Internet use affects memory, study finds

The widespread use of search engines and online databases has affected the way people remember information.

The scientists, an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia, wondered whether people were more likely to remember information that could be easily retrieved (вилучати) from a computer.

Dr. Sparrow and her collaborators, Daniel M. Wegner and Jenny Liu staged four different memory experiments. In one, participants typed 40 bits of trivia (дрібниці). Half of the subjects believed the information would be saved in the computer; the other half believed the items they typed would be erased.

The subjects were significantly more likely to remember information if they thought they would not be able to find it later. “Participants did not make the effort to remember when they thought they could later look up the trivia statement they had read,” the authors write.

A second experiment was aimed at determining whether computer accessibility affects precisely what we remember. “If asked the question whether there are any countries with only one color in their flag, for example,” the researchers wrote, “do we think about flags — or immediately think to go online to find out?”

In this case, participants were asked to remember both the trivia statement itself and which of five computer folders it was saved in. The researchers were surprised to find that people seemed better able to recall the folder.

The experiment explores an aspect of what is known as transactive memory — the notion that we rely on our family, friends and co-workers as well as reference material to store information for us.

The Internet’s effects on memory are still largely unexplored, Dr. Sparrow said, adding that her experiments had led her to conclude that the Internet has become our primary external storage system.

“Human memory,” she said, “is adapting to new communications technology.”

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CITY LIVING AFFECTS YOUR BRAIN, RESEARCHERS FIND

The brains of people living in cities operate differently from those in rural areas, according to a study.

Previous research has shown that people living in cities have a 21% increased risk of anxiety disorders and a 39% increased risk of mood disorders. In addition, the incidence of schizophrenia is twice as high in those born and brought up in cities.

By 2050, almost 70% of people are predicted to be living in urban areas. On average, city dwellers are "wealthier and receive improved sanitation, nutrition, contraception and healthcare", wrote the researchers in Nature. But urban living is also associated with "increased risk for chronic disorders, a more demanding and stressful social environment and greater social disparities. The biological components of this complex landscape of risk and protective factors remain largely uncharacterised."

In an accompanying commentary in Nature, Dr Daniel Kennedy and Prof Ralph Adolphs, both at the California Institute of Technology, said that there are wide variations in a people's preferences for, and ability to cope with, city life.

"Some thrive in New York city; others would happily change it for a desert island. Psychologists have found that a substantial factor accounting for this variability is the perceived degree of control that people have over their daily lives. Social threat and lack of control are all likely candidates for mediating (спричиняти) the stressful effects of city life, and probably account for much of the individual differences."

Working out what factors in a city cause the stress in the first place is the next step in trying to understand the mental health effects of urban areas. He said the research could be used, in future, to inform city design.

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NTELLIGENCE AND IQ

What is intelligence? What affects intelligence more: environment or heredity? Does intelligence mean success in life?

Psychologists have made tests called IQ tests to measure intelligence. Intelligence tests had their beginning in the schools, in the early 1900s in France when a compulsory education program was initiated.

This test contained problems arranged in the order of their difficulty and assessing a wide range of abilities. The test contained some sensory-perceptual tests, but the emphasis was on verbal items assessing comprehension, reasoning, and judgment.

Subsequent revisions were released in 1908 and 1911. These scales gained wide acceptance in France and were soon translated and standardized in the United States by Louis Terman at Stanford University. Terman's work resulted in the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test (1916), which has been revised numerous times and continues to be a prominent intelligence test used in the early 2000s.

There are other intelligence tests. Some of them placed more emphasis on verbal and quantitative abilities while others placed more emphasis on visual-spatial and/or abstract problem-solving abilities. As a general rule, research has shown with considerable consistency that contemporary intelligence tests are good predictors of academic success.

It is difficult to define intelligence, but psychologists try to measure it with IQ tests. These tests are often very helpful because they identify students who may have problems or who may be very intelligent. However, the scores may not be easy to understand. People must be very careful in using the scores. Careful use of the scores can provide a lot of information. Misuse of the scores may cause many problems.

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MAYA CULTURE

The first traces of the Mayan civilization date back to the Preclassic period around 1,800 BC in northern Guatemala, though some settlements are thought to be over 6,000 years old.

The Mayans were the only ancient American civilization with a recorded history of their own. They recorded on lithic monuments, pottery, papers, and skins, the grand events of their abstruse (складний для розуміння) culture. Though their hieroglyphs remain to be totally deciphered, we may soon have the benefit of viewing an advanced civilization.

The Maya flourished thanks to a deep understanding of their geographic setting, and surprising adaptations to the environmental conditions that surrounded them. They conceived the world as a quadrangular space that was ordered and measured at the time of creation.

The ancient Maya culture was the more advanced in the American continent, moreover, the World of the Maya has many faces: some of them ancient, as found carved on Sculptures, paintings and towering temples, others as modern as those of the people who live in Guatemala today. They are the descendants of the ancient Maya people.

Guatemala is a showcase (музей) of natural history and dramatic landscapes, with 37 volcanoes, beautiful lakes, tropical rain forest, dense pine forest, and more, but its greatest asset is the rich and colorful traditions of the various ethnic communities, 23 in total. Each group has its own language, its special folklore, yet they share a common ancestral heritage.

Most archaeologists agree that ancient Guatemala was the cultural and commerce center of the Americas, and that the Mayan civilization, is the jewel of all ancient American cultures, and one of the greatest civilizations the world has ever known.