Evidence-based Strategies for Improving EFs and the ... · Adele Diamond, PhD, FRSC . ... we can miss important things because we were ... On the other hand, we can under- estimate

Evidence-based Strategies for Improving

EFs and the Relation of that to Academic,

Health and Well-being Outcomes

Adele Diamond, PhD, FRSC

Canada Research Chair Professor of

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

University of British Columbia (UBC)

[email protected]

CHERI Conference, Sydney, Australia, 25 May 2017

https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiDsZyR-vzTAhUEurwKHalRAlUQjRwIBw&url=https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/strengths-australian-aboriginal-cultural-practices-fam&psig=AFQjCNEr8ubhyR0HzHBMAIy683lN7AO5sg&ust=1495317353548549

There are many abilities

children need to develop

to be happy and

successful in life

Some the most important

skills

both for HAPPINESS

and for SUCCESS

in school and in life

are:

Being able to stay focused and pay attention

Creative problem-solving (thinking outside the box)

Reasoning (playing with ideas and facts in your mind, relating one to the other)

Being able to delay gratification and stay the course

The self-control to not put your foot in your mouth

Being able to resist temptations & not act impulsively

Being able to take advantage of serendipity

Flexibility to adjust to changed demands or priorities

ALL of the skills

I just mentioned

are

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

Executive Functions

refers to a family of

mental processes needed

whenever going on automatic

or relying on instinct or intuition

would NOT be a good idea

1. Inhibitory

Control

2. Working

Memory

3. Cognitive

Flexibility

The

3 core

Executive

Functions

Inhibitory

Control

involves resisting a

strong inclination to

do one thing,

and instead do what

is most appropriate

or needed.

Inhibitory

Control

includes:

Focused Attention

and

Self-Control

Focused

Attention

Inhibitory control

at the level of

attention:

Self-Control

Inhibitory control

at the level

of behavior:

FOCUSED ATTENTION

Screening out distractions

which enables us to

be able to concen-

trate and stay focused

FOCUSED ATTENTION

Example: Singing a song as a Round

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiPo9fei4DPAhVR5WMKHbAdAp4QjRwIBw&url=http://www.jamesdavey.org/singing-days.html&bvm=bv.131783435,d.cGc&psig=AFQjCNFNFJRzXz4Ti6SMGBxSmS2A0sQvGQ&ust=1473435089282402

BUT, because we are able to

selectively attend, we can miss

important things because we were

selectively attending for other things

People were asked to count the number of

photos in a newspaper.

Some people finished in a few seconds; others

took minutes.

It was not that some were faster counters.

The secret lay on Page 2 where in huge block

letters it said:

STOP COUNTING! THERE ARE 43

PHOTOGRAPHS IN THIS PAPER.

Many people missed that enormous headline.

They were so focused on counting the

photos they hadnt notice it.

We need to balance

selective attention

with

cognitive flexibility

There are many ways we can

scaffold inhibitory control

i.e., help children succeed

despite having weak

inhibitory control:

Scaffolds enable children to

function at a higher level than they

otherwise would be able,

and to practice skills they

otherwise would not be able to

practice.

A dad

scaffolding

his

daughter to

help her

walk across

a log high

above a

stream.

With dad

holding on,

shes able

to walk

across the

log.

Young children have very

immature attentional control.

They can easily get distracted

by beautiful posters on the wall.

Kindergarten &

First Grade

teachers love

making their

classrooms look

beautiful by

decorating the

walls with lots

of lovely posters

and pictures.

It turns out that decorating the walls makes

it harder for young children to concentrate

on their schoolwork; they get distracted.

Fisher et al. (2014) showed that young

children are better able to pay attention, and

learn more, when the walls are more bare.

Fisher et al. (2014). Psychological Science

vol 25, p. 1362-1370

A few ways children

can practice, and thus,

improve their

Inhibitory Control

Walking on a line - to concentrate & stay focused

An activity for 1 to 20

persons of ANY and ALL

ages (3 or older):

Everyone (even the

grown-ups) gets a

bell & walks in a

line or a circle.

The goal: No one

should make a sound.

with his or her bell.

Young children are often capable

of responding correctly -- if

some way can be found to cause

them to delay responding for just

a few moments.

THE DAY-NIGHT TASK

Day

Night

Semantically conflicting labels

(Gerstadt , Hong, & Diamond, 1994)

Requires holding 2 rules in mind, and inhibiting

saying what the images really represent, saying

the opposite instead.

Experimenter sings a little ditty

think about the answer, dont tell me

before the child responds.

Imposes time between presentation of stimulus

and response to make children take the time

they need to compute the answer

DITTY

8 9 %

5 6 %

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Song Standard

Percentage of Correct Responses by 4-Year-

Old Children on the Song and Standard

Conditions of the Day-Night Task

Pe

rce

nt

Co

rre

ct

Chance

~ 90%

See VIDEO at:

www.devcogneuro.com/videos/daynight3.wmv

Having young children delay

responding scaffolds their emerging

inhibitory control abilities because

by the time they can respond less

inhibition is needed since their first

impulse has now had time to begin

to fade.

In the PATHS program, children are taught that

when they get upset they should stop and hold

themselves tightly with arms crossed (like a Turtle

gets into its shell) and take a deep breath.

This is brilliant. It imposes a short waiting period

AND during that period it has children do things that

reduce arousal & help them to calm down.

Get rid of mirror-reversal writing without fuss or

tears. Leave a card showing a 6 drawn correctly for

the child, and instruct the child that in doing his/her

math today, every time hes to write a 6 put down his

pencil and pick up a red pencil (thereby imposing a

delay). After 1 or 2 days of this, the mirror-reversal

writing of the number 6 will be gone.

