Why some people find exercise harder than others | Emily Balcetis | TEDxNewYork
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0:17 - 0:20Vision is the most important
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0:20 - 0:22and prioritized sense that we have.
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0:22 - 0:24We are constantly looking
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0:24 - 0:26at the world around us,
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0:26 - 0:28and quickly we identify and make sense
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0:28 - 0:30of what it is that we see.
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0:30 - 0:32Let's just start with an example
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0:32 - 0:33of that very fact.
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0:33 - 0:35I'm going to show you
a photograph of a person, -
0:35 - 0:37just for a second or two,
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0:37 - 0:39and I'd like for you to identify
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0:39 - 0:41what emotion is on his face.
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0:41 - 0:42Ready?
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0:42 - 0:45Here you go. Go with your gut reaction.
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0:45 - 0:47Okay. What did you see?
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0:47 - 0:49Well, we actually surveyed
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0:49 - 0:51over 120 individuals,
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0:51 - 0:54and the results were mixed.
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0:54 - 0:56People did not agree
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0:56 - 0:59on what emotion they saw on his face.
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0:59 - 1:01Maybe you saw discomfort.
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1:01 - 1:03That was the most frequent response
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1:03 - 1:04that we received.
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1:04 - 1:06But if you asked the person on your left,
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1:06 - 1:09they might have said regret or skepticism,
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1:09 - 1:11and if you asked somebody on your right,
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1:11 - 1:13they might have said
something entirely different, -
1:13 - 1:16like hope or empathy.
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1:16 - 1:18So we are all looking
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1:18 - 1:20at the very same face again.
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1:20 - 1:22We might see something
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1:22 - 1:25entirely different,
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1:25 - 1:27because perception is subjective.
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1:27 - 1:29What we think we see
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1:29 - 1:32is actually filtered
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1:32 - 1:34through our own mind's eye.
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1:34 - 1:36Of course, there are many other examples
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1:36 - 1:39of how we see the world
through own mind's eye. -
1:39 - 1:41I'm going to give you just a few.
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1:41 - 1:43So dieters, for instance,
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1:43 - 1:45see apples as larger
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1:45 - 1:48than people who are not counting calories.
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1:48 - 1:51Softball players see the ball as smaller
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1:51 - 1:54if they've just come out of a slump,
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1:54 - 1:58compared to people who had
a hot night at the plate. -
1:58 - 2:00And actually, our political beliefs also
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2:00 - 2:03can affect the way we see other people,
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2:03 - 2:05including politicians.
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2:05 - 2:08So my research team and I
decided to test this question. -
2:08 - 2:12In 2008, Barack Obama
was running for president -
2:12 - 2:14for the very first time,
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2:14 - 2:16and we surveyed hundreds of Americans
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2:16 - 2:19one month before the election.
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2:19 - 2:21What we found in this survey
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2:21 - 2:23was that some people, some Americans,
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2:23 - 2:25think photographs like these
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2:25 - 2:27best reflect how Obama really looks.
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2:27 - 2:30Of these people, 75 percent
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2:30 - 2:33voted for Obama in the actual election.
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2:33 - 2:36Other people, though,
thought photographs like these -
2:36 - 2:38best reflect how Obama really looks.
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2:38 - 2:4089 percent of these people
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2:40 - 2:42voted for McCain.
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2:42 - 2:46We presented many photographs of Obama
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2:46 - 2:47one at a time,
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2:47 - 2:50so people did not realize
that what we were changing -
2:50 - 2:52from one photograph to the next
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2:52 - 2:54was whether we had artificially lightened
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2:54 - 2:56or darkened his skin tone.
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2:56 - 2:58So how is that possible?
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2:58 - 3:01How could it be
that when I look at a person, -
3:01 - 3:03an object, or an event,
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3:03 - 3:05I see something very different
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3:05 - 3:07than somebody else does?
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3:07 - 3:09Well, the reasons are many,
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3:09 - 3:11but one reason requires that we understand
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3:11 - 3:14a little bit more about how our eyes work.
