Digital world Flashcards
(7 cards)
cognitive offloading
reliance of individuals on digital devices has increased to reduce mental effort required for a task
digital amnesia
forgetting information because it is readily available online
Rosser et al (2007)
Aim - to investigate whether playing videogames results in better surgery performance in surgeons
Methodology:
- 33 laparascopic surgeons, correlational
- as a part of regular training, surgeons did a series of drills - researchers measured completion time and no of errors
- self-report questionairre used to assess videogame experience outside of research
- participants asked to play 3 games for 25 minutes, total score obtained was used to indicate game mastery, games selected required fast reaction and precise movement
Results:
- video game master correlated with less time and fewer errors in drills
- surgeons who played video games for more than 3 hours a week make 37% fewer errors in drills and performed surgery 27% faster than non playing colleagues
Conclusion - playing videogames improves fine motor skills and attention through transfer of skillset
Disadvantages- correlational, could be that those best at surgery happen to be better at gaming, opportunity sample was very small, can not be generalized
Small and Vorgan (2008)
Aim - to investigate impact of digital technology on alter brain function and structure
Methodology:
- fMRI brains scan used to compare experienced and inexperienced internet users during online tasks
- also conducted clinical observations
Results:
- experienced internet users showed higher activity in prefrontal cortex
- after 5 days of training, inexperienced users showed increased neural activity indication rapid adaptivity and and plasticity
- digital multitasking and overstimulation may come at the consequence of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills
Conclusions - technology rewires brain, enhancing some skills but potentially weakening others
Limitations - small sample size, some claims are speculative, no long term data
Loh and Kanai (2015)
Aim - to investigate the pyschological correlation of media muti-tasking
Method:
- correlation study, questionairre and fMRI
- 75 healthy adults
- Questionairre; section 1 - participants report how many hours a week they spend on media, section 2 - matrix that involved participants indication how they simultaneously used all other mediums while using a primary medium
- participants then underwent fMRI that detected grey matter with anterior cingulate cortex
Results:
- higher media multi-tasking associated with smaller anterior cingulate cortex (cognitive control, active in tasks that require selective attention, emotional and motivational regulation), no other parts of brain had significant ocrrelation with media multi-tasking index
Conclusion - suggests that people prone to media multi-tasking demonstrate reduced cognitive control over their attention and a reduced ability to regulate emotion
Limitations - correlational, bias - participants were paid for participation, social desirability
induced media multi-tasking
interacting with the modern digital environment, we carry out many more tasks simultaneously than we used to
rosen et al (2011)
Aim - to examine direct impact of text message interruptions on memory recall in classroom environment
Methodology:
- 185 college student (25 average age), 80% females)
- viewed 30 minute videotaped lecture and some people would receive receive messages from the researchers to which they should respond promptly
- they would be tested on the material following the lecture
- asked to list information about text messages (time, content, no of words)
- 3 groups: no text, 4-text, and 8-text
Results:
- test score negatively correlated with no of words sent/received
- students who waited before replying performed better than students who didn’t
Conclusion - peopel consciously override tendency to get distracted and switch to off-task behavior by delaying response to the distraction,
Limitations - ageist, difficult to generalize
