Consequences of cognitive offloading: Boosting performance but diminishing memory

Grinschgl, Sandra; Papenmeier, Frank; Meyerhoff, Hauke S.

doi:10.1177/17470218211008060

Cited by 39 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…However, Runge et al (2020) also documented a mnemonic cost for the saved material: participants recalled fewer of the items that they were able to save to a computer than those that they could not save. There are other conditions in which offloading items to external storage can impair memory for the offloaded items on a delayed memory test, but people who are aware that there will be a delayed test can largely overcome the detrimental effects of offloading on long-term memory (Grinschgl et al 2021).…”

Section: Internet and Computer Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media, technology, and the sins of memory

Schacter

2021

Mem. Mind & Media

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Human memory is prone to error and distortion. It has been proposed that memory's misdeeds can be classified into seven categories or ‘sins’. This article discusses the impact of media and technology on four memory sins: transience (forgetting over time), absent-mindedness (lapses in attention that produce forgetting), misattribution (attributing a memory to the wrong source), and suggestibility (implanted memories). Growing concerns have been expressed about the negative impact of media and technology on memory. With respect to transience, I review research regarding the impact of the Internet (ie, Google), GPS, and photographs. Studies have documented impaired memory following specific tasks on which people rely on media/technology (eg, poor memory for a route after using GPS), but have revealed little evidence for broader impairments (eg, generally impaired memory in GPS users), and have also documented some mnemonic benefits (eg, reviewing photos of past experiences). For absent-mindedness, there is strong evidence that media multitasking is associated with poor memory for a target task (eg, a lecture) because of attentional lapses, suggesting evidence that chronic media multitasking could be associated with broader memory problems, and emerging evidence that technology can help to reduce certain kinds of absent-minded errors. Regarding misattribution and suggestibility, there is clear evidence that manipulated or misleading photos are associated with false memories for personal events and fake news, but no evidence of broader effects on susceptibility to memory distortion. Further study of the impact of media and technology on the memory sins is a fruitful pursuit for interdisciplinary studies.

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Section: Internet and Computer Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Media, technology, and the sins of memory

Schacter

2021

Mem. Mind & Media

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“…Other costs of using reminders may only become apparent in the long run. That is, apart from needing more time and effort, individuals miss out important cognitive exercise when setting up a reminder, possibly affecting cognitive functioning eventually (see Grinschgl et al, 2021b ). In fact, the human brain is highly plastic (Green & Bavelier, 2008 ), requiring exercise to establish and maintain proper functioning, especially at an older age (Buckner, 2004 ; Joubert & Chainay, 2018 ; Morrison & Chein, 2011 ; Park & Bischof, 2013 ; Small, 2001 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing cognitive offloading in terms of gains or losses: achieving a more optimal use of reminders

et al. 2022

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Nowadays individuals can readily set reminders to offload intentions onto external resources, such as smartphone alerts, rather than using internal memory. Individuals tend to be biased, setting more reminders than would be optimal. We address the question whether the reminder bias depends on offloading scenarios being framed as either gains or losses, both between-participants (Experiment 1) and within-participants (Experiment 2). In both experiments, framing of reminders in terms of gains resulted in participants employing a risk-averse strategy and using more reminders than would be optimal. Importantly, however, participants used reminders more optimally and were more willing to choose the risk-seeking option of remembering internally when reminders implied a loss. Based on metacognitive measures in Experiment 2, the reminder bias increased the more underconfident participants were about their memory abilities in both framing scenarios. Framing did not alter this relationship between erroneous metacognitive underconfidence and reminder bias but provides an additional influence. We conclude that emphasizing the losses (costs) associated with external reminders helps in achieving more optimal decisions in offloading situations, and that in addition to cognitive effort and metacognitive judgments, framing needs to be considered in improving individuals’ offloading behavior.

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“…With an increase in offloading due to modern technologies, the question arises whether offloading is accompanied by positive and/or negative consequences. Cognitive offloading was shown to improve immediate task performance by accelerating it and/or reducing errors (e.g., Boldt and Gilbert, 2019 ; Grinschgl et al, 2021b ). Furthermore, studies showed that offloading improves simultaneous secondary task performance (Grinschgl et al, 2022 ) and later performance of unrelated tasks (Storm and Stone, 2015 ; Runge et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Overview Of Cognitive Offloading With Modern Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, cognitive offloading is also accompanied by risks. In three experiments, Grinschgl et al ( 2021b ) observed a trade-off for cognitive offloading: while the offloading of working memory processes increased immediate task performance, it also decreased subsequent memory performance for the offloaded information. Similarly, the offloading of spatial processes by using a navigation device impairs spatial memory (i.e., route learning and subsequent scene recognition; Fenech et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Overview Of Cognitive Offloading With Modern Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, students should be made aware of their offloading behavior and that they won't be able to access their technical tools in critical situations such as during exams. This is especially important as a study showed that cognitive offloading was not detrimental for long-term memory when participants were forced to offload but also were instructed to internally memorize the relevant information (Grinschgl et al, 2021b ). Thus, offloading is not always detrimental for building long-term memory representations and instead detriments of offloading might be compensated by proper learning instructions.…”

Section: Outlook On Distributed Cognition In An Ai-enhanced Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Supporting Cognition With Modern Technology: Distributed Cognition Today and in an AI-Enhanced Future

Grinschgl

Neubauer

2022

Front. Artif. Intell.

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In the present article, we explore prospects for using artificial intelligence (AI) to distribute cognition via cognitive offloading (i.e., to delegate thinking tasks to AI-technologies). Modern technologies for cognitive support are rapidly developing and increasingly popular. Today, many individuals heavily rely on their smartphones or other technical gadgets to support their daily life but also their learning and work. For instance, smartphones are used to track and analyze changes in the environment, and to store and continually update relevant information. Thus, individuals can offload (i.e., externalize) information to their smartphones and refresh their knowledge by accessing it. This implies that using modern technologies such as AI empowers users via offloading and enables them to function as always-updated knowledge professionals, so that they can deploy their insights strategically instead of relying on outdated and memorized facts. This AI-supported offloading of cognitive processes also saves individuals' internal cognitive resources by distributing the task demands into their environment. In this article, we provide (1) an overview of empirical findings on cognitive offloading and (2) an outlook on how individuals' offloading behavior might change in an AI-enhanced future. More specifically, we first discuss determinants of offloading such as the design of technical tools and links to metacognition. Furthermore, we discuss benefits and risks of cognitive offloading. While offloading improves immediate task performance, it might also be a threat for users' cognitive abilities. Following this, we provide a perspective on whether individuals will make heavier use of AI-technologies for offloading in the future and how this might affect their cognition. On one hand, individuals might heavily rely on easily accessible AI-technologies which in return might diminish their internal cognition/learning. On the other hand, individuals might aim at enhancing their cognition so that they can keep up with AI-technologies and will not be replaced by them. Finally, we present own data and findings from the literature on the assumption that individuals' personality is a predictor of trust in AI. Trust in modern AI-technologies might be a strong determinant for wider appropriation and dependence on these technologies to distribute cognition and should thus be considered in an AI-enhanced future.

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Consequences of cognitive offloading: Boosting performance but diminishing memory

Cited by 39 publications

References 68 publications

Media, technology, and the sins of memory

Media, technology, and the sins of memory

Framing cognitive offloading in terms of gains or losses: achieving a more optimal use of reminders

Supporting Cognition With Modern Technology: Distributed Cognition Today and in an AI-Enhanced Future

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