S. Shimojo et al. (Eds.): HSI 2005, LNCS 3597, pp. 326 – 335, 2005. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005

Correlations Between Digital Tools and Humans Cognitive Processes

Lucy García, Miguel Nussbaum, and Joselyn Bolton

Departamento de Ciencia de la Computación, Escuela de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Santiago, Chile

{lcgarcia, mn, jbolton}@ing.puc.cl

Abstract. Chat is one of the Internet’s services that have had a particularly strong influence on young people, and its effects on their skills development is worthy of investigation. This study focuses on the possible consequences of the use of Chat on cognitive processes. More specifically, it evaluates the impact of frequent Chat use on the development of memory and on cognitive style. This research, exploratory in nature, began with an instrument for classifying 125 students in 5th to 8th grade at schools in Chile, according to their Chat use. We then applied a memory and attention test based on the Digit Span Subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, followed by a Group Embedded Fig-ures Test to evaluate cognitive styles. The results show that there are significant differences on both tests between frequent and infrequent users of Chat services.

1 Introduction

In recent years the impact of technological progress has been felt most strongly in the area of information and communication technologies (ICTs). With greatly increased power and lower costs, ICTs have become ubiquitous in business and industry and have also penetrated a high percentage of the world’s households, giving rise to the so-called Information Society [2].

Today it is impossible to ignore the changes in people’s lives brought about by the Internet and its many tools. The new ways of relating with each other, the breakdown of geographical barriers, and the instantaneity of Internet-based activities are just the most evident examples of this [2], [3]. One aspect of the Internet that has caught the attention of users generally and young people in particular is the various Chat ser-vices.1 A recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project [10] found that in the U.S. alone, more than 53 million adults, or 43% of Internet users, use instant messaging (IM) programs. The study also showed that these systems are rapidly pene-trating American workplaces, with 21% of users employing them in their jobs, and

1 Synchronous computer-mediated text-based communication, whose main purpose is to allow

users to converse over the Internet. The most common examples are Internet Relay Chat (IRC), WebChats and instant messaging, the latter provided by various systems currently on the market.

Correlations Between Digital Tools and Humans Cognitive Processes 327

some (24% of IM users) report that they use them even more than e-mail. The most interesting discovery, however, was that young people are the biggest users of this tool [10], [20]. Chile is no exception to this trend, as demonstrated by a recent study of the World Internet Project Chile [26] which revealed that Chat services are em-ployed by 33% of the country’s Internet users. Among users aged 12 to 20, the pro-portion who use IM programs simultaneously with other tasks was 47.5%.

This proliferation and intensification of Internet Chat services, especially among the younger sectors of the population, calls for further scientific investigation in order to gain a better understanding of the various phenomena arising from the use of this technology and their eventual impacts, at both the individual and social levels. In the present paper, we will focus on the possible consequences of Chat for cognitive processes.

Chat is of particular interest because of the way it brings together persons in differ-ent geographic locations and allows them to interact in synchronous fashion by means of text messages. Thus, participants who do not share a common context, and who are often culturally very distinct, are nevertheless able to communicate, understand each other and establish relationships.

The internalization of ICTs and the way they are used imply new and different forms of thinking or constructing thoughts and result in the incorporation of new in-formation into the daily lives of people, who must adapt to these new elements and structure new processes to suit their needs. More particularly, the use of Chat may in-fluence the mental capabilities of young people in that it facilitates the development of social interaction through language, a characteristic peculiar to human beings, thereby broadening their natural possibilities [23].

Vigotsky’s cultural-historical theory of higher mental functions holds that the de-velopment of tools and language has enabled rapid cultural growth, resulting in men-tal processes radically different from those possessed by our ancestors. The theory also maintains that human beings’ higher cognitive processes are made possible by the constant interaction with these tools, but this interaction produces cognitive changes only when these tools have been appropriated by their users, not by the mere fact of their occasional use [22].

A number of experimental investigations have unearthed evidence on the effects of ICTs and video game use on the development of certain cognitive skills in human subjects [5], [11]. As regards the influence of Chat on cognitive processes, various studies have reported on the phenomenon of multitasking, in which various tasks are simultaneously executed on or off line. Isaacs et al [8] found that young people who use Chat have more interactions with their peers than those who do not use it, and that the Chat interactions are characterized by shorter conversation sessions, more subject threading and more multitasking activities. Meanwhile, Grinter and Palen [6] point out that frequent users of IM perform other activities on the computer such as schoolwork, Internet navigation and e-mail. Other studies confirm that the multitask-ing phenomenon is a common activity among Internet users, especially those who use Chat [4], [6], [8], [9], [10], [17].

