Assessing the psycho-social impact of computers,brain research,and behaviorism: The von Neumann effect

The writings of the developers of the high-speed digital computer during the 1940s suggest that technical knowledge of computers and the human brain produces dissonances with current acculturation, triggering a conversion process leading to the conclusion that the brain is a computer. If so, this von Neumann effect is likely to have far-reaching consequences for high-technology societies by fostering behavioristic worldviews premised upon determinism rather than free will. A survey of 1585 university students verified that the von Neumann effect is surfacing in the general population and is associated with determinism. Cultural factors related to the effect were examined.