Easily accessible but easily forgettable: How ease of access to information online affects cognitive miserliness.

Abstract

Ubiquitous Internet access has provided easy access to information and has influenced users' attention and knowledge management. In an online information service context, this research examines how the perception of easy access to information affects strategies to learn two types of information: "what it is" and "how to access it." This study also examines how the learning process is moderated by individual differences in working memory capacity, which can determine efficient management of attentional resources. The results show that individuals, especially those who rank high in working memory capacity, are less likely to remember the details but are more likely to remember how to access the information (e.g., a keyword for a search engine query). Those with higher working memory capacity are also more likely to ensure easy access to information by subscribing to information sources. The findings suggest that cognitive miserliness is not due to users' lack of cognitive capacity but to the accessibility of online information and efficient execution of attentional resources. Public Significance StatementThe present research suggests that easy access to information online may mean that individuals are less likely to remember the details but are more likely to remember how to access the information. This effect is especially profound among individuals who rank high in working memory capacity as they are likely to efficiently manage their attentional resources.

Capturing Session-to-Session Dynamics of Learning and Forgetting: Testing the Limits of Knowledge Tracing Models

“…The cognitive psychology literature makes several key theoretical and modeling predictions regarding learning through spaced retrieval practice. First, the rate of forgetting is not constant, but varies by student (Kang, 2023;Unsworth, 2019;Walsh et al, 2018), content (Tozios & Fukuda, 2020), and the sequence of learning and testing itself (Vlach & Kalish, 2014).…”

Is It Necessary to Use Digital Tools in the Flipped Classroom to Improve the Memorization Process?

“…In other words, cognitive misery is caused by the availability of online information and the efficient use of attentional resources, not by users' lack of cognitive ability. (Kang, 2022) This is because people, particularly those with a high working memory capacity, are less likely to remember details but more likely to remember how to access information (a keyword for a search engine query). (Hamzi et al, 2021) But people who are not confident in their ability to remember tend to use external tools (Fisher & Oppenheimer, 2021) making the 2011 statement (Sparrow et al, 2011) increasingly valid.…”

“…We conclude that, under certain conditions, the use of digital tools can be harmful by impairing cognitive functions such as memorization. (Kang, 2022) Given the limited number of studies that have examined the effects of flipped classrooms on the memorization of college students, especially in subjects such as life and earth sciences, the purpose of this study will be to examine this avenue by questioning the usefulness of digital tools in such a pedagogical approach based on the following hypothesis. paper-based resources cannot replace digital tools in the flipped classroom approach, as their impact on memory retention during learning may be less significant compared to digital tools.…”

Metacognitive phenomena during human–Internet interactions

“…In the study conducted by Kang (2023), participants were shown a credit card advertisement highlighting its benefits in bullet points. One group (the easy access condition) was told they could use a specific keyword to search for the credit card later.…”

“…Furthermore, people distinguish between searchable and non-searchable information and exhibit worse memory for the former (Macias et al, 2015). Also, when information is readily accessible, people tend to remember the retrieval method rather than the content itself (Kang, 2023) Finally, people seem to be prone to incorrectly assessing the memorability of a piece of information based on how quickly it can be retrieved (Storm & Stone, 2021).…”