Effects of Google on Memory - Research Paper Example

The research entails 183 students who answered questions, which were easy or hard according to the participants.  Data analysis was conducted and the findings indicated that people relied mostly on computers as their external memory. It was concluded that people use their memory and think less since they have the internet readily available.

Introduction

Many scientists have been conducting numerous researches on the effects of the internet on human social lives and many of them agree that the internet is not only changing our social lives but also the way our memory is functioning. According to Wegner’s research on Google's effects on Memory, (2011), people tend to remember less because of the availability of the internet at their fingertips (Wegner, 1986). A study was conducted using right-handed and left-handed males and females. It was concluded that there was a similar result for right-handed participants. However, as for the left-handed females, there was a slight variation of 10.4%.

This indicates that language is not well lateralized in females. The study also included age. The participants, who were 23 years old and above, showed a 100% correlation. It was concluded that as one increased his/her age the more he/she became dependent on the internet to find answers to questions. A total of 157 females participated in the course while 26 were males. The courses under study were Bachelor of Psychology represented by 118 participants.\bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Commerce (HRM&IR) double degree represented by 20 participants. 43 participants were from Bachelor of Science (Speech Pathology) while only 2 were doing Master of Speech Pathology. The total number of participants was 183. 

Hypothesis The study was aimed at replicating Wegner and Sparrow's research on how Google affects memory. The study included a measure of handedness for both males and females. The study also emphasized on age and courses taken by the participants. Internet dependence increased hypothesized with age. It was also concluded that the mean right-hand balancing time for the right-handed males was shorter. Men did not show any effect on the left-hand balancing times. However, for the females, there was a slight variation in the left-handedness mean reaction time. The right-handedness reaction time for the females showed no variation. The independent variable includes the males who show the same mean for right and left-handedness balancing times. The dependent variable is the female participants who show a shorter mean balancing time for left-handedness. 

Method The study included 183 participants. 157 females participated in the course while 26 were males. The courses under study were Bachelor of Psychology represented by 118 participants .\bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Commerce (HRM&IR) double degree represented by 20 participants. 43 participants were from Bachelor of Science (Speech Pathology) while only 2 were doing Master of Speech Pathology.   Materials Handedness was determined using a questionnaire that had trivia questions, which were hard and simple. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Another procedure included the use of the Stroop task where the participant’s reaction was tested depending on their ability to select colors.

Procedure The participants answered different samples of questions randomly. Their responses were measured depending on the time taken to respond. There was also a measure of how and where the participants would want to get their answers through either thinking or consulting the internet. 

Results As already hypothesized the results indicate that men did not show any effect for the left-hand balancing times. However, for the females, there was a slight variation in the left-handedness mean reaction time. The right-handedness reaction time for the females showed no variation. Computer dependence increases with age. The standard deviation according to the results was 0.239. The reaction time in general had a mean of 0.82. The mean difference was 0.01seconds while the standard deviation was 0.113 seconds. The total number remained at 183 none was excluded. This data is available in the appendix. The results also show a sig (2-tail) of 0.296. According to Sparrow et al, 2011, this value is less than 0.05. We can therefore conclude that there is no big difference in the mean reaction time for computer and general words. The t-test value was 1.049 and a 95% confidence value.   Discussion Most people are faced with the challenge of thinking and consulting their memory due to the itching desire to consult the internet (Peltokorpi, 2008). When faced with hard questions, people tend to think of the internet for consultation. The ability of people to depend on other people or sources of information is known as transactive memory. The research indicates that people tend to remember the folders where they stored information than the actual information (Carr, 2008). 

The use of computers and the internet continues to influence our minds. The brain is determined to adapt to new ways of accessing information. People have failed to store most of the information in their brains and have resorted to storing most of their information in external memory in the form of computers. This is evident by the research that indicates that people remember the folders where the information is stored more clearly than the actual information. Participants who do not use computers as their source of memory prove to have acquired a sharp memory status.

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