Access to ICTs is not equal, however, and it is this that gives rise to the Digital Di-vide, defined by Warschauer [24] as the societal split between those who use these technologies as a routine part of their daily lives and those who do not have access to them, or do have such access but do not use them. Statistics on the phenomenon [21],

328 L. García, M. Nussbaum, and J. Bolton

[19], [18], [7], [26] show that the cognitive skills discussed by various authors [5], [6], [8], [9], [10], [11], [17], [26], are not being developed in population sectors that do not have access to ICTs. This indicates that there exists a new dimension to the Digital Divide, which we shall call the Cognitive Gap.

In the present study we propose to evaluate whether frequent use of Chat develops working memory by virtue of the continual exercise of this faculty through multitasking activities. Working memory is one of the elements of humans’ information storage sys-tem and plays a crucial role in cognitive processes. Cognitive tasks involve multiple steps with intermediate results that must be stored temporarily in one’s mind if such tasks are to be successfully completed, and it is working memory that fulfills this func-tion [1], [14], [16], and would therefore be strengthened in frequent Chat users.

Moreover, when individuals are interacting during a Chat session they must per-ceive a series of events that are continually changing because of their patterns of use. Typically, they simultaneously establish multiple interactions, have several windows open and running different programs, and generally fragment their argumentation [28]. However, the perception of the status of the different activities being executed does not occur analogously among all Chat users.

In general there exists among human beings a high degree of diversity in the way they perceive and interpret reality and process information, whose particular charac-teristics are referred to as cognitive style. Among the various cognitive styles, two of the most recognized and studied are known as field dependence-independence. Ac-cording to this classification, persons who tend to perceive information analytically without being influenced by its context or medium are categorized as Field Independ-ent (FI). By contrast, those who are classed as Field Dependent (FD) are generally in-fluenced in the manner they perceive by environment or context [27]. In the present work we will attempt to demonstrate that frequent Chat users tend to perceive in ana-lytical fashion due to the fact that they must individually attend to the various tasks and applications they are executing.

The rest of this article is organized as follows: Section 2 sets out the design of the experiment and details the tools that are used, Section 3 presents the results, and Sec-tion 4 summarizes the conclusions and suggests possible future lines of research.

2 Research Design

This study proposes the following hypotheses: Children who frequently use Chat:

• strengthen their working memory, and • tend to perceive and organize visual information analytically

2.1 Sample Choice

Because of the exploratory nature of this research, a non-probability sample was cho-sen. This type of study is characterized by a relatively flexible methodology, which allowed us to focus at this stage of the research on private schools from medium-income families in Santiago, Chile. This context allowed us to choose three schools with students with different levels of access to, and use of, Chat services. The similar-

Correlations Between Digital Tools and Humans Cognitive Processes 329

ity of their socioeconomic and academic2 characteristics enabled comparisons to be made between groups by controlling for the effects of these variables. The sample consisted of a total of 125 students from 5th to 8th grade (year).

2.2 Design of the Instruments

Sample Classification An instrument was designed to classify the sample among infrequent, intermediate and frequent Chat users. The questionnaire comprised of closed multiple-choice questions aimed at determining the students’ Chat use profile. Questions asked whether Chat was one of their three most frequent activities in their free time, when they began using Chat, how many days a week they used Chat, how long they chatted, how many persons they chatted with at the same time, whether their messages were long or short (the latter typical of users who engage in multitasking), whether they usually engaged in other activities while they chatted, and finally, the number of persons on their contact list. The response to each question was rated on a scale of 0 to 10 points distributed evenly between the different response options, with the lowest score assigned to the option indicating the least use of Chat and the highest score denoting greatest use. The scores for the various questions were averaged, yielding a total score for the individual known as the Chat Use Indicator.

The sample was divided into three groups in accordance with the Chat Use Indicator result to represent the three categories or degrees of interest. Infrequent users were those whose indicator was less than 3.3, intermediate users were those with an indicator fal-ling between 3.3 and 6.6, and frequent users were those who scored between 6.6 and 10. In this study we were primarily interested in the low and high use groups, that is, fre-quent users of Chat as compared to those who rarely or never use it. The intermediate users were young people whose usage levels did not show a clear pattern, and who were improving their Chat skills but had yet to reach the stage where they could be catego-rized as frequent users. These users tend to employ Chat on a regular basis for short pe-riods of time, converse with only 1 or 2 persons and do not engage in multitasking.