On the other hand, we can under-

estimate how capable young

children can be.

Next youll see 3-year-old display-

ing truly outstanding perseverance

& focused attention (despite lots of

distraction all around him)

See video at:

www.devcogneuro.com/

videos/PinkTower1.wmv

Be Patient

Give children time to figure

things out on their own.

Dont intervene too early to

help out.

We adults tend to want to DO

for children

but LESS IS MORE

When a child is struggling, our

natural first inclination is to want to

get in there and help out.

But if you solve the problem, you

are the strong, heroic one and the

child is the weak and needy one.

Have faith in the childs abilities

and intellect.

We need to Empower Youths

Promote their autonomy

Help them to do it myself

Involve them in the decision-

making; give them a sense of

ownership of the decisions

Give them responsibilities

the Coca Cola

study

Focused

Attention

Theres Inhibitory

control at the level

of attention:

Inhibitory control

at the level

of behavior: Self-Control

SELF-CONTROL

resisting temptations,

not acting impulsively,

thinking before you speak or act

https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiDsZyR-vzTAhUEurwKHalRAlUQjRwIBw&url=https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/strengths-australian-aboriginal-cultural-practices-fam&psig=AFQjCNEr8ubhyR0HzHBMAIy683lN7AO5sg&ust=1495317353548549

Examples of when you need

SELF-CONTROL

wait your turn, dont hit, dont eat dessert first

dont blurt out the 1st thing that comes to mind

resist acting in the heat of the moment (dont press send right away)

and

to have the discipline and perseverance to resist the many temptations to quit and

not finish what you started

to continue to work even though the

reward may be a long time in coming

(delaying gratification)

requires Self-Control

Self-control saves us from putting our foot in

our mouth or making a social faux pas.

Think of all the trouble youd get in if you

told your boss your real opinion of him or her,

..grabbed whatever you wanted without

asking or paying, or

..did other socially inappropriate or hurtful

things. If we want to change,

if we want to mend our ways,

we need self-control.

Without inhibitory control wed

be at the mercy of impulses,

old habits of thought or action,

and stimuli in the environment

that pull us this way or that.

Inhibition allows us a measure of control

over our attention and our actions.

It makes it possible for us to change and

to CHOOSE how we react and how we

behave rather than being unthinking

creatures of habit.

It doesnt make overriding habits or

automatic responses easy, but it makes

it possible.

Helping children develop

rudimentary self-control and

scaffolding that

then opens up possibilities for the

BEST education.

Children can work on their own or in

pairs or small groups -- without

constant supervision -- and without

chaos.

Teachers can then give each child

individual attention -- observing,

seeing what a child needs to help

him or her progress.

Each child can work on what most

interests him or her.

All children can work at their own

pace some progressing faster on

this, others on that. Theres no

problem with children in the same

class working at different levels.

And the teacher can give each child

individualized instruction.

Theres a bidirectional relation

between reducing stress

and improving EFs:

reducing stress improves EFs

improving EFs reduces stress

As children become better at

inhibiting impulsive behavior theres

less stress in the classroom;

As children become better at

inhibiting impulsive behavior theres

less stress in the classroom; teachers

worry less about chaos & things get

out of control (they can relax);

children worry less about being

reprimanded (they can relax).

Children with better inhibitory control

(i.e., children who were more persistent,

less impulsive,

& had better attention regulation)

as adults 30 years later have:

better health

higher incomes and better jobs

fewer run-ins with the law

a better quality of life (happier)

than their peers who as young children

had worse inhibitory control,

controlling for IQ, gender, social class, & home

lives & family circumstances growing up

across diverse measures of self control.

Thats based on a study of 1,000 children

born in the same city in the same year

followed for 32 years with a 96% retention

rate.

by Terrie Moffitt et al. (2011)

Proceedings of the Natl Academy of Sci.

A study of 500 fraternal twin pairs

found that the twin with poorer

inhibitory control at age 5,

was more likely than his/her sibling to

smoke,

perform poorly in school

engage in antisocial behaviour

at age 12, though each twin pair grew

up together. (Wong et al., 2010)

Working

Memory

Holding

information

in mind

to work or

play with it

Working memory is critical for

making sense of anything that

unfolds over time, for that always

requires holding in mind what

happened earlier and relating

that to what is happening now.

relating what you read (or learned /

heard) earlier to what you are reading

(learning / hearing) now

relating one idea to another

mental math calculations

understanding cause and effect

remembering multi-step instructions

& executing them in the correct order

Working Memory is essential for

REASONING and for

CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

for those require holding ideas and

information in mind and playing

with them, relating one to another,

re-ordering priorities, and more

Holding information in mind

while working on something else

requires working memory

e.g., holding a question or

comment in mind as you listen

to what is currently being said

Working memory and inhibitory control

each independently predict both

math & reading competence

from the earliest grades thru university

often better than does IQ.

(Alloway & Alloway, 2010; Bull & Scerif, 2001; Dumontheil

& Klingberg, 2012; Gathercole et al., 2004; McClelland &

Cameron, 2011; Nicholson, 2007; Passolunghi et al., 2007;

St Clair-Thompson & Gathercole, 2006; Savage et al.,

2006; Swanson, 2014)

EFs need to be

continually challenged

to see improvements -

not just used, but

challenged.

