Talking makes you smarter

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on November 22, 2007  
Filed Under Cognitive

In our busy, frenetic lives, we seldom have time for idle chit-chat. Now, a study reveals that having a ten minute conversation by the photocopier or the water cooler could improve your memory and boost intellectual performance. It is not a waste of time; it’s an intellectual refresher, on par with a power nap, crossword puzzle or quick walk around the office.

A team led by University of Michigan psychologist Oscar Ybarra asked more than 3,500 people ages 24 to 96 about their social interactions and tested their working memories. Regardless of age, the more social contact, the higher the level of mental function.

In another experiment, the researchers conducted tests on 76 university students, ages 18 to 21, to assess how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected the results of memory and mental performance tests.

The students were divided into three groups:

  1. The social interaction group had a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests
  2. The intellectual activities group completed three tasks (including a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle) before the tests
  3. The control group watched a 10-minute clip of the Seinfeld television show.

On follow-up cognitive tests, the social interaction and intellectual exercise groups did better than Seinfeld viewers. The social interaction group did just as well as the intellectual group.

“There’s a widespread belief in this culture that the way to maintain your sharpness is to do technical and intellectual activities,” Ybarra says. But this study suggests an alternative to Sudoku or crosswords could be simply talking to one another.

“We found that short-term social interaction lasting for just 10 minutes boosted participants’ intellectual performance as much as engaging in so-called ‘intellectual’ activities for the same amount of time,” Ybarra said.

The findings suggest that having a friendly chat with someone each day may be as helpful staying mentally sharp as doing a daily crossword puzzle. It is also good advice for students about to go into an important exam; relax your mind and improve your recall by simply having a chat to a friend.

Reference

The study is expected to be published in the February 2008 issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.


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