The Impact of Humorous Video in Short Term Memory

Abstract

Humans cannot be separated from the process of remembering. The process of remembering is closely related to memory, one of which is short-term memory. A new student at the Faculty of Medicine is required to be able to manage information well. Some ways can be used to help someone improve their short-term memory, one of which is with a humorous display. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of humor in improving short-term memory in new students at the Faculty of Medicine. This study uses a quasi-experimental method, by comparing short-term memory before and after watching humorous shows using the Digit Span Test. The results of research with the forward method obtained an average of 5.37 before watching humor shows and 6.17 after watching humor shows. Also, by using the backward method, the average before watching humor shows is 5.50 and after watching humor shows is 6.50. The results of the p-value showed significant results (p <0.05). This is because these humorous displays can stimulate the amygdala to send signals in the form of positive emotional experiences that will produce endorphins. These endorphins will cause alpha waves to become dominant and frontal lobe function will be activated, so that a person will feel calm and comfortable, and it is easy to concentrate. Based on this, it can be concluded that watching humorous shows can improve short-term memory.