Storytelling

is a terrific way to

challenge and improve

Working Memory

(both telling and listening)

Im a huge fan of Storytelling

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q="judith+black"+storyteller&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Va0TiXHfqY2fdM&tbnid=uzEbDmAbXu6fyM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Black&ei=msNYUez8J-btigLBtIGYDA&psig=AFQjCNHyv8sxlKqes6d778etBFCWklk3rw&ust=1364857819174675

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=storytelling&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=4do5ToE1gpjaOM&tbnid=JfaJwF7MBhf17M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.letsdosomething.in/workshops/storytelling.html&ei=fJiFUbejFqiXiAKJxYHIDw&psig=AFQjCNHchNnDX8TlGpY9ZWyf_qJPMeHLzQ&ust=1367796067110178

Storytelling invites a childs rapt atten-

tion and challenges it for extended

periods (sustained, focused attention)

and working memory to hold in mind all

thats happened so far, different

characters identities,

story details and to

relate that to the new

info being revealed

without visual aids

(like pictures on the page !

While Story-reading is wonderful

I predict that

Storytelling should improve

attention and working memory more

because it taxes them more

A researcher (Gallets, 2005) randomly

assigned children in Kindergarten &

Grade 1 to storytelling or story-

reading -- 2x a week for 12 weeks.

Vocabulary and recall improved more

in the children assigned to

STORYTELLING than in children

assigned to story-reading.

Vocabulary assessed at

age 3 strongly predicts

reading comprehension

at 9-10 years of age.

Hart and Risley (1995). Meaningful Differences

(see also Hoff, 2002, 2003, 2013; Rowe et al., 2013; Pancsofar & Vernon-Feagans, 2010)

An example of how to

to scaffold children with

fragile Working Memory:

Buddy Reading

Buddy Reading

Ears dont talk; ears listen

Buddy Reading

Cognitive

Flexibility

involves

being able to

..see an issue from

different perspectives

..think about something

in a whole new way

(thinking outside the

box)

..seamlessly adjust to

change or unexpected

situations

In what way is a carrot like a cucumber?

In what way is a carrot like




In what way is a carrot like an orange?





In what way is a carrot like a potato?




In what way is a carrot like a potato?

In what way is a carrot like an apple?

Cognitive Flexibility also includes

having the FLEXIBILITY

to take advantage of a sudden opportunity (serendipity)

to get to your desired goal despite unexpected obstacles seeming to

block the way

to admit you were wrong when you xxget more information

When one door closes, another

door opens;

but we often look so long and so

regretfully upon the closed door,

that we do not see the ones which

open for us.

- Alexander Graham Bell

An example of poor

cognitive flexibility:

If theres a problem that we havent

been able to solve, can you think

outside the box to

conceive of the problem, frame the

problem, in a new way?

come up with a completely different

way of attacking it?

If you always do

what you always did,

youll always get

what you always got.

- Einstein

For example,

What unusual uses can you

think of for a TABLE?

Can you creatively see the

same thing from different

perspectives?

You could hide under it.

Turned it on its side to protect you

from things hurled at you (like

rotten tomatoes or snowballs).

Turn it upside down to play

horseshoes.

Use it as a percussion instrument.

Cut it up for firewood.

For practicing

all the EFs:

Vygotsky: Engaging in social pretend play is critical for

developing executive function skills in very young

children. It is emphasized in Tools of the Mind.

Children must plan who they want to be in a pretend

scenario, and the teacher holds them accountable for

following through.

The Tools of the

Mind early

childhood

program is based

on the theories of

Vygotsky and

Luria

Elena Bodrova & Deborah Leong

flexibly adjust to twists and

turns in the evolving plot

(cognitive flexibility)

-- all three of the core

executive functions thus

get exercise.

During social pretend play, children must hold

their own role and those of others in mind

(working memory)

inhibit acting out of character (employ

inhibitory control), and

The 3 core Executive Functions are:

Inhibitory Control

Working Memory

Cognitive Flexibility

Higher-order Executive Functions are:

Problem-solving

Reasoning

Planning

= Fluid Intelligence

It should come as no surprise that

Executive Functions

are important for every aspect of life

success in school and in the workplace,

making & keeping friends, marital harmony,

physical and mental health, and

avoiding things like substance abuse

or driving fatalities.

If we want children to do

well in school & in life, we

need to help them develop

healthy exec. functions.

There are 3 basic ways to improve

functioning that requires EFs:

(a) work on EFs - train them, challenge

them, & practice, practice, practice

(b) work on reducing things that impair

EFs (stress, lack of sleep, etc.)

(c) find ways of reducing the demands on

EFs (circumvent the need for EFs, in

part) - scaffolding

Diamond, A. & Lee, K.

(2011)

Interventions shown to Aid

Executive Function Development

in Children 4-12 Years Old

Science, vol. 333

accompanying online tables

Science asked me to write a review of all interven-

tions shown to improve EFs in young children

Diamond, A. & Ling, D.S.

(2016)

Conclusions about interventions, programs, and

approaches for improving executive functions

that appear justified and those that,

despite much hype, do not.

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

vol 18, pages 3448

Adele Diamond, A. & Ling, D.

(forthcoming)

Fundamental Questions Surrounding Efforts

to Improve Executive Functions

The first review to look at all the different

methods (e.g., cog. training, phys. exercise, etc.)

and at all ages (children thru elderly).

in an Oxford UP book edited by Bunting et al.

An Integrative Approach to Cognitive &

Working Memory Training

Regardless of the

program to improve EFs,

certain principles apply.

Here are few examples:

1. Whether EF gains are

seen depends on the

amount of time spent

practicing, working on

these skills, pushing

oneself to improve.