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3:14 - 3:16So vision scientists know
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3:16 - 3:18that the amount of information
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3:18 - 3:19that we can see
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3:19 - 3:21at any given point in time,
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3:21 - 3:24what we can focus on,
is actually relatively small. -
3:24 - 3:26What we can see with great sharpness
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3:26 - 3:28and clarity and accuracy
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3:28 - 3:30is the equivalent
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3:30 - 3:32of the surface area of our thumb
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3:32 - 3:35on our outstretched arm.
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3:35 - 3:37Everything else around that is blurry,
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3:37 - 3:40rendering much of what is presented
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3:40 - 3:42to our eyes as ambiguous.
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3:42 - 3:44But we have to clarify
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3:44 - 3:47and make sense of what it is that we see,
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3:47 - 3:50and it's our mind
that helps us fill in that gap. -
3:50 - 3:53As a result, perception
is a subjective experience, -
3:53 - 3:55and that's how we end up seeing
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3:55 - 3:57through our own mind's eye.
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3:57 - 3:59So, I'm a social psychologist,
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3:59 - 4:01and it's questions like these
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4:01 - 4:03that really intrigue me.
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4:03 - 4:04I am fascinated by those times
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4:04 - 4:07when people do not see eye to eye.
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4:07 - 4:08Why is it that somebody might
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4:08 - 4:11literally see the glass as half full,
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4:11 - 4:13and somebody literally sees it
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4:13 - 4:14as half empty?
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4:14 - 4:17What is it about what one person
is thinking and feeling -
4:17 - 4:19that leads them to see the world
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4:19 - 4:21in an entirely different way?
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4:21 - 4:23And does that even matter?
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4:23 - 4:26So to begin to tackle these questions,
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4:26 - 4:28my research team and I
decided to delve deeply -
4:28 - 4:31into an issue that has received
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4:31 - 4:33international attention:
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4:33 - 4:35our health and fitness.
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4:35 - 4:36Across the world,
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4:36 - 4:38people are struggling
to manage their weight, -
4:38 - 4:40and there is a variety of strategies
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4:40 - 4:43that we have to help us
keep the pounds off. -
4:43 - 4:47For instance, we set
the best of intentions -
4:47 - 4:49to exercise after the holidays,
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4:49 - 4:52but actually, the majority of Americans
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4:52 - 4:54find that their New Year's resolutions
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4:54 - 4:57are broken by Valentine's Day.
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4:57 - 4:59We talk to ourselves
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4:59 - 5:01in very encouraging ways,
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5:01 - 5:02telling ourselves this is our year
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5:02 - 5:04to get back into shape,
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5:04 - 5:06but that is not enough to bring us back
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5:06 - 5:07to our ideal weight.
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5:07 - 5:09So why?
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5:09 - 5:12Of course, there is no simple answer,
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5:12 - 5:14but one reason, I argue,
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5:14 - 5:16is that our mind's eye
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5:16 - 5:18might work against us.
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5:18 - 5:21Some people may literally see exercise
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5:21 - 5:22as more difficult,
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5:22 - 5:24and some people might literally
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5:24 - 5:26see exercise as easier.
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5:26 - 5:30So, as a first step
to testing these questions, -
5:30 - 5:32we gathered objective measurements
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5:32 - 5:35of individuals' physical fitness.
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5:35 - 5:37We measured the circumference
of their waist, -
5:37 - 5:40compared to the circumference
of their hips. -
5:40 - 5:42A higher waist-to-hip ratio
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5:42 - 5:45is an indicator of being
less physically fit -
5:45 - 5:47than a lower waist-to-hip ratio.
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5:47 - 5:49After gathering these measurements,
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5:49 - 5:51we told our participants
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5:51 - 5:53that they would walk to a finish line
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5:53 - 5:54while carrying extra weight
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5:54 - 5:56in a sort of race.
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5:56 - 5:58But before they did that,
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5:58 - 6:00we asked them to estimate the distance
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6:00 - 6:02to the finish line.
