Chapter 3: Cognitive processing in the digital world HL Flashcards
Effects of interaction with digital technologies on our cognitive processes (Neuroplasticity and modern digital technology)
Is our mnemonic ability improving (enhanced semantic processing)?
Is our mnemonic ability deteriorating (over-reliance on technology)?
Can the skills we acquire in interaction with digital technology be easily transferred to other situations?
Digital technology and cognitive skills (Rosser et al (2007))
Some research studies show that interaction with digital technology has the potential to improve cognitive processing skills:
Rosser et al (2007); laparoscopic surgeons who played video games for more than three hours a week made 37% fewer errors in surgery and performed surgery 27% faster.
Not measured in real surgeries but simulations and drills as part of the training they received.
Playing video games was assessed through 1) questionnaires (experience) and b) playing three video games for 25 min and evaluating the total score (mastery)
Explanation of findings: playing video games leads to the improvement of fine motor skills, reaction time and attention. These skills are transferred to a different situation.
Digital technology and cognitive skills (Small and Vorgan (2008))
Small and Vorgan (2008); excessive exposure to digital technology results in negative long-term effects, including addiction to the technology, reduced judgment, and decision-making abilities and diminished capacity for delay of gratification.
Correlations between video gameplay and lower grades, higher aggression, decreased prosocial behavior (NB – not causation!)
Sanchez (2012)
Sanchez (2012); are there positive effects of video games on science learning?
It had already been established that some visuospatial games (e.g. Tetris or FPS games) improve performance on visuospatial ability tests (however, tests are very similar to the games). Is the skill transferable to a wider domain?
60 university students, randomly divided into 2 groups
Exp group: played Halo (FPS game)
Control group: played Word Whomp (creating words)
After playing, read a complex text about plate tectonics (3,500 words), then having to write an essay where they applied the knowledge.
Independent scorers assessed how well the essays demonstrated an understanding of plate tectonics.
Results: Participants from the exp group scored better.
Conclusion: spatial training with the use of video games can potentially improve understanding of spatial relations.
Nb. It only showed a short-term effect.
Virtual reality simulation: intentionally beneficial use of digital technology (Fery and Ponserre (2001))
Using computer simulators with the aim of training new cognitive skills (eg flying, surgery, military operations)
Fery and Ponserre (2001): computer simulator and golf-playing skills
62 right-handed men with no prior golf experience
Exp group 1: The learning group; simulation with the intent to improve golf putting
Exp group 2: the entertainment group; simulation to simply enjoy the game
Control group: no simulation
Results: golf putting improved in both exp groups 1 and 2, but the improvement was most significant in group 1.
Conclusion: video game simulations can improve golf-putting skills if:
- They provide a reliable demonstration (credibility)
- The user wants to use the game to make progress in real life (motivation)
Induced media multi-tasking (Moreno et al (2012))
Interacting with the modern digital environment we carry out many more tasks simultaneously than we used to.
Moreno et al (2012); aim = getting a statistical snapshot of their everyday activities.
experience sampling method = an intensive longitudinal research procedure for studying what people do, feel, and think during their daily lives, It consists in asking individuals to provide systematic self-reports at random occasions during the waking hours of a normal week
Sent six text messages at random times every day to 189 university students
Results: more than half the time when the students were using the internet, they were multi-tasking. The most popular off-task was social networking.
E: Naturalistic setting
How does this increased multi-tasking affect our cognitive processes? (Rosen, Carrier and Cheever (2013))
Rosen, Carrier and Cheever (2013) observed 263 students studying for 15 min in their homes. Noted technologies present, computer windows open in the learning environment prior to studying and conducted a minute-by-minute assessment of on-task behavior and off-task technology use.
Trained student observers ( N= 128) with observation forms; part 1: pre-observation data, and part 2: minute-by-minute checklist for the observation. Each observer chose 1-3 participants to observe; someone they knew well (more natural)
After the observation students were given questionnaires assessing their attitude towards technology + asked to indicate their current grade point average
Results:
- Participants were only capable of maintaining on-task behavior for a short time (app 6 min). Max 10 min in total on-task behavior.
