I’m Going to Start Self-Distancing from Myself

The WSJ had an interesting story over the weekend about the power of self-distancing (just a fancy way of saying “pretending”).

The reporter, Alison Gopnik, cited two research studies that looked at what happened to young children’s performance working on a task when they would pretend to be a superhero, like Batman or Dora the Explorer.

In the first study, five year-olds working on a set of problems showed an improvement in executive function (working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control) when they pretended they were a superhero. Three year-olds did not show any such improvement.

In the second study, a follow-up to the first one, 4 and 6 year olds were asked to complete a repetitive task for 10 min while having the option to take breaks by playing an extremely attractive video game. Across both ages, children who impersonated an exemplar other—in this case a character, such as Batman—spent the most time working.

The results suggest that pretending is a useful tool to for helping children with self-control and will power (persistence).

I can see lots of immediate uses for this knowledge in my own life:

Next time I am doing my math homework, I think I’ll dress up as Superman.
When it’s time to cut the grass, I think I’ll don a Batman outfit. (I should be able to pick up these outfits at a bargain now that Halloween has passed.)
Next time I have to teach the difference between debits and credits, I’ll pretend I’m Luca Pacioli, the creator of double-entry bookkeeping in the 15th century. (I’ll wear my black graduation robe for this one, since Pacioli was also a Franciscan friar.)
Next time I make a green smoothie I’ll wear a chef’s hat and pretend I’m Emeril Lagasse; I’m sure it will taste so much better.
And next time I’m out on a date with my wife, I’ll pretend that I’m Bruce Springsteen. My wife LOVES Bruce… (I think the red bandana and jeans jacket look should do the trick).