Thats true for being

excellent at anything

Practice, practice, practice

Ericsson: 10,000 hrs of practice

Ericsson, K.A., Nandagopal, K., & Roring, R.W. (2009). Toward a

science of exceptional achievement: Attaining superior

performance through deliberate practice. Annals of New York

Academy of Sciences, 1172, 199-217.

Its the discipline,

the practice, that

produces the benefits

Setting aside a time to

work on EFs is less

effective than working on

them as part & parcel of

everything you do.

When activities to improve EFs are

embedded in academic activities,

it doesnt add yet another activity

that teachers need to try to squeeze

into their day.

And, then all day, everyday, these

skills are being trained.

Executive Functions

depend on Prefrontal

Cortex and the other

neural regions with

which it is

interconnected.

Prefrontal

Cortex

To learn something new, we need

prefrontal cortex.

But after something is no longer

new, people who perform best often

recruit prefrontal cortex least.

Prefrontal cortex

(what I specialize in)

is over-rated.

Prefrontal

Cortex

TT

NS MT

DO

DC KO

RB

The DLPFC Slice for

8 Individuals

CB

When something is new, those who

recruit PFC most, usually perform

best.

(Duncan & Owen 2000, Poldrack et al. 2005)

But when you are really good at it,

often youre NOT using PFC as much.

(Chein & Schneider 2005, Garavan et al. 2000,

Landau et al. 2007, Milham et al. 2003, Miller et

al. 2003)

Want most tasks to be so familiar and

well learned that PFC is NOT needed.

Want those tasks to be handed off to

older brain regions that have had far

longer to perfect their functioning; they

can subserve task performance ever so

much more efficiently than can PFC.

(re: Zen and the Art of Archery )

When we try to be in control, we

dont do things nearly as well as

when we arent trying to be in

control.

When we try to force things, we

often mess them up.

A child may know intellectually (at the

level of PFC) that he should not hit

another, but in the heat of the moment

if that knowledge has not become

automatic (passed on from PFC to

older brain regions) the child will hit

another (though if asked, he knows he

shouldnt do that).

knowing what one should do

vs.

2nd nature (automatic)

(i.e., NOT dependent on PFC)

The only way something

becomes automatic

(becomes passed off from

PFC) is through action,

repeated action.

Nothing else will do.

We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

We dont act rightly because we have

virtue or excellence, but we rather have

these because we have acted rightly; these

virtues are formed in a person by doing the

actions;

we are what we repeatedly do.

Aristotle, Ethica Nicomachea, 4th century BC

2. EFs need to be

continually challenged

- not just practiced,

but challenged.

Not only true for EFs;

applies to all skills and ages

Ericsson:

always pushing yourself, always trying

to master what is just beyond your

current level of competence & comfort.

Vygotsky:

the zone of proximal development

3. EF training appears to

transfer,

but the transfer is

narrow.

People improve on what they

practice and that transfers to other

contexts where those same skills are

needed -- but people only improve

on what they practice improvement

does not transfer to other skills.

If improvement multiple EF

skills is your goal, then you

need to engage in activities

that require & train each of

those different skills.

Theres been a lot of interest in

computerized cognitive training.

Computerized working memory

training improves WM

but that does not generalize to

other skills like self-control,

intelligence, creativity, or

flexibility.

CogMed is the computerized

method for training working

memory with the most and the

strongest evidence.

8 of the 11 studies (73%) found

clear evidence that it produces

working memory benefits.

BUT even here,

only 2 of the 6 studies (33%) found

evidence of transfer

to any skill other than

what they trained on.

Indeed, a recent randomized

control trial of CogMed with >450

1st graders in Australia

found that while the WM improve-

ment was still robust 1 year later,

it was gone after 2 years, and

those who had trained on CogMed

performed worse in Math 2 years

later than others who received

regular classroom teaching while

their peers did CogMed (Roberts

et al., 2016). Academic outcomes 2 years after working memory training for children

with low working memory: A randomized clinical trial. J. of the Am.

Med. Assoc. Pediatrics, Epub ahead of print, E1-E10.

Thus, its fair to conclude that WM

computerized training improves

working memory, but

the results have generally been

disappointing with narrow benefits

that fade away in several months time.

Sometimes the reason

something works is different

from what anyone expected:

Although most studies of

CogMed don`t mention the

mentoring component,

to be certified to administer CogMed,

adults must get trained in, & commit to,

mentoring those doing CogMed.

de Jong found that the mentoring

seems to account for the benefits of

CogMed more than whats on the

computer.

de Jong, P. (May 20, 2014). Effects of training

working memory in adolescents with a below

average IQ. Presented at Workshop on Enhancing

Executive Functions in Education in Nijmegen, NL.

Contrary to influential reviews

of the benefits of aerobic exercise.

Nature Reviews Neuroscience (January 2008)

Be Smart, Exercise Your Heart:

Exercise Effects on Brain and Cognition

Charles Hillman, Kirk Erickson & Art Kramer

In particular, the frontal lobe & executive functions

that depend on it show the largest benefit

from improved fitness.

Aerobic exercise per se

(without a cognitive component &

perhaps without an emotional &/or

social component)

e.g., riding a stationary bike

does NOT improve memory

or executive functions.

Of the 12 aerobics studies in

children that we reviewed, only 1/3

found better EFs than controls.

A meta-analysis of 12 other

aerobics studies in adults found

no EF benefits (Young et al. [2015],

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews)

BUT

People who are more physically

active and have better aerobic

fitness have better EFs.

