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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | 2022 Aug 4 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

smartphone wellbeing brainMany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced picture with some negative effects but also some positive effects.

This piece of research, just published, sounds counter-intuitive. Most of us would assume that using smartphones and other electronic devices decrease our ability to memorise things – quite simply because we do not need to remember so many things. We can simply look it up in a few seconds or store it on the phone.

So, what did these researchers around Dawa Dupont at the University College London find?

To measure this the researchers developed a simple task-based experiment using circles on a screen which had to be dragged to the left or right of the screen. These circles had rewards assigned to them and some were designated high-reward circles and low reward circles.

Participants could save the information in their smartphones and set reminders. Interestingly saving the information and setting reminders improved memory. This improved memory for the saved information but also for unsaved information as well (i.e. low value circles they had not saved). This shows that using a smartphone to “off-load” memory, in contrast to what we think it is doing, is actually improving memory!

However, ironically lower value information was remembered better so it does make sense to save high-value information and have a back up of this because digital devices can improve memory – but seem to shift it to prioritise less important information!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Dawa Dupont, Qianmeng Zhu, Sam J. Gilbert.
Value-based routing of delayed intentions into brain-based versus external memory stores.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2022
DOI: 10.1037/xge0001261

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...

How Meditation Helps Pain In Your Brain

How Meditation Helps Pain In Your Brain

by | 2022 Aug 3 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

meditation mindfulness brain

Yes, meditation can help with pain by changing your experience of it. I reported on that here. Another piece of research just published shows that how experienced meditators and novice meditators and their brains deal with pain slightly differently.

Joseph Wielgosz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Tor Wager, a neuroscientist at Dartmouth College, tried to identify signatures in the brain of pain and how this changes with mindfulness training.

They did this by recruiting participants undergoing an eight-week mindfulness training at the university. Pain was measured by a standardised process of applying heat to the arm. What they noticed is that in those undergoing mindfulness training signals related to the intensity of pain were reduced. That is a good thing.

However, what was intriguing is that they noticed that in those who had undergone more training and were more experienced meditators that peripheral messaging in the brain was different. That is pathways that seem to deal with attention and expectation were activated differently.

So, it seems that more experienced meditators’ brains deal with pain responses differently to novices. But of note is that in both groups pain was reduced through meditative techniques – and that is in itself a good sign and one that has been supported by other research.

Therefore, if you are in pain, do consider meditation as a viable route to pain management. With mostly positive side effects.

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Joseph Wielgosz, Tammi R.A. Kral, David M. Perlman, Jeanette A. Mumford, Tor D. Wager, Richard J. Davidson. 
Neural Signatures of Pain Modulation in Short-Term and Long-Term Mindfulness Training: A Randomized Active-Control Trial. 
American Journal of Psychiatry, 2022
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.21020145

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...

When Stress Is Good For Brain Functioning

When Stress Is Good For Brain Functioning

by | 2022 Aug 2 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

brain stress

Stress gets a bad rap – understandably it is a negative experience and has been shown over long periods of time, and with high intensity, to cause multiple negative outcomes, from mental health issues to physical sickness.

The question though is not is stress bad for you, but how much stress is bad for you. Indeed, we also talk about eustress, stress that pushes to higher performance. This is something researchers around Assaf Oshri at the University of Georgia wanted to investigate further and discovered that stress can be good for your brain.

To do this they analysed data from the US national connectome project which matches detailed brain scanning with various life factor questionnaires. In this they analysed the data of 1’200 young adults who had completed a stress questionnaire asking questions about stress factors and how controllable these were. They were then also assessed using multiple cognitive tests such as cognitive flexibility, task switching, and memory.

What did they find?

They found that stressful situations could improve cognitive abilities. But also this effectively worked as an inoculation against further mental disorders. So, stress can strengthen the cognitive and mental system and shows that stress can have multiple positive effects. However, chronic stress and very intense stress can become harmful and quickly become negative impairing cognitive ability and susceptibility to mental illness.

So, there is a fine line to walk between stress being positive and becoming negative. The researchers also note that age, genetic predisposition, and community support are also key contributing factors.

What this shows is that we shouldn’t demonise stress but embrace it but be cautious of having too much too often and be helpful to those with less natural disposition or supportive communities to deal with it.

The researchers can’t give a definitive answer to how much stress is good because it is so personalised. You will have to find that out yourself – but I would encourage embracing some stress and having a positive attitude towards it. Which will also help in working through it!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Assaf Oshri, Zehua Cui, Cory Carvalho, Sihong Liu. 
Is perceived stress linked to enhanced cognitive functioning and reduced risk for psychopathology? Testing the hormesis hypothesis. 
Psychiatry Research, 2022; 314: 114644
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114644

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...

Put Your Smartphone Down and Let your Mind Wander – You’ll Be Happier

Put Your Smartphone Down and Let your Mind Wander – You’ll Be Happier

by | 2022 Aug 1 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

day dreaming brain

There’s a lot been said about smartphone usage and how it can be used and abused. Most of this concern revolves around usage in children or teenagers, however, with some research saying there is less to worry about than many assume. But nevertheless, putting the smartphone, or other devices down seems to be a good idea.

This study just out though adds another interesting aspect. It revolves around affective forecasting which is our ability to predict how much we’ll enjoy something or not.

In these studies, led by Japanese researcher Aya Hatano, a total of 259 participants ranked how they thought they would enjoy just sitting and thinking by themselves. Sound like fun?