Memory Test Instrument The measuring instrument used for testing memory and attention was based on the Digit Span Subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children [25].

To implement the subtest approximately 15 children were chosen at random from each grade (or the entire class where the total was less than 15) to form groups of no more than 30 from two consecutive grades. These students were shown a series of random number sequences, which they were required to observe carefully and then write down on an answer sheet in the exact order they were displayed. Each number was shown for one second, and the quantity of numbers increased for each successive sequence.

The test was divided into two subtests called Digits Forward and Digits Backward, respectively. The Digits Forward subtest consisted of 12 number sequence exercises, the first two containing 3 digits each, the next two 4 digits each, and so on up to the last two sequences each of which contained 8 digits. The Digits Backward subtest was

2 Education Quality Measurement System -SIMCE- 2002 [15].

330 L. García, M. Nussbaum, and J. Bolton

structured the same way, but in this case the students had to write the sequences on their answer sheets in the reverse order to that in which they were shown.

As regards the scoring criteria, one point was awarded for each exercise if the se-quence was correctly rendered by the student, meaning that all the numbers were writ-ten down in the exact order required by the subtest. For each participant, a total score on each subtest was calculated as well as a global total.

2.3 Visual Perception Test Instrument

The final measuring instrument used was the Group Embedded Figures Test, or GEFT3 [27], which determines whether a person’s cognitive style is field independent (analytic) or field dependent (global).

In this test, the test subjects are given a booklet showing complex figures that contain other simple figures within them, and must choose the simple figures that match the de-scriptions given in the instruction sheet, including the indications as to size and orienta-tion. Those who are able to find the simple figures hidden in the complex ones are deemed field independent (FI), meaning that they tend to perceive information analyti-cally. By contrast, those who are field dependent (FD) will generally have difficulty finding the simple figure given that they tend to organize information globally and therefore see the whole clearly while perceiving the elements that comprise it in a more diffuse manner [27]. For purposes of classifying cognitive styles, a score of 11 points or less was considered as FD while a score of 16 or higher was classed as FI [12]. Interme-diate scores were taken to indicate persons whose style was not clearly differentiated.

3 Results

During the first semester of 2004, the instruments described above were used at the schools participating in the study with groups of not more than 30 students chosen randomly from among the various grades. The questionnaire was applied first, and the memory and perception tests then given at later dates.

3.1 Sample Classification

The sample classification questionnaire resulted in the categorization of students into groups as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Sample classification

Type of user Memory Test Number of users

Perception Test Number of users

Infrequent 40 39

Intermediate 42 42 Frequent 40 43 Sample Total 122 124

3 Version adapted by Marin [13].

Correlations Between Digital Tools and Humans Cognitive Processes 331

Of the 125 children included in the sample, 122 were given the memory test while 124 took the perception test; the small discrepancies in these numbers were due to ab-sentees on the days the tests were held.

3.2 Memory Test Results

Analysis of the results began with the calculation of the descriptive statistics are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2. Summary of statistics for memory test

Type of user Minimum

score Maximum

score Range

Average score

Variance Standard deviation

Infrequent 5.0 15.0 10.0 9.13 7.24 2.69 Intermediate 2.0 16.0 14.0 9.09 10.72 3.27 Frequent 5.0 21.0 16.0 11.35 15.05 3.88

The values for Skewness and Kurtosis, shown in Table 3, fell within the expected range (-2 to +2) for a set of data from a normal distribution. The values derived for the Cochran test (0.455947, with a p-value of 0.0776) and the Bartlett test (1.04406, with a p-value of 0.0790878) indicate that the homogeneity of variance assumption is satisfied.

Table 3. Normality analysis for digit test

Type of user Standard Skewness Standard Kurtosis Infrequent 0.497 - 1.206 Intermediate 0.333 - 0.213 Frequent 0.925 - 0.487

The ANOVA test was applied to determine whether there were significant differ-ences between the average scores obtained by frequent, intermediate and infrequent Chat users among the children taking the memory test (dependent variable), using as a classification factor the Chat Use Indicator calculated for each student based on the categories defined in Section 2.2. The F-test value was found to be 6.13 (p-value=0.0029) at a significance level of 95%, indicating that there exist significant differences between the memory test scores of the three categories of users.

