Truth Be Told
I did not invent the term. Actually the concept of media being ‘new’ was in vogue at the turn of the century. It is remarkable to think that the concept of mediating interactions (i.e., human-computer) is still in its infancy after more than a dozen years of study. I still look at digital media as being ‘new’ (versus old, as in print journalism, graphic arts, etc.).. guess it’s my age .. but growing up professionally in a world that is becoming more and more media centric still amazes me. I became fascinated by the concept of how the brain interacts with media and how its use has the POSSIBILITY of rewiring our brains and making us think, communicate, and learn differently. I actually wrote my dissertation on this area.
Old Brain? New Media?
We cannot possibly complete this course on interactivity without discussing how various interactions affect the ‘interactors’… regardless of whether those interactions are being mediated (that is via media/technology). So, to put all of this into perspective, we should probably start with some readings on what is meant by the term ‘old brain’. In its purest sense, your old brain is that part of your cerebrum that deals with emotional, reactive, impulsive activity, etc. (as opposed to cognitive, thoughtful enterprise). It is the part of your brain that is attacked by retailers at checkout counters (the place where they try to get you to purchase gum and other sundries , purchase the National Enquirer and other magazines, etc.). Behaviorists play on the old brain.. automaticity and repetitive behaviors emanate from this region of the brain. It is sometimes also referred to as your brain stem… that looks a lot like the small, water-born entity that we all seem to have evolved from.
Your new brain wraps around the old brain … this is where human thought comes from…
Just what IS the relationship between new media and the brain?
There are those who believe that repetitive use of video games, work on computers, etc. somehow change the synapses within the brain, not the new brain parts. Richard Restak, a neurosurgeon and popular science writer on the brain, is one of the major proponents of this thinking. His work focuses on examining the impact new technology has on the physiology of the brain (such as MRI) and how it allows us to monitor and control a far wider range of activities than was formerly possible. Recent research holds the potential for, among other things, reducing the use of psycho-pharmacological drugs that have unpredictable side effects; substituting one sense (touch) for another (sight); and direct repair of brain and other neurological damage. Restak also demonstrates how the [old] brain is modified the old-fashioned way, such as by practicing a skill. He relates that to how (over)use to media is doing essentially the same thing. He believes that the over stimulation of our brains by modern society is giving us all ADD.He even goes so far as to proclaim that it is proven that TV violence affects our brains in ways that lead to violent behavior without even mentioning the word “censorship.”
No causal relationship has ever been ‘proven’ but his premise is certainly a good one to consider, at least anecdotally.
One proponent of such a relationship between media interactions and the effect it is on your brain is Ted Bilich:
There are several more researchers who have also wrestled with this concept:
- Ontological Implications
- Our Three Brains
- An interesting take/sidebar to all of this: Storytelling 2.0: When new narratives meet old brains
- Media’s Effect on the Brain
- This is your Brain on Media
- Brain Development in a Hypertext World
This thinking is not universal. While all of this seems logical, there are those who dismiss this as being an over-statement of the facts. I owe it to you to present some of those criticisms:
So Where does this leave us?
To understand the complexity of all of this and to redirect you back to the psychology associated with media interactions I need to bring you back to the readings on the Media Equation that we introduced earlier this term. After reviewing that module, click on the second tab to review a pretty good analysis of media interactions in terms of the mind and how people tend to react to them.
In the mini lesson on Media Equation we described the elements of the studies contained in that work:
Pollyana Effect
We would like to think that people remember the ‘good old days’, however, they also tend to remember negative events in the short term.. negative events also tend to alter our memories about events that occur before and after they occur…
Real live examples of the media equation in action…
- Television experiment: TV’s labeled with different purposes.. the labeling tended to set preconceived notions about content
- The Concept of Negativity . We tend to recall negative reactions in more detail than good ones…
- Pain vs pleasure … we mostly tend to avoid pain and seek pleasure
- Politeness.. in order to give you an idea of how the studies were put together, here is an excerpt from one of them:
In summary
- The evaluations of good and bad are not equal
- The evaluation of negative dominates: We pay more attention to negative experiences
- We would like to think we remember the fun things (Pollyanna effect).. Long term memory (Good old days)
- however, in short-term, we do actually remember negative ones longer (post trauma)…. what is remembered immediately afterwards.. And impedes recall of what came before
- Mediated matters – results of negative ads on television and in political campaigns
- The definition of what it means to be user friendly and the definition of ‘user’ is changing… children are more and more prone to think of media as a “person”
- Paying Attention – People pay more attention to negative media
- Negativity is a two-edged sword… Viewers might pay attention to wrong parts… The supposed psychological distance between reality
and media did not cause different reactions… negative media experience turns out a lot like real experiences… while negativity is engaging.. but recall good memory=low liking
Conclusions
- All media experiences are emotional
- There is virtually no type of content/form of expression that is incapable of causing changes in emotion.
- Arousal, like valence, works
- Seeking pleasure and avoiding pain is a reasonable basic strategy in designing motivation into mediated matters
- Matching personalities is a good thing, but…
- It seems unlikely that a person would admit that they liked a computer better if its personality changed to match theirs
- Someone who adapts in a desired direction is clearly liked (people tend to give credit for trying to adapt)
- However, someone who changes negatively is NOT clearly disliked.
OLD Brain vs NEW Brain
- Left vs right side (too much of what younger children today experience is right-brained… and schools try to teach using left-brain techniques… teach to the strengths.. remediate the weakness…
- Depictions of people, places, and things on a screen are neither physical threats nor significant opportunities and viewers know this.
- Media can make people feel both good and bad
The moral…
- We should realize that no matter how we evaluate it, all media responses begin with a simple judgment: is it good or is it bad?
- This is an immediate response..
As I said, the idea of new media was not mine. This article, published over a dozen years ago seems to still have value. It certainly will give some ideas as to how psychologists were interpreting media’s impact on interactors in terms of brain development. So, read this with a grain of thought.. but also think about the implications for teaching and learning.
THIS FILE IS LARGE AND WILL TAKE QUITE A WHILE TO OPEN, DEPENDING ON YOUR DOWNLOAD SPEED.. PLEASE BE PATIENT.
There is a lot of reading in this module and a lot to absorb… To make it easier on you, all you need to do is submit a two paragraph reflection in which you describe two ah-ha! moments/takeaways of the most significant impressions these readings have had on your ideas/notions about interactivity and how you believe that media/technology affects teaching and learning. Be brief but not too brief.. I need to get a sense of what was important to you and how it will affect your instructional design/technology production efforts in the future. Post in the text area in the Drop Box set up in Canvas.