Well, not according to the participants, it does not sound like fun. And you will likely agree if you are like these participants. And that is probably one of the key reasons we tend to avoid sitting and thinking by ourselves and thereby seeking constant engagement with our devices.

However, the researchers found that people consistently reported this free thinking time as much more enjoyable than they had predicted. And this was irrespective of whether they were left to think by themselves for three minutes or 20 minutes, in a room with no stimulation, or asked during this free thinking or at the end of the period.

This is important for a number of reasons. One we could be distracting ourselves at the cost of something that we actually enjoy more than we think. But a lot of other research has also shown that this sort of free thinking is beneficial for multiple reasons such as helping with problem solving and creativity. It could also rest the brain and allow it to perform better when it has to perform.

All in this shows that sometimes putting own your devices and just letting your mind wander and immersing yourself in your own thoughts is probably a good thing for you – and you’ll enjoy it more than you think. The same probably applies to children as well!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Aya Hatano, Cansu Ogulmus, Kou Murayama and Hiroaki Shigemasu. 
Thinking About Thinking: People Underestimate How Enjoyable and Engaging Just Waiting Is. 
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2022
DOI: 10.1037/xge0001255

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...

The Amazing Impact Of Reaching Out To Your Old Friends

The Amazing Impact Of Reaching Out To Your Old Friends

by | 2022 Jul 29 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

friend social brain

A few weeks ago a friend I hadn’t seen for about 10 years sent me a message and asked if I had time to meet up. I was elated. “Sure,” I immediately messaged back, “when and where?!”

It was a surprise, but a really pleasant surprise, I was excited, elated, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing him again, catching up on all the latest news and reminiscing on old times. We probably all know that. And this is precisely what a group of researchers found out led by Peggy Liu in a study published by the American Psychological Association.

But the interesting thing is not that we enjoy reconnecting with old friends is that there are different perceptions. Liu et al. ran series of experiments to judge how people felt being reached out to and found that:

  • Those reaching out significantly underestimated the positive impact
  • Those being reached out to really appreciated being reached out to
  • The greater the surprise the greater the impact
  • The greater the previous connection the greater the appreciation

This is important because having lived in different places and also knowing a lot of people who have moved to different places it is easy to lose touch but also to feel trepidation at contacting old friends. This shows that you should do it. Those surprise contacts are really appreciated – and both of you will reap the benefits of this.

Of course, we also know that social connections are very good for mental and physical health so this also shouldn’t be underestimated and though this is not the same as having good social connections in everyday life, this does give a personal boost to mood and satisfaction.

So, next time you remember an old friend, just reach out to them, I am sure it will be appreciated, and according to this research, a lot more than you might think at first!

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Liu, Peggy J., SoYon Rim, Lauren Min, and Kate E. Min. 
The Surprise of Reaching Out: Appreciated More than We Think. 
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Forthcoming), 2022
DOI: 10.1037/pspi0000402

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...

Really? Belief In Conspiracies Not Increasing

Really? Belief In Conspiracies Not Increasing

by | 2022 Jul 28 | Public, Quick Hits

Quick Hits
Daily brief research updates from the cognitive sciences

conspiracy brain

We may feel like we’re in an age of conspiracy theories, that social media is turbocharging the wild and wacky theories, and the so-called information bubbles are sending people down conspiracy rabbit holes that the never get out of. I certainly know a few people who seem to have fallen prey to this. Which is why this piece of research caught my eye and initially sounded wrong.

So, belief in conspiracies is not increasing, really?

Yes, really. This is what Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami reported in a recently published paper. He and fellow collaborators came to this conclusion after four separate analyses in the USA and Europe.

    • Analysed whether beliefs in certain conspiracy theories – including theories related to COVID-19 and the Kennedy assassination – have increased among Americans.
    • Evaluated beliefs in conspiracy theories, including, for example, that human-driven global warming is a hoax, in six European countries.
    • Evaluated Americans’ beliefs in which specific groups are conspiring.
    • And finally, measured general lines of thought in the U.S. related to belief in conspiracy theories.

They found that there was no evidence that conspiracy beliefs have increased over time – this includes, surprisingly, those related to COVID-19 and Q-Anon. This seems to fly in the face of what we experience but we may be forgetting that though social media may increase exposure to conspiracy theories, it also increases our own exposure to these so we may, because of the attention, falsely believe that these are on the rise.

That is comforting – obviously some conspiracies come and recede over time (and I’ve fallen for a few myself). But there is no general increase in conspiracy thinking.

However, what is concerning is that there appears to be a baseline of belief in conspiracy theories – and this ain’t changing.

So that’s good news, no increase, and bad news, the beliefs are here to stay (in different forms).

And this was written by a real human being who cares about the state of the world.

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Andy Habermacher

Andy Habermacher

Andy is author of leading brains Review, Neuroleadership, and multiple other books. He has been intensively involved in writing and research into neuroleadership and is considered one of Europe’s leading experts. He is also a well-known public speaker, speaking on the brain and human behaviour.

Andy is also a masters athlete (middle distance running) and competes regularly at international competitions (and holds a few national records in his age category).

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Reference

Joseph Uscinski, Adam Enders, Casey Klofstad, Michelle Seelig, Hugo Drochon, Kamal Premaratne, Manohar Murthi.
Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time?
PLOS ONE, 2022; 17 (7): e0270429
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270429

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Smartphones Improve Your Memory

Smartphones Improve Your Memory

by | Aug 4, 2022 | ,

Quick HitsDaily brief research updates from the cognitive sciencesany people believe that using smartphones and other electronic devices is ruining our memories and ability to think or simply use our brains. Research has shown a more nuanced...