Thats true for kids: Scudder et al., 2014

Hillman, Castelli, & Buck 2005

and for older adults: Boucard et al., 2012

Voelcker-Rehage, Godde, & Staudinger, 2010

I will return to that

seeming contradiction

a bit later

I take a markedly different

perspective from mainstream

education in hypothesizing that

focusing exclusively on training

cognitive skills

is less efficient, and ultimately

less successful, than

also addressing kids emotional,

social, and physical needs.

https://www.google.co.id/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0CAcQjRxqFQoTCKmb76Wk3cYCFVYIjgodCtQHTw&url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/widemus/14568954856/&ei=qWWmVemiF9aQuASKqJ_4BA&bvm=bv.97949915,d.c2E&psig=AFQjCNFS_NW6sqNhoHX66RB9bAjYJs2bQw&ust=1437054336305431

While training and challenging EFs

is needed for them to improve

that alone is probably not enough

to achieve the best results.

https://www.google.co.nz/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiTlsyulvbTAhWIxFQKHTzEAQAQjRwIBw&url=https://tpwt.maori.nz/about-us/projects/literacy-and-numeracy/&psig=AFQjCNG36X5eL-uI14cWY4k7NBfS5WTVkQ&ust=1495084159552046

Its likely that indirectly supporting

executive functions by

lessening things that impair them

and

enhancing things that support them

is also critical.

Heres

why

Prefrontal

cortex is the

newest area

of the brain

and the most

vulnerable.

Prefrontal

Cortex

Frontal Cortex

If youre

sad or stressed

lonely or

not physically fit

Prefrontal Cortex and Executive

Functions are the first to suffer,

and suffer THE MOST.

Conversely, we show better

Executive Functions when were

happy

feel socially supported, &

were healthy & physically fit

Hirt et al. 2008

J. of Personality

& Social Psych.

vol. 94, 214-230.

Yang, Yang &

Isen. 2013

Cognition and

Emotion.

vol 27, 474-482.

We have better

executive

functions

when were not

feeling sad or

depressed.

Desseilles et al., 2009

von Hecker & Meiser, 2005

Yang, Yang, & Isen, 2013

When were sad we have worse

working memory and

selective attention.

When were happy we have

better working memory and

selective attention. Gable & Harmon-Jones, 2008

Yang, Yang, & Isen, 2013

THE most heavily researched predictor of

creativity in social psychology is mood.

The most robust finding is that

a happy mood leads to greater creativity

(specifically greater cognitive flexibility)

(Ashby et al. 1999)

It enables people to work more flexibly

(Murray et al. 1990) & to see potential

relatedness among unusual & atypical

members of categories (Isen et al. 1985,1987).

Hirt et al. 2008: 214

JOY

is NOT the opposite of

SERIOUS

The distinction between work

and play disappears when you

are doing something you

thoroughly enjoy.

Serious business

(like learning) can, and

should, be JOYFUL

Theres no reason why learning

cant be joyful.

When it is, theres no clear

distinction between work

and play.

Are these

young people

working or playing?

Are these budding

musicians working

or playing?

Research shows

we learn more and get more

done, when were happy.

Amy Arnsten,

1998

The biology of

being frazzled

Science

Our brains work

better when we

are not

in a stressed

emotional state.

That is particularly true

for prefrontal cortex

and executive functions.

Stress impairs Executive Functions

and can cause anyone

to look as if

he or she has an EF impairment

(like ADHD)

when thats not the case.

You may have noticed that

when youre stressed

you cant think as clearly

or exercise as good self-control.

Here are some of the

neurobiological reasons

for why thats the case.

Stress and Prefrontal Cortex

(Roth et al., 1988)

Even mild stress increases DA release in

PFC - but not elsewhere in the brain

Snchez MM, Young LJ, Plotsky PM, Insel TR

(2000)

Distribution of Corticosteroid Receptors

in the Rhesus Brain.

J Neurosci, 20, 4657-4568

In humans (& primates in general)

Prefrontal Cortex has

more receptors for CORTISOL

than any other area in the brain.

A few weeks of stress in preparation for a

major exam disrupts communication

between PFC and other brain regions.

(including parietal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, and the cerebellum)

Liston et al. (2009) PNAS

If youre stressed,

you cant be the

parent or

teacher you

want to be.

If youre stressed,

your children will pick on it.

It will cause them to feel

stressed.

And if theyre stressed, their

EFs will suffer & therefore

their school performance will

suffer.

Imperfect Worthless

Imperfect Worthless

Dont be so hard on yourself when you

make a mistake.

Being Imperfect

is NOT a problem.

EVERYONE makes mistakes.

Everyone is imperfect.

Many children are so

terrified of making a

mistake that theyre afraid

to try anything new.

We need to let children know

its okay to make mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes,

even us.

The only way to completely

avoid mistakes is to stay with

what you already know,

to stop growing.

Anyone who has never

made a mistake has never

tried anything new.

- Albert Einstein

You've never failed until you've tried for the

last time, and you've never lost until you quit.

-- Samuel Proctor Massie

Its never over

til its over

You havent failed until

youve stopped trying.

Samuel Proctor Massie was born in the segregated South in the early 1900s. You know he encountered a lot of discrimination, setbacks, and failures. Yet he rose to become one the most highly respected and decorated chemists of the 20th century.

Children cant relax if theyre

worried you might embarass them.

They cant relax if they feel a lot of

pressure to always succeed

and never mess up.

Ill talk much more about

Stress, the effects of early

adverse experiences, and the

bidrectional relation between

EFs (prefrontal cortex) and

stress (the amygdala) in

tomorrows talk.

