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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904716604576542593019231326.html
Learning How to Focus on Focus: In an age of information overload, simply paying attention is the hardest thing
by JONAH LEHRER
Wall Street Journal
SEPTEMBER 3, 2011

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Though our attention will always be a scare resource, easily steamrolled by the world's abundant distractions, it's possible to improve our focus, to become better at dealing with the excess of information.

The key is strengthening what psychologists call "executive function," a collection of cognitive skills that allow us to exert control over our thoughts and impulses. When we resist the allure of a sweet treat, or do homework instead of watch television, or concentrate for hours on a difficult problem, we are relying on these lofty mental talents. What we want to do in the moment, and what we want to want, are often very different things. Executive function helps to narrow the gap.

Researchers have found that varying personal levels of executive function have a profound impact on nearly every aspect of life. Consider a recent study led by Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffit of Duke University that tracked 1,037 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand. The researchers gave the kids a barrage of mental tests and then kept meticulous records of their behavior as they matured into teenagers and adults.

Children who could better regulate their impulses and attention were four times less likely to have a criminal record, three times less likely to be addicted to drugs and half as likely to become single parents. In many instances, the ability to utilize executive control was more predictive of adult outcomes than either IQ scores or socioeconomic status.

But here's the good news: Executive function can be significantly improved, especially if interventions begin at an early age. In the current issue of Science, Adele Diamond, a neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia, reviews the activities that can reliably boost these essential mental skills.

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The paper co-authored by Diamond, "Interventions shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4�12 Years Old", is at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3159917/ . The cited paper by Caspi and Moffit may be "A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety", available at http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.short .