Talking improves the memory and boosts test performance

Nov 5 2007

According to new research spending just 10 minutes talking to someone can help improve your memory and can also boost your performance in tests.

Researchers at the University of Michigan say they have found that socializing is just as effective as more traditional methods of mental exercise for boosting the memory and improving intellectual performance.

Psychologists at the University of Michigan (UM) and the University of California, San Diego conducted two studies on the relationship between social interactions and mental functioning.

One study examined data from a survey conducted by the UM Institute for Social Research (ISR) to see if there was a relationship between mental functioning and specific measures of social interaction.

The data included information on a national sample of 3,610 people between the ages of 24 and 96.

Their mental function was assessed through the mini-mental exam, a widely used test that measures knowledge of personal information and current events and that also includes a simple test of working memory.

Their level of social interactions was assessed by asking how often each week they talked on the phone with friends, neighbors and relatives, and how often they got together.

Lead author of the study psychologist Oscar Ybarra from ISR says that when they looked at the connection between frequency of social contact and the level of mental function in the mental exam, the higher the level of participants' social interaction, the better their cognitive functioning.

This relationship they say was reliable for all age groups, from the youngest through to the oldest and remained even after controls were exercised for a wide range of variables.

The second experiment involved a laboratory test to assess how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected memory and mental performance.

Seventy six college students, ages 18 to 21 were assigned to one of three groups.

Those in the social interaction group engaged in a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests.

Those in the intellectual activities group completed three tasks before taking the tests which included a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle.

Participants in a control group watched a 10-minute clip of "Seinfeld."

All the participants then completed two different tests of intellectual performance that measured their mental processing speed and working memory.

Ybarra says they 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 says the research represents the only causal evidence which shows that social interaction directly affects memory and mental performance in a positive way.

Ybarra suggests that visiting a friend or neighbor may be just as helpful in staying alert, as doing a daily crossword puzzle.

The findings also suggest that social isolation possibly has a negative effect on intellectual abilities as well as emotional well-being.

ISR psychologist Eugene Burnstein and psychologist Piotr Winkielman from the University of California, San Diego also contributed to the study which was partly funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

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