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6:02 - 6:04We thought that the physical states
of their body -
6:04 - 6:07might change how they perceived
the distance. -
6:07 - 6:09So what did we find?
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6:09 - 6:12Well, waist-to-hip ratio
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6:12 - 6:14predicted perceptions of distance.
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6:14 - 6:17People who were out of shape and unfit
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6:17 - 6:19actually saw the distance
to the finish line -
6:19 - 6:21as significantly greater
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6:21 - 6:23than people who were in better shape.
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6:23 - 6:25People's states of their own body
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6:25 - 6:28changed how they perceived
the environment. -
6:28 - 6:30But so too can our mind.
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6:30 - 6:32In fact, our bodies and our minds
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6:32 - 6:34work in tandem
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6:34 - 6:37to change how we see the world around us.
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6:37 - 6:39That led us to think that maybe people
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6:39 - 6:40with strong motivations
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6:40 - 6:42and strong goals to exercise
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6:42 - 6:45might actually see
the finish line as closer -
6:45 - 6:48than people who have weaker motivations.
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6:48 - 6:50So to test whether motivations
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6:50 - 6:54affect our perceptual
experiences in this way, -
6:54 - 6:56we conducted a second study.
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6:56 - 6:58Again, we gathered objective measurements
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6:58 - 7:00of people's physical fitness,
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7:00 - 7:02measuring the circumference of their waist
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7:02 - 7:04and the circumference of their hips,
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7:04 - 7:07and we had them do
a few other tests of fitness. -
7:07 - 7:10Based on feedback that we gave them,
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7:10 - 7:12some of our participants told us
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7:12 - 7:14they're not motivated
to exercise any more. -
7:14 - 7:17They felt like they already met
their fitness goals -
7:17 - 7:19and they weren't going
to do anything else. -
7:19 - 7:21These people were not motivated.
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7:21 - 7:23Other people, though,
based on our feedback, -
7:23 - 7:25told us they were highly motivated
to exercise. -
7:25 - 7:28They had a strong goal
to make it to the finish line. -
7:28 - 7:31But again, before we had them
walk to the finish line, -
7:31 - 7:33we had them estimate the distance.
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7:33 - 7:35How far away was the finish line?
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7:35 - 7:37And again, like the previous study,
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7:37 - 7:39we found that waist-to-hip ratio
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7:39 - 7:41predicted perceptions of distance.
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7:41 - 7:44Unfit individuals saw
the distance as farther, -
7:44 - 7:47saw the finish line as farther away,
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7:47 - 7:49than people who were in better shape.
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7:49 - 7:51Importantly, though, this only happened
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7:51 - 7:53for people who were not motivated
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7:53 - 7:54to exercise.
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7:54 - 7:56On the other hand,
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7:56 - 7:59people who were highly motivated
to exercise -
7:59 - 8:01saw the distance as short.
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8:01 - 8:04Even the most out of shape individuals
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8:04 - 8:05saw the finish line
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8:05 - 8:07as just as close,
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8:07 - 8:09if not slightly closer,
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8:09 - 8:11than people who were in better shape.
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8:11 - 8:13So our bodies can change
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8:13 - 8:15how far away that finish line looks,
-
8:15 - 8:19but people who had committed
to a manageable goal -
8:19 - 8:21that they could accomplish
in the near future -
8:21 - 8:24and who believed that they were capable
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8:24 - 8:25of meeting that goal
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8:25 - 8:28actually saw the exercise as easier.
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8:29 - 8:31That led us to wonder,
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8:31 - 8:33is there a strategy that we could use
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8:33 - 8:35and teach people that would help
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8:35 - 8:37change their perceptions of the distance,
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8:37 - 8:40help them make exercise look easier?
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8:40 - 8:43So we turned
to the vision science literature -
8:43 - 8:45to figure out what should we do,
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8:45 - 8:47and based on what we read,
we came up with a strategy -
8:47 - 8:50that we called,
"Keep your eyes on the prize." -
8:50 - 8:52So this is not the slogan
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8:52 - 8:54from an inspirational poster.