Loneliness:

Human Nature and

the Need for Social

Connection

2008

a book by

John Cacioppo

& William Patrick

Our brains work

better when

we are not

feeling lonely

or socially

isolated.

That is particularly true

for prefrontal cortex

and executive functions.

We are fundamentally social.

We need to belong.

We need to fit in & be liked.

Children who are lonely or

ostracized have more

difficulty learning.

If you feel as though you cant

do it alone, thats because you

were never meant to.

John Medina (2010)b

Brain Rules for Baby

We need to feel there are people

who care about us, believe in us,

and will be there for us

and

we need to feel were part of some-

thing larger than ourselves (e.g., a

group or community with common,

shared goals).

Its not just peers; a close relation-

ship with a caring adult can be

HUGE.

Not just one who

cares, but who

believes in you

and sees your

potential.

Roy Baumeister et al. (2002, Journal of

Personality & Social Psychology) told a

- group of subjects that theyd have close

relationships throughout their lives;

- told another group the opposite; &

- told a third group unrelated bad news.

On simple memorization questions (that dont

require EFs) the groups were comparable.

On logical reasoning (that requires EFs),

those told to expect that theyll be lonely

performed worse.

Other researchers havent tried to manipulate

this, but simply give subjects a survey when

they come into the lab

that includes questions like Do you feel

socially supported? Do they feel lonely?

Campbell et al. (2006) found, for ex., that

prefrontal cortex functions less efficiently

in those who feel lonely or isolated.

Being socially excluded activates

the same brain network as that

for physical pain (the dACC &

insula) and the more social pain

you feel, the more activity the

dACC shows pain.

Naomi Eisenberger et al. (2003) Science

What matters most in Early

Childhood Education?

Not the # of children

Not the caregiver: children ratio

Not having the best materials

but the caring relationship between

the teacher and the children

As international studies show (e.g.,

Melhuish , 1990 a & b)

Relationship trumps

..instructional style

..subject matter knowledge

..adult : child ratio

..having the best equipment

hands down.

Dr. Jerome Frank conducted a study compar-

ing many different forms of psychotherapy.

He found:

Regardless of which form of psychotherapy,

the most successful clinical outcomes were

achieved by.

those who cared deeply about their patients

and were able to communicate

that caring to their patients

The best body of work on the

relative effectiveness of different

forms of psychotherapy

Bruce Wampolds 2001 book:

The Great Psychotherapy Debate:

Models, Methods, and Findings

He concluded:

the client-therapist relationship trumps

technique hands down.

Across all types of psychotherapy,

nothing predicts a good outcome as

reliably as the patients experience of the

therapist as being warm, caring, and

genuine, and, thus, the patients experience

of being seen, understood and [heard].

Review of Saffran & Muran by Diana Fosha,

Winter 2003, pp. 30-32

Early Life Stress can also cause

Accelerated Telomere Shortening

Review:

Price, Kao, Burgers, Carpenter, & Tyrka

2013

Telomeres and Early-life Stress:

An Overview

Biological Psychiatry

Jan 1; 73(1): 15-23

A telomere is the protective tip at the end of a

chromosome that caps and protects the chromosome from deterioration.

Elizabeth Blackburn gives this analogy: Think of

telomeres as like the plastic tips that cap your

shoelaces to prevent fraying. Telomeres stabilize the

ends of chromosomes, allowing cells to divide while

holding the important genetic material intact.

A cell dies when its telomere gets too

short.

Thus telomeres determine the lifespan of

cells, and by extension the lifespan of us.

no exposure

> 2 exposures

adverse early

life events

differ-

ence in

telo-

mere

length

differ-

ence in

telo-

mere

length

Shalev

Puterman, Lin,

Blackburn, &

Epel, 2013

Maternal sensitivity & warmth

can completely override the

effect of early adversity

on telomere length

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=uXjR4ordoqZB4M&tbnid=JRuz9i4h8x1K0M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.directrelief.org/2012/12/improving-the-lives-of-mothers-children-in-indonesia/&ei=OE68U5XhIebFigKtt4CQCw&bvm=bv.70138588,d.cGE&psig=AFQjCNHHw7midhnjmaNXeJwYObL8Q4o3mQ&ust=1404936106707838

Maternal Responsiveness Virtually Erases

the Effect of Early-life Risk on Telomere Length

Asok et al.

(2013)

Asok, A., Bernard, K., Roth, T. L., Rosen, J.

B., & Dozier, M.

(2013)

Parental Responsiveness Moderates the

Association Between Early-life Stress and

Reduced Telomere Length.

Development and Psychopathology

25 (3), pages 577585

Another example that maternal

sensitivity & warmth trumps

..early adversity

..social/ econ. disadvantage

hands down

0

4

2

6

8

Average Score on

Behavior Problems

Low

More Responsive Mom Less Responsive Mom

High SES Middle SES Low SES

Normal Birthwt

< 5.5 lbs.

Normal Birthwt

Low < 5.5 lbs.

Normal Birthwt

Low < 5.5 lbs.

Impact of the Quality of a Mothers Responsiveness to her

Child at Age 2 on the Number of Observed Behavior

Problems in that Child at Age 4

Bronfenbrenner & Morris (2006), chap. 14 in Handbk of Child Psychol. (eds. Damon & Lerner)

This is probably also true of fathers;

it is just that all the research has

been with moms thus far:

Maternal sensitivity &

warmth trumps

..early adversity

..social/ econ. disadvantage

hands down.

Your humanity is more

important than your

knowledge or skill or doing

the textbook-perfect thing.

Communities In Schools

Began in the 1970s, the idea is

to surround students with a

community of support,

empowering students to stay

in school and achieve in life.

