How the Google Effect Changes Your Memory and Thinking

The Biased Brain Podcast with Owen Hawthorne

Explore the intriguing world of cognitive biases and human cognition in this engaging podcast. Discover how bias in decision making shapes our perceptions and influences our choices. Join us as we delve into the science behind critical thinking and biases, providing practical insights to enhance your understanding and control over your thought processes. Whether you're a psychology student or curious observer, this podcast offers valuable tools to help you unveil the hidden biases in your mind.

Why You Forget Stuff — Thanks to the Google Effect!

Hey, have you ever noticed how sometimes you can't remember a simple fact, but the moment you pull out your phone or open your laptop, you find it in seconds? Like, you’re sitting there trying to recall the name of that actor in that movie, and suddenly, you just give in and Google it. Well, you're not alone. This phenomenon is actually part of a fascinating cognitive bias study known as the Google Effect. It’s one of those quirks of our human cognition that makes you go, “Wait, am I really getting smarter, or just lazier?”

Alright, so here’s the deal. The Google Effect, also called the “digital amnesia” effect, is this tendency our brains have to forget information that we believe can easily be found online. Our memory isn’t just about storing knowledge anymore — it’s evolved into a kind of outsourcing system. If you can just Google it anytime, why waste brain space remembering all those tidbits? It’s like our brains have become super efficient by focusing less on memorizing facts, and more on remembering where to find those facts.

Researchers first started noticing this back in the early 2010s. They ran experiments where people were given trivia questions, some easy, some hard. When participants thought the information would be saved and accessible later, they were less likely to try to remember it. But if they thought it was temporary or couldn’t be looked up again, they made a stronger effort to hold the information in their minds.

This ties right into the bigger picture of bias in decision making and how our brains work — or sometimes don’t work quite the way we expect. Our brains are wired with all sorts of cognitive biases to help us process information quickly, but sometimes these biases lead to unexpected shortcuts or mistakes. The Google Effect is basically a way our brains optimize memory by leaning on technology, but it also highlights this interesting clash between traditional memory skills and modern tech reliance.

Here’s why this is so interesting: we humans aren’t just passive data storage systems. Our memory and cognition evolved for a wide range of tasks, including creativity, problem-solving, and social interaction — not just reciting facts. So, relying on the internet changes how we organize and prioritize memory. This challenges us to think critically about how we use technology in everyday life and how it shapes our own cognitive abilities.

• What it means for learning: If students or anyone learning starts to rely too heavily on the internet to remember information, it might reduce deep learning or understanding. Critical thinking and biases come into play here, because it’s one thing to know a fact, and another to understand its context or implications.
• Effect on creativity: With facts accessible anytime, our brains might get freed up for more creative tasks. But there's a balance — without a decent base of knowledge locked in, creative thinking might suffer too.
• Future of memory: Will our brains change over generations as we lean more on digital memory? What new biases or cognitive habits will grow?

This is why learning about cognitive biases like the Google Effect is so important. It helps us get a clearer picture of how human cognition evolves and what this means in a world with constant access to information. It’s also a nudge to practice better critical thinking and biases awareness, so we’re not just blindly trusting the tech or letting our memory slip away.

If you find this stuff intriguing, you might want to check out the book, The Biased Brain by Bo Bennett, PhD. It digs into all kinds of fascinating cognitive biases and the hidden ways our minds shape reality. The book gives you tools to spot how your own brain might be tricking you and how to think clearer and sharper through the haze of biases.

Explore the book and unravel the secrets of your mind today! Visit The Biased Brain and discover how understanding cognitive biases can help you take control of your thinking.

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