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8:54 - 8:56It's an actual directive
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8:56 - 8:59for how to look around your environment.
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8:59 - 9:01People that we trained in this strategy,
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9:01 - 9:05we told them to focus their attention
on the finish line, -
9:05 - 9:07to avoid looking around,
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9:07 - 9:08to imagine a spotlight
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9:08 - 9:10was shining on that goal,
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9:10 - 9:12and that everything around it was blurry
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9:12 - 9:15and perhaps difficult to see.
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9:15 - 9:16We thought that this strategy
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9:16 - 9:19would help make the exercise look easier.
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9:19 - 9:21We compared this group
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9:21 - 9:22to a baseline group.
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9:22 - 9:24To this group we said,
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9:24 - 9:25just look around the environment
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9:25 - 9:27as you naturally would.
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9:27 - 9:28You will notice the finish line,
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9:28 - 9:30but you might also notice
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9:30 - 9:32the garbage can off to the right,
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9:32 - 9:35or the people and the lamp post
off to the left. -
9:35 - 9:37We thought that people
who used this strategy -
9:37 - 9:39would see the distance as farther.
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9:39 - 9:41So what did we find?
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9:41 - 9:43When we had them estimate the distance,
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9:43 - 9:45was this strategy successful
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9:45 - 9:47for changing their perceptual experience?
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9:47 - 9:48Yes.
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9:48 - 9:51People who kept their eyes on the prize
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9:51 - 9:53saw the finish line as 30 percent closer
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9:53 - 9:55than people who looked around
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9:55 - 9:57as they naturally would.
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9:57 - 9:58We thought this was great.
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9:58 - 10:00We were really excited because it meant
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10:00 - 10:02that this strategy helped make
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10:02 - 10:04the exercise look easier,
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10:04 - 10:05but the big question was,
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10:05 - 10:07could this help make exercise
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10:07 - 10:09actually better?
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10:09 - 10:10Could it improve the quality
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10:10 - 10:12of exercise as well?
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10:12 - 10:14So next, we told our participants,
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10:14 - 10:16you are going to walk to the finish line
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10:16 - 10:18while wearing extra weight.
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10:18 - 10:21We added weights to their ankles
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10:21 - 10:23that amounted to 15 percent
of their body weight. -
10:23 - 10:25We told them to lift their knees up high
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10:25 - 10:27and walk to the finish line quickly.
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10:27 - 10:30We designed this exercise in particular
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10:30 - 10:31to be moderately challenging
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10:31 - 10:33but not impossible,
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10:33 - 10:35like most exercises
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10:35 - 10:37that actually improve our fitness.
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10:37 - 10:40So the big question, then:
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10:40 - 10:42Did keeping your eyes on the prize
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10:42 - 10:44and narrowly focusing on the finish line
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10:44 - 10:47change their experience of the exercise?
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10:47 - 10:48It did.
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10:48 - 10:50People who kept their eyes on the prize
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10:50 - 10:52told us afterward that it required
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10:52 - 10:5417 percent less exertion
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10:54 - 10:56for them to do this exercise
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10:56 - 10:59than people who looked around naturally.
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10:59 - 11:02It changed their subjective experience
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11:02 - 11:03of the exercise.
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11:03 - 11:06It also changed the objective nature
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11:06 - 11:08of their exercise.
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11:08 - 11:10People who kept their eyes on the prize
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11:10 - 11:12actually moved 23 percent faster
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11:12 - 11:15than people who looked around naturally.
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11:15 - 11:18To put that in perspective,
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11:18 - 11:19a 23 percent increase
-
11:19 - 11:23is like trading in
your 1980 Chevy Citation -
11:23 - 11:26for a 1980 Chevrolet Corvette.
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11:28 - 11:30We were so excited by this,
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11:30 - 11:32because this meant that a strategy
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11:32 - 11:34that costs nothing,
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11:34 - 11:36that is easy for people to use,
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11:36 - 11:38regardless of whether they're in shape
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11:38 - 11:40or struggling to get there,
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11:40 - 11:41had a big effect.