Regardless of the program,

a deeply caring relationship

between the adults with the

children is absolutely essential

for the best outcomes.

We are not just intellects,

we have emotions

we have social needs

& we have bodies


The brain doesnt recognize the

same sharp division between

cognitive and motor function that

we impose in our thinking.

The SAME or substantially

overlapping brain systems subserve

BOTH cognitive and motor function.

For example, an area of the brain

called the pre-SMA

is important for sequential tasks,

whether they are

sequential motor tasks or

sequential cognitive tasks.

Hanakawa et al., 2002

Motor development and

cognitive development appear

to be fundamentally intertwined.

Diamond, A. (2000) Close Interrelation of

Motor Development and Cognitive

Development and of the Cerebellum and

Prefrontal Cortex

Child Development, 71, 44-56

The different parts of the human

being are fundamentally

interrelated.

Each part (cognitive, spiritual,

social, emotional, & physical)

is affected by, and affects,

the others.

Diamond, 2007

The best and most

efficient way to foster

any one of those,

is probably to foster all

of them.

We have to care about childrens

emotional

social &

physical well-being,

if we want them to be able to problem-solve,

exercise self-control, or display any of the

other Executive Functions.

If a child is stressed,

sad,

lonely,

or not physically fit,

the very academic performance a school

is trying to improve will take a hit.

Returning to my prediction:

Activities that will

most successfully

improve Executive Functions

will not only work on directly

improving Executive Functions by

training and challenging them, but

will indirectly support executive

functions by lessening things that

impair them (like stress or loneliness)

and enhancing things that support

them (like joy or physical vitality).

What activities directly

train and challenge

executive functions and

indirectly support them by

also addressing our social,

emotional, and physical

needs?

What activities touch the

hearts and minds of young

people, inspiring them,

challenging them to reach

for the stars, building their

self-confidence and pride?

Traditional

Activities

that have been

around for millennia.

For 10's of 1,000's of years, across all

cultures, storytelling, dance, art, music

& play have been part of the human

condition.

People in all cultures made music,

sang, danced, did sports, and played

games. There are good reasons why

those activities have lasted so long and

arose everywhere.

These activities

challenge our intellect (EFs),

make us happy & proud,

address our social needs, and

help our bodies develop

www.devcogneuro.com/videos/Diamond_cognitive_19sec.wmv

The distinction between

academic &

enrichment activities

is arbitrary

Critical executive function skills

like reasoning, problem-solving,

self-control, working memory, &

cognitive flexibility can all be

taught thru wilderness survival,

theatre, martial arts, dance,

sports, carpentry, music-making,

auto mechanics, circus, or play.

These activities





www.devcogneuro.com/videos/Diamond

_self_confidence_1min_11sec.wmv

These activities



address our social needs,


www.devcogneuro.com/videos/Diamond_social_1min.wmv

These activities





Certainly they help

develop motor skills

such as bimanual and

eye-hand coordination,

lung

capacity

It doesnt have to be those - almost

any activity can be the way in, can

be the means for disciplining the

mind and enhancing resilience.

could be caring for an animal.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=young+kids+hiking&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Agrlu7bfBnJWHM&tbnid=apqGGKT67OKlmM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://randsco.com/index.php/2011/04/25/five_tips_for_hiking_with_kids&ei=g4RLUczzJvLs2AXhkYCgDg&bvm=bv.44158598,d.b2I&psig=AFQjCNFWCP6C2R9AtSPVqZq_i0vXL4Ce-g&ust=1363989943709665http://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&docid=jFUBndjUrkv6VM&tbnid=Vp07qxuRW28syM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.foodwise.com.au/the-community-gardening-movement/&ei=RzWFU7qrL6mtsQSPiIHwCA&psig=AFQjCNFSs_R1tcuvK09R04HTWvZG_f9mMw&ust=1401325242566999

Free the Children

Children Changing the World

More than 1.7 million youth involved

in innovative education and develop-

ment programs in 45 countries.

Educates, engages, and empowers

young people to be confident young

change-makers and lifelong active

citizens.

97% of their students now believe they

can make a difference in the world. 89%

confirm that their students are

more confident in their goal-setting

and completion.

85% find a greater atmosphere of caring

and compassion in the school. 90%

of their students have

demonstrated increased leadership

among their peers.

Educators whose students are engaged in Free the Children report:

Could be a SERVICE ACTIVITY such as

Westcoast Assistance Teams

troubled youths

train dogs for handicapped persons

unconditional love

experience what its like to be confined

to a wheelchair

know they are doing something

important & of great benefit to another

Youths are naturally, intrinsically

moved to want to right wrongs and

make the world a better place.

They can be powerfully motivated to

work really hard

if that can help their

team / group / community.

Sense of Purpose Message

Working hard in school can help them

acquire skills enabling them to achieve

meaningful, beyond-the-self goals. such

as making the world a better place or

contributing to their community.

This makes them more motivated to work hard in school and happier to do so.

David Yeager

Paunesku et al. (Psychological Science, 2015)

delivered this message to about 400

students across heterogeneous high

schools in 13 geographically diverse

locations all across the US.

This raised students GPAs in core

academic courses.

Importantly, when students received a self-

oriented purpose message very similar to

the sense-of-purpose one, but

putting forward a reason in the students own

self-interest as a reason to work hard in

school (e.g., to get a better job, to earn more

money),

there was NO effect on grades at all or any

other measure of school performance.

