How to Use Movies to Improve Executive Functioning Skills

The name of this Psychology Today blog is “Screen Play," which might lead one to believe that it’s about movies and television. But the focus is more on the screens kids are using today—their cell phones, tablets, and computers, and what they consume on these devices.

Of course, kids now watch most of their movies, video, and TV shows on their own screens. Given the enormous amount of time that kids and teens spend on their screens, many psychologists and educators are attempting to find ways to make screen time more productive or at least “digitally nutritious."

One strategy that captures kids where they’re at is to use movies to improve executive functions. Movies have often been used by therapists to help patients change how they think. For kids, it may be more useful to use movies as tools for examining how characters make decisions (good and bad) and use skills such as focus, persistence, flexibility, and planning in overcoming obstacles.

Watching movies with your child can be digitally nutritious.

Source: Unsplash/AlexanderDummer

Parents and teachers are accustomed to using daily life experiences as a training ground for improving executive functioning skills. Human interaction— observing others and interacting with peers or family members provide an environment rich in opportunities to practice executive functions such as self-control, awareness of others, and problem-solving. However, some children require a more direct instructional approach to master executive functioning skills where modeling, observation, discussion, and practical opportunities are necessary to develop these skills. Movies allow children and their parents to jointly become observers of others in their practice of executive function skills.

Movies have many other characteristics that make them great teaching tools for executive functions. These include:

1. The multimedia component that engages viewers, keeping kids focused and attentive
2. The ability to share the movie experience readily with family and friends
3. Repetition, as kids will watch a movie they enjoy many times
4. Themes that can be seen across movies, as children can learn about the same skills from many movies, increasing opportunities for transfer

4 ways to use movies to improve executive functions

Family movie night. The best way to capitalize on your kids watching a movie is to watch it with them. Set aside one night a week to watch a popular movie that provides some underlying lessons and models for improving executive functioning and other social-emotional learning skills. Some family-friendly examples from 2021 are The Mitchells vs. the Machines (flexibility), Raya and the Last Dragon (sustained attention and social thinking), and Space Jam: A New Legacy (task persistence and focus). Engage in a family discussion about important themes in the movie. You won’t even need to prompt your child with executive functioning problems, they’ll naturally want to get involved.

Go to the movie theater. While the vast majority of movies are watched at home these days, one way to emphasize the importance of a movie is to make it an event. Go to the theater, get some candy and popcorn, and be sure to discuss the movie before and after watching it. Encourage your child to tell other family members about their experience at the movie theater and use that as an opportunity to talk about some of the executive function and problem-solving skills that were evident in the movie.

Watch some classic kids' movies together. Talk about what makes the characters meaningful to you and what kind of journeys they take. This conversation should give you many opportunities to bring up skills and attributes of movie characters and how they relate to formal executive functions, critical thinking, and emotional literacy skills. Here are some classic recommendations with descriptions.

The Hunger Games

• Middle school and up (violent scenes)
• The Hunger Games tells the story of a futuristic country where representatives from each “district” must battle in The Hunger Games for their government’s amusement. Katniss, the main character, must use careful planning and organization skills in order to survive the games.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (and any of the Harry Potter movies)

• Middle school and up
• In the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry finds himself a participant in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a deathly competition among representatives from three wizarding schools. In order to make it through the challenges alive, Harry must strategize plans and approaches with the help of his advisor, Professor Mad-Eye Moody.

Executive Function Essential Reads

Can Video Games Improve Processing Speed in Children?

The Link Between Cardio and Cognitive Performance

Frozen

• Preschool and up
• A classic, Frozen is more than a cute Disney movie. It can also teach children about managing their feelings, impulses, and actions. Elsa must learn to harness her magical powers in order to live alongside her sister, Ana, and the rest of her friends and family.

Laugh and learn. Watch a comedy where poor executive function skills cause problems for the main characters. Many comedies make light of a character’s lack of self-awareness, working memory, time management, focus, planning, or organization creating or exacerbating difficult situations. Not only can this provide a clear guide of “what not to do" but it can also help children who have trouble being objective loosen up and laugh at themselves. Lessons gleaned from this kind of comedy are most valuable if you have an opportunity to talk about them after watching. Fortunately, most comedies end on a positive note, so either some good decision-making or serendipity allows the main characters to be happy and successful in the end.