dvaput nedeljno.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

If you really want to improve your executive function

Ako zaista želite da poboljšate svoju izvršnu funkciju

in a way that matters for your life,

na način koji je važan za vaš život,

you have to understand how it's influenced by context.

morate da razumete kako na nju utiče kontekst.

Let me show you what I mean.

Pokazaću vam šta mislim pod tim.

There's a great test that we use in the lab

Postoji sjajan test koji koristimo u laboratoriji

to measure executive function in young children

za merenje izvršne funkcije kod dece niskog uzrasta

called the "dimensional change card sort."

koji se zove „sortiranje karata uz menjanje kriterijuma.“

In this task, kids have to sort cards in one way --

U ovom zadatku, deca treba da sortiraju karte na jedan način -

like by shape --

npr. prema obliku -

over and over until they build up a habit.

iznova i iznova dok ne stvore naviku.

And then they're asked to switch

A onda im tražimo da se prebace

and sort the same cards in another way,

i sortiraju iste karte na drugačiji način,

like by color.

npr. po boji.

Now, really young kids struggle with this.

Baš mala deca se muče sa ovim.

Three- and four-year-olds will usually keep sorting the cards in the old way

Deca od tri i četiri godine će uglavnom nastaviti da sortiraju na prvi način

no matter how many times you remind them of what they should be doing.

bez obzira na to koliko ih podsećate na ono što bi trebalo da rade.

(Video) Woman: If it's blue, put it here. If it's red, put it here.

(Video) Žena: Ako je plava, stavi ovde. Ako je crveno, stavi ovde.

Here's a blue one.

Evo ti plava.

OK, so now we're going to play a different game.

Okej, sada ćemo igrati drugu igru.

We're not going to play the color game anymore.

Nećemo igrati igru boja više.

Now we're going to play the shape game,

Sada ćemo se igrati igru oblika,

and in the shape game,

i u ovoj igri,

all the stars go here and all the trucks go here, OK?

sve zvezde idu ovde, a svi kamioni ovde, okej?

Stars go here, trucks go here.

Zvezde idu ovde, kamioni ovde.

Where do the stars go?

Gde idu zvezde?

And where do the trucks go?

A gde idu kamioni?

Excellent.

Odlično.

OK, stars go here, trucks go here.

Okej, zvezde idu ovde, kamioni idu ovde.

Here's a truck.

Evo ga kamion.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Stars go here, trucks go here.

Zvezde idu ovde, kamioni ovde.

Here's a star.

Evo je zvezda.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

SB: So it's really compelling,

SB: Baš je zanimljivo

and it's really obvious when she fails to use her executive function.

i vrlo je očigledno kada ne uspe da koristi svoju izvršnu funkciju.

But here's the thing:

Evo u čemu je stvar:

we could train her on this task and others like it

mogli bismo da je obučimo za ovaj i slične zadatke

and eventually she'd improve,

i na kraju bi se popravila,

but does that mean

ali da li to znači da bi popravila izvršnu funkciju i van laboratorije?

that she would've improved her executive function outside of the lab?

No, because in the real world, she'll need to use executive function

Ne, jer u stvarnom svetu, moraće da koristi izvršnu funkciju

to do a lot more than switching between shape and color.

za mnogo više stvari od prebacivanja između oblika i boje.

She'll need to switch from adding to multiplying

Moraće da se prebacuje između sabiranja i množenja

or from playing to tidying up

ili od igranja do spremanja

or from thinking about her own feelings to thinking about her friend.

ili od razmišljanja o svojim osećanjima do razmišljanja o prijatelju.

And success in real-world situations depends on things

A uspeh u realnim situacijama zavisi

like how motivated you are and what your peers are doing.

od toga koliko ste motivisani i šta vaši vršnjaci rade.

And it also depends on the strategies that you execute

Takođe zavisi i od strategija koje upotrebljavate

when you're using executive function in a particular situation.

kada koristite izvršnu funkciju u određenoj situaciji.

So what I'm saying is that context really matters.

Hoću da kažem da je kontekst veoma važan.

Now let me give you an example from my research.

Daću vam primer iz svog istraživanja.

I recently brought in a bunch of kids to do the classic marshmallow test,

Nedavno sam okupila gomilu dece da urade klasičan test sa maršmelouom

which is a measure of delay of gratification

koji meri odlaganje zadovoljenja potrebe,

that also likely requires a lot of executive function.

a koji takođe verovatno zahteva mnogo izvršne funkcije.

So you may have heard about this test,

Možda ste čuli za ovaj test,

but basically, kids are given a choice.

ali uglavnom, deca imaju izbor.

They can have one marshmallow right away,

Mogu da dobiju jedan maršmelou odmah,

or if they can wait for me to go to the other room

ili ako mogu da sačekaju da odem u drugu sobu

and get more marshmallows,

i donesem još maršmeloua,

they can have two instead.

mogu da dobiju dva.

Now, most kids really want that second marshmallow,

Većina dece stvarno želi taj drugi maršmelou,

but the key question is: How long can they wait?

ali glavno pitanje je: koliko mogu da čekaju?

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now, I added a twist to look at the effects of context.

Dodala sam zaplet da bih sagledala efekte konteksta.

I told each kid that they were in a group,

Svakom detetu sam rekla da pripada grupi,

like the green group,

npr. zelenoj grupi,

and I even gave them a green T-shirt to wear.