- Four variables predicted reduced on-task behavior: technology available at the start, stretching/walking, texting, and Facebook use
- Those students who accessed Facebook at least once during the 15-min study period had lower GPAs.
Possible explanations: the switch from studying to Facebook may be caused by the emotional gratification of Facebook interaction.
NB. Correlational study.
What can be done to compensate for the negative effects of technology? (Rosen et al (2011))
Rosen et al (2011): metacognitive strategies
[Metacognition = The ability to consciously monitor and regulate your cognitive processes]
Aimed to experimentally examine the impact of text-message interruptions on memory recall in a classroom environment.
Procedure: students were viewing a videotaped lecture and received a small, medium or a large number of text messages during the lecture.
DV = the performance on the test after the lecture
Results: the more text messages, the worse test performance.
However: this was mediated by response delay: students who replied immediately scored significantly worse than those who chose to read and respond some time later.
Conclusion: you can consciously counterbalance the automatic tendency to get distracted
Loh and Kanai (2014)
Loh and Kanai (2014) investigated the neurological correlates of media multitasking.
Correlated scores on the media multitasking index (MMI), a self-report measure, with fMRI data from 75 healthy adults.
Results: MMI scores were negatively correlated with grey matter density in the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) (meaning that individuals who reported higher amounts of media multi-tasking had smaller grey matter density in the ACC (which is involved in cognitive control) => ppl who engage in heavy media multi-tasking demonstrate poorer cognitive control abilities.
E:
NB ACC is also linked to motivation and emotion processing
NB correlational study
NB low generalizability bëcause of sample
Empathy
the processing of other people’s emotion that helps us understand what they feel; influences our actions.
Carrier et al (2015)
Carrier et al (2015) set up an anonymous online questionnaire. Analyzing correlation patterns, they found that online activity that leads to face-to-face communication increased empathy, whereas online activity that did not reduced it. Video games reduced real-world empathy, irrespective of how much time spent on face-to-face communication. The scores for virtual empathy were lower than real-life empathy, because of the lack of non-verbal clues e.g. gestures and expressions. However, online interaction does not necessarily displace face-to-face communication. Researchers concluded that the negative effect of digital technology on empathy should be attributed to online activities that are not associated with face-to-face communication. Limitations: the study was conducted at a time when online interaction was minimum and not for establishing new friendships. Additionally, the study is a questionnaire; participants respond however they please, which can lead to false conclusions (self-report).
Swing et al (2010)
Swing et al (2010) conducted a longitudinal study in which a correlation between gaming and reduced classroom attention was observed. children were 6-12 years old, followed for 13 months with 4 measurements. The study showed playing games at the beginning of class reduces classroom activity and attention problems. More than two hours a day is more likely to be associated with attention problems. Most research is not longitudinal and therefore inconclusive.
Howard-Jones (2011)
though newer studies also show that the use of online communication for establishing new friendships is associated with lower empathy, the studies of the time were conducted at too early a stage of the digital world; online communication was just used for supporting existing friendships (Howard-Jones (2011)). Now, everything is reversed, which could explain why more research is positive today.
Frenda et al (2013)
(negative effect) [false memories/reconstructive memory]
A: to investigate how easily people remember false memories as spread through fake news.
M: independent measures design, questionnaire/survey.
P: Sampled approx. 5000 readers of the Slate Magazine. The participants were from a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and political backgrounds. Participants were given 5 photos, of which one was fabricated. All photos were given a caption, the fake photo receiving an inaccurate caption. All photos included prominent US political figures, and participants were required to state whether or not they remembering the pictured events occurring. Afterwards, they were informed that one of the photos were fabricated, and they then had to identify which one.
R: 63% correctly identified the false event post-debriefing. 53% of those who reported remembering the false event correctly identified it as false post-debriefing. 24% reported remembering the false event, and could not identify it as false post-debriefing. Researchers also found that false memory varied with political orientation.
C: Two conclusions: false memory can be implanted through fabricated photos; social groups (and political orientation) may influence which fabricated photographs are supposedly remembered.
E: confounding variables – not much known about participants. Representative sample? Self-report.
