People use search engines on the Internet as "external memory"

"With the growing popularity of search engines is changing our minds work - says American psychologist Betsy Sparrow - Brain used to rely on the Internet like this, we get used to rely on the memory of a friend, relative or colleague. We remember less information itself, but more - on where the information can be found ».

Conducted Sparrow study shows that we can easily forget things, if you are sure that they can be found on the Internet, and vice versa, better remember the information that is unlikely to be available online. According to her, the Internet has become the main form of "transaktivnoy memory" collective storage system with individual access, which is characterized by the fact that we have a better idea how to access it, rather than what it is filled.

Operation Sparrow and her colleagues consisted of four experiments. In the first group of volunteers were asked to respond to a set of fairly complex questions of a general nature, and to answer some apparently could turn to the Internet, whereas information on other issues there clearly was. Indeed, in the first case, people showed great difficulties in finding the answer than the second - they seemed for a while "hanging out" mentally tortured because of the unavailability of the search engines, which would allow to quickly and easily find the right option.

The second experiment suggested that the volunteers are not questions, and a set of claims that should have been easy to read. In this same group said that they will be able in the future to look back on the list, and the other - that this possibility they will not. Then those and other checked how well they remembered the statement read. And of course, the first group has kept this information is much worse than the second.

Read more about the research can be found in the magazine "Popular Mechanics».

via factroom.ru