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Surprise and Human Evolution: How a Snake Screen Enhanced Knowledge Transfer Through a Web Interface

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Evolutionary Psychology and Information Systems Research

Part of the book series: Integrated Series in Information Systems ((ISIS,volume 24))

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Abstract

It is reasonable to assume that enhanced cognition within the temporal vicinity of animal attacks allowed our hominid ancestors to better build and associate memories related to the animals and their typical habitat markers. This, in turn, increased their survival chances. This may be at the source of an unusual phenomenon with limited but interesting practical uses in the design of human–technology interaction interfaces for learning tasks. The phenomenon is often referred to as “flashbulb memorization ” and entails modern humans’ short-term memories being instantaneously turned into long-term memories through surprise . This chapter explores this phenomenon in the context of a computer-supported learning task, by testing the prediction that a simulated snake attack will lead to cognition enhancement within its temporal vicinity. In an experiment, those participants who were surprised by a Web-based snake screen did as much as 38% better at answering test questions for Web-based learning modules that were temporally adjacent to the snake screen.

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is a revised version of an article by the authors published in 2008 in the International Journal of Technology and Human Interaction. The authors would like to thank the students who participated in this study, for their time, and Texas A&M International University, for its institutional support. Thanks are also due to Achim Schutzwohl, Leda Cosmides, and Geoffrey Miller for ideas and suggestions regarding possible links between surprise and cognition, as well as related evolutionary psychological mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of International Business and Technology Studies, Texas A&M International University, 5201 University Boulevard, Laredo, TX, 78041, USA

    Ned Kock, Ruth Chatelain-Jardón & Jesus Carmona

Authors
  1. Ned Kock
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  2. Ruth Chatelain-Jardón
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  3. Jesus Carmona
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Ned Kock , Ruth Chatelain-Jardón or Jesus Carmona .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of MIS and Decision Science, Texas A & M International University, University Boulevard 5201, Laredo, 78041, USA

    Ned Kock

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Kock, N., Chatelain-Jardón, R., Carmona, J. (2010). Surprise and Human Evolution: How a Snake Screen Enhanced Knowledge Transfer Through a Web Interface. In: Kock, N. (eds) Evolutionary Psychology and Information Systems Research. Integrated Series in Information Systems, vol 24. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6139-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6139-6_5

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-6138-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-6139-6

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