Multiple comparison tests using the Tukey HSD, Scheffé and Bonferroni methods were then performed, with the results demonstrating at a 95% significance level that intermediate and infrequent Chat users exhibit memory test score averages that are significantly equal (9.13 and 9.09), while being significantly different from that of frequent users (11.35). Note that while this latter group scored the highest average on the test, it also displayed the greatest degree of variability.

332 L. García, M. Nussbaum, and J. Bolton

3.3 Perception Test Results

The descriptive statistics shown in Table 4 indicate that frequent Chat users had an average score of 16.09 and are therefore field independent, in contrast to infrequent and intermediate users whose style is not clearly differentiated in terms of the classifi-cation set out in Section 2.3.

Table 4. Summary of descriptive statistics for perception test

Type of user Minimum

score Maximum

score Range

Average score

Variance Standard deviation

Infrequent 4.0 24.0 20.0 13.10 22.41 4.73 Intermediate 1.0 25.0 23.0 14.28 34.11 5.84 Frequent 7.0 25.0 18.0 16.09 18.46 4.29

As regards the assumption of normality of the data, the Skewness and Kurtosis values were found to be in the -2 to +2 range (Table 5), thus confirming that the data are indeed distributed normally. In addition, the Cochran test (0.454886, with a p-value of 0.0777) and the Bartlett test (1.03504, with a p-value of 0.12738) indicate that the homogeneity of variance assumption is satisfied.

Table 5. Normality analysis, perception test

Type of user Standard Skewness Standard Kurtosis Infrequent 1.184 0.229 Intermediate - 0.581 - 0.518 Frequent 0.639 - 0.415

The ANOVA test was then carried out to determine whether there were significant differences between the average scores obtained by frequent, intermediate and infre-quent Chat users among the children taking the perception test. The F-test value was found to be 3.74 (p-value=0.0266) at a significance level of 95%, indicating that there exist significant differences between the perception test scores of the three categories of users.

Multiple comparison tests using the Tukey HSD, Scheffé and Bonferroni methods demonstrated at a 95% significance level that frequent and infrequent Chat users ex-hibit perception test score averages that are significantly different (13.1 versus 16.1, respectively), while infrequent and intermediate users were shown to have similar av-erages (13.1 and 14.3, respectively). The averages for intermediate and frequent users were also found to be similar (14.3 and 16.1, respectively).

We can thus conclude that frequent users of Chat are field independent in that they tend to organize perceptual information in an analytic fashion, while non-users and in-termediate users fall into a mixed FI-FD category (analytic - global). The scores achieved by infrequent users were clearly closer to the FD (global) than the FI (ana-lytical) category. Moreover, the average score exhibits a rising tendency as one passes

Correlations Between Digital Tools and Humans Cognitive Processes 333

from less to more frequent users, and the greatest variability is found in the intermedi-ate user group.

4 Conclusions

This research has shown the relationship between ICT, in particular Chat systems, and the cognitive development of middle-class children at private schools in Santiago, Chile. The results obtained are highly important as they show that young people are developing their mental skills outside the educational institutions using applications with a high social and ludic content. Our research, however, is based on correlations. An experiment as the following one could determine if actually Chat is the key factor for developing memory and spatial abilities. A set of non Chat users is tested on the studied cognitive abilities and then trained and given all possible facilities to use Chat. After some time a post test is applied. If our hypothesis is right, i.e., the use of Chat develops some cognitive abilities, there would be a significant difference be-tween the pre and post test. Additionally we have to study if non chatters have access to internet facilities as do the ones that well performed in the study.

Frequent use of Chat by young people may be developing their memory and atten-tion skills because they are conversing with others over the Internet while at the same time performing other activities both on-line (such as navigating) and off-line (e.g., listening to music). The memory tests we conducted revealed differences between us-ers who make heavy use of Chat (several hours a day, several times a week) and those who use it less frequently, effectively demonstrating that the former are able to re-member longer number sequences in direct and reverse order. Heavy Chat users also tend to perceive and organize information in an analytic manner (field independent).

Even our study is still exploratory, our believe is that the existence of differences in access to technology also applies to Chat, and this means that a certain percentage of the population is not obtaining the cognitive benefits of this particular technology. Therefore, we considered that there is a need to study how these technological tools, highly used by young people in a non-school context, can be introduced into the regu-lar school environment so as to prevent the development of a cognitive gap between those who have access to the technology and those who do not. Further research is also needed on the possible consequences of these results for higher cognitive proc-esses such as problem-solving, logical reasoning and, most importantly, learning.

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by Fundación País Digital.

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