Thats consistent with findings from other studies:

A pro-social message (where students are encouraged

to think about how school might help them make a positive

contribution to their family, community, or world at large)

increases high school students willingness to do

& persevere to complete really boring school

tasks that experimenters ask teachers to assign.

A self-oriented message (where students are

encouraged to think about how working hard in school

might help them earn a better income or get a better job)

does nothing to help kids willingness to do, or

stick with, boring tasks.

Yeager et al. (2014) J of Personality & Social Psych

Many adolescents are looking for a cause to

commit to, and outlet for their idealism.

Those who are not, would jump at an opportunity

to right some of the wrongs they see around them

(such as inequality, violence, or global warming).

Their energy and passion needs an outlet.

We, adults, can help them channel that in a good

direction. We can help them feel that they have a

voice and that it is possible for them, now, to take

steps toward righting the wrongs they see.

Adolescents also see many things about the world

to complain about - things that seem clearly

wrong, blatantly unfair, even headed for disaster.

Key is that the child

really love the activity and really

want to do it, so s/he will spend a

lot of time at it, pushing him- or

herself to improve.

Returning to the seeming contradiction:

People who are more physically active &

physically fit have better EFs

but

Aerobic interventions (even ones that

last a year) do little to improve EFs

Many people who maintain better fitness

do so by participating in physical

activities that involve cognitive

challenges and complex motor skills.

Results for interventions w/ more emphasis

on motor skills and cognitive demands

(more components of sports activities)

have been only slightly better than for

mindless aerobic exercise, but

most have looked at disembodied skills

abstracted from the sport they are used in.

Exercise alone appears not to be

as effective in improving EFs as

exercise-plus-character-develop-

ment (traditional martial arts)

exercise-plus-mindfulness (yoga)

or other exercise that requires

thought (e.g., soccer [football]).

The Beneficial Effects of Game-

based Exercise Using Age-

appropriate Tennis Lessons

on the Executive Functions of

6- to 12-year-old Children

(accepted)

Neuroscience Letters

Evaluated the effects of

2 different types of

tennis lessons technique-based

approach (TBA) and a game-based

approach (PLAY+STAY [P+S]) or

watching TV - on the EFs of

81 kids in Japan, 6-12 years old.

P+S = Play +

Stay; the game-

based approach

where children

played tennis

TBA = Technique-

Based Approach;

drills of skills

(e.g., forward

stroke), but never

play tennis

CONT = control

group. They

watched TV.

Lakes & Hoyt (2004) randomly

assigned children in grades K

thru 5 (roughly 5-11 years old)

by homeroom class to Tae-

Kwon-Do martial arts or

standard physical education

for almost a full school year.

Children assigned to Tae-Kwon-Do

showed greater gains than children in

standard phys. ed. on all dimensions of

EFs studied (e.g., cognitive [focused vs.

distractible] and affective [persevere vs.

quit] and emotion regulation). This

generalized to multiple contexts and was

found on multiple measures.

Traditional martial arts

emphasize self-control,

discipline (inhibitory

control), and character

development.

In a study with adolescent juvenile

delinquents (Trulson, 1986),

one group was assigned to traditional

Tae-Kwon-Do (emphasizing respect,

humility, perseverance, honor as well

as physical conditioning).

Another group was assigned to

modern martial arts (martial arts as a

only competitive sport).

Those in traditional Tae-Kwon-Do

showed less aggression and anxiety

and improved in social ability and

self-esteem.

Those in modern martial arts

showed more juvenile delinquency

and aggressiveness, and decreased

self-esteem and social ability.

Whether EF gains are

seen depends on the

way an activity is done.

It appears that the extent to

which exercise, music, or any

other activity

have a large effect on EFs

is proportional to how much

JOY the activity engenders in

the person.

A possible neuro-

biological reason

for this:

Nucleus Accumbens

(Executive Functions) Were able to exercise better executive functions.

(Reward Center) Were happier and willing to work harder & persevere to achieve a goal

1. Endocannabinoid When were enjoying ourselves, the brain releases endogenous cannabinoids

The VTA is the source of the DA projection to PFC & to the nucleus accumbens

They activate dopamine (DA) neurons in the VTA:

2.

3a.

3b.

Many people who maintain better fitness do

so by participating in activities that engage

their hearts & minds

many are passionate about these

activities and deeply committed to them

the activities may be an important part

of their lives and an important source of pride

and personal identity.

Most EF interventions have focused only on

training EFs (or only improving aerobic

fitness to improve EFs) ignoring powerful

emotional factors.

Yet, if youre passionate about an

activity, youll devote lots of time & effort

to it, & its the hours practicing, pushing

yourself to improve that drives the benefit.

The skys the limit to what young

people can achieve

if theyre engaged in activities

they are passionate about,

where mentors and experiences

inspire and instill self-confidence.

What if mainstream education has it all wrong?

Focusing exclusively on training cognition

(as mainstream education tends to do)

may not be the best, or most efficient, way

to improve cognition.


Focusing exclusively on training cognition

(as mainstream education tends to do)

may not be the best, or most efficient, way

to improve cognition.

Addressing childrens social, emotional,

spiritual, and physical needs may be key to

whether they do well in school and in life.

Nurturing the whole child

may be critical for the

outcomes we all want for our children.

thank you so much for your attention

[email protected]

My thanks to the NIH (NIMH, NICHD, & NIDA), which has continuously funded our work since 1986, & to the Spencer Fdn, CFI, NSERC, & IES for recent support our work - and especially to all the members of my lab.

Documents

Evidence-based Strategies for Improving EFs and the ... · Adele Diamond, PhD, FRSC . ... we can miss important things because we were ... On the other hand, we can under- estimate