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11:41 - 11:43Keeping your eyes on the prize
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11:43 - 11:46made the exercise look and feel easier
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11:46 - 11:48even when people were working harder
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11:48 - 11:50because they were moving faster.
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11:50 - 11:53Now, I know there's more to good health
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11:53 - 11:55than walking a little bit faster,
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11:55 - 11:58but keeping your eyes on the prize
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11:58 - 11:59might be one additional strategy
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11:59 - 12:01that you can use to help promote
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12:01 - 12:03a healthy lifestyle.
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12:03 - 12:05If you're not convinced yet
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12:05 - 12:08that we all see the world
through our own mind's eye, -
12:08 - 12:10let me leave you with one final example.
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12:10 - 12:14Here's a photograph of a beautiful street
in Stockholm, with two cars. -
12:14 - 12:15The car in the back looks much larger
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12:15 - 12:17than the car in the front.
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12:17 - 12:19However, in reality,
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12:19 - 12:21these cars are the same size,
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12:21 - 12:23but that's not how we see it.
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12:24 - 12:25So does this mean
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12:25 - 12:28that our eyes have gone haywire
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12:28 - 12:30and that our brains are a mess?
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12:30 - 12:32No, it doesn't mean that at all.
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12:32 - 12:35It's just how our eyes work.
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12:35 - 12:37We might see the world in a different way,
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12:37 - 12:39and sometimes that might not
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12:39 - 12:41line up with reality,
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12:41 - 12:43but it doesn't mean
that one of us is right -
12:43 - 12:45and one of us is wrong.
-
12:45 - 12:48We all see the world
through our mind's eye, -
12:48 - 12:50but we can teach ourselves
to see it differently. -
12:50 - 12:52So I can think of days
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12:52 - 12:54that have gone horribly wrong for me.
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12:54 - 12:57I'm fed up, I'm grumpy, I'm tired,
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12:57 - 12:59and I'm so behind,
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12:59 - 13:01and there's a big black cloud
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13:01 - 13:02hanging over my head,
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13:02 - 13:04and on days like these,
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13:04 - 13:06it looks like everyone around me
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13:06 - 13:08is down in the dumps too.
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13:08 - 13:10My colleague at work looks annoyed
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13:10 - 13:12when I ask for an extension on a deadline,
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13:12 - 13:14and my friend looks frustrated
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13:14 - 13:17when I show up late for lunch
because a meeting ran long, -
13:17 - 13:19and at the end of the day,
-
13:19 - 13:21my husband looks disappointed
-
13:21 - 13:23because I'd rather go to bed
than go to the movies. -
13:23 - 13:26And on days like these,
when everybody looks -
13:26 - 13:28upset and angry to me,
-
13:28 - 13:31I try to remind myself that there are
other ways of seeing them. -
13:31 - 13:34Perhaps my colleague was confused,
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13:34 - 13:36perhaps my friend was concerned,
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13:36 - 13:40and perhaps my husband
was feeling empathy instead. -
13:40 - 13:42So we all see the world
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13:42 - 13:44through our own mind's eye,
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13:44 - 13:46and on some days, it might look
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13:46 - 13:47like the world is a dangerous
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13:47 - 13:50and challenging and insurmountable place,
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13:50 - 13:52but it doesn't have to look
that way all the time. -
13:52 - 13:55We can teach ourselves
to see it differently, -
13:55 - 13:58and when we find a way to make the world
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13:58 - 14:00look nicer and easier,
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14:00 - 14:02it might actually become so.
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14:02 - 14:03Thank you.
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14:03 - 14:05(Applause)
- Title:
- Why some people find exercise harder than others | Emily Balcetis | TEDxNewYork
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Why do some people struggle more than others to keep off the pounds? Social psychologist Emily Balcetis shows research that addresses one of the many factors: Vision. In an informative talk, she shows how when it comes to fitness, some people quite literally see the world differently from others — and offers a surprisingly simple solution to overcome these differences. - Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:08