čak sam im dala i da obuku zelenu majicu.

And I said, "Your group waited for two marshmallows,

Rekla sam im: „Tvoja grupa je čekala drugi maršmelou,

and this other group, the orange group,

a ona druga grupa, narandžasta,

did not."

nije.“

Or I said the opposite:

Ili bih rekla suprotno:

"Your group didn't wait for two marshmallows

„Tvoja grupa nije čekala drugi maršmelou,

and this other group did."

a ona druga grupa jeste.“

And then I left the kid alone in the room

A onda bih ostavila dete samo u sobi

and I watched on a webcam to see how long they waited.

i gledala na kameri koliko su čekali.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So what I found was that kids who believed

Saznala sam da su deca koja su verovala

that their group waited for two marshmallows

da je njihova grupa čekala drugi kolačić

were themselves more likely to wait.

uglavnom i sama čekala.

So they were influenced by a peer group that they'd never even met.

Na njih je uticao vršnjak iz grupe kog čak nikada i nisu upoznali.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Prilično kul, zar ne?

Well, so with this result I still didn't know

Ni nakon ovih rezultata nisam znala

if they were just copying their group or if it was something deeper than that.

da li samo kopiraju svoju grupu ili je bilo nešto dublje od toga.

So I brought in some more kids,

Pa sam dovela još dece,

and after the marshmallow test, I showed them pictures of pairs of kids,

i nakon testa sa maršmelouom pokazala sam im slike parova dece,

and I told them, "One of these kids likes to have things right away,

i rekla im: „Jedno od ove dece voli da dobije stvari odmah,

like cookies and stickers.

npr. slatkiše i nalepnice.

And the other kid likes to wait

A drugo dete voli da sačeka

so that they can have more of these things."

kako bi dobilo više ovih stvari.“

And then I asked them,

A onda sam ih pitala:

"Which one of these two kids do you like more

„Koje od ove dece vam se više sviđa

and who would you want to play with?"

i sa kim biste voleli da se igrate?“

And what I found was that kids who believed that their group waited

Saznala sam da su se onoj deci koja su mislila da je njihova grupa čekala

tended to prefer other kids who liked to wait for things.

više sviđala druga deca koja vole da čekaju stvari.

So learning what their group did made them value waiting more.

Znajući šta je njihova grupa uradila, više su cenili čekanje.

And not only that,

I ne samo to,

these kids likely used executive function

ova deca su verovatno koristila izvršnu funkciju

to generate strategies to help themselves wait,

da stvore strategije koje bi im pomogle da čekaju,

like sitting on their hands or turning away from the marshmallow

kao što je sedenje na dlanovima ili okretanje od maršmeloua

or singing a song to distract themselves.

ili pevanje pesmice kako bi skrenuli misli.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So what this all shows is just how much context matters.

Sve ovo pokazuje koliko je kontekst važan.

It's not that these kids had good executive function or bad,

Ne radi se o tome da su ova deca imala dobru ili lošu izvršnu funkciju,

it's that the context helped them use it better.

već im je kontekst pomogao da je bolje iskoriste.

So what does this mean for you and for your kids?

Šta to onda znači za vas i vašu decu?

Well, let's say that you want to learn Spanish.

Recimo da želite da naučite španski.

You could try changing your context

Mogli biste da promenite kontekst

and surrounding yourself with other people who also want to learn,

i da se okružite drugim ljudima koji takođe žele da nauče,

and even better if these are people that you really like.

čak je bolje ako su to ljudi koji vam se stvarno sviđaju.

That way you'll be more motivated to use executive function.

Tako ćete biti više motivisani da koristite izvršnu funkciju.

Or let's say that you want to help your child do better on her math homework.

Ili recimo da želite da pomognete svom detetu sa domaćim iz matematike.

You could teach her strategies to use executive function

Mogli biste da je naučite strategije za korišćenje izvršne funkcije

in that particular context,

u tom konkretnom kontekstu,

like putting her phone away before she starts studying

kao što je odlaganje telefona pre nego što počne da uči

or planning to reward herself after studying for an hour.

ili da isplanira da se nagradi nakon sat vremena učenja.

Now, I don't want to make it sound like context is everything.

Ne želim da zvučim kao da je sve do konteksta.

Executive function is really complex, and it's shaped by numerous factors.

Izvršna funkcija je zaista složena, i oblikuju je mnogi faktori.

But what I want you to remember

Ali želim da zapamtite da,

is if you want to improve your executive function

ako hoćete da poboljšate svoju izvršnu funkciju

in some aspect of your life,

u nekim sferama svog života,

don't look for quick fixes.

ne tražite brza rešenja.

Think about the context

Razmislite o kontekstu

and how you can make your goals matter more to you,

i kako da učinite da vam vaši ciljevi više znače

and how you can use strategies

i kako možete da koristite strategije

to help yourself in that particular situation.

da vam pomognu u konkretnoj situaciji.

I think the ancient Greeks said it best when they said, "Know thyself."

Stari Grci su to najbolje rekli izrekom: „Poznaj sebe.“

And a key part of this is knowing how context shapes your behavior

A najvažniji deo je znati kako kontekst oblikuje vaše ponašanje

and how you can use that knowledge to change for the better.

i kako možete iskoristiti to znanje da se menjate nabolje.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)