Sparrow & Chatman (2013). Social cognition in the internet age: Same as it ever was? - Article summary

Different kinds of internet use may have different consequences for the way cognitive processes unfold. Experience (1) and agency (2) are two key dimensions of mind perception.

The internet is perceived as a hive mind, a vast compendium of continuously updated information. This device is used for finding and learning various kinds of information. Computers are also able to channel the presence of other people who we could interact with offline.

The transactive memory system refers to a model that expands the cognitive psychology metaphor of a single computer processor in a network of processors and has since expanded to accommodate the incorporation of actual computers into the system, which allows us to access the collective knowledge stored on the internet. The transactive memory becomes stress when the ‘where to find it’ changes.

People do not properly remember information when they have the opportunity to look it up. When people have highly memorable trivia and an unmemorable location of finding it, they remember one of the two but not both (i.e. knowing where to find it but not the answer). People appear to be prioritizing remembering where to find information rather than remembering the information itself.

Distributive practice refers to the repeated exposure to the same or meaningfully similar information over time. Repeated exposure to information improves the memory of that information. Repeated learning of information is retained longer when it is spaced apart in time compared to spending the same amount of time learning in one go.

People feel more confident about their future performance and their cognitive ability in general when they have access to the knowledge of the internet.

Solving problems creatively involves not utilizing the most accessible or dominant solution. When solutions lie outside of the range of one’s own expertise, creative problem solving declines. Divergent and holistic processing is needed to solve creative problems.

Increasing creative thinking can create a loop in which students become better at finding information online because they will approach the problem from multiple angles. When interacting with the internet as transactive memory partner, people tend to not remember as much information. Offloading memory for details to the internet aids insight problem solving.

New literacies refer to the competency to locate information, synthesize information and answer those questions and then communicate the answers to others. When learning new information, pronouncing it as false carries great informational value. Disbelief will not be interrupted by competing attentional demands when the new information is pronounced as false. When people need additional knowledge on topics they already know about, prior knowledge is recruited in the process of verification.

Finding the answer via successful search results in an illusory sense of control. A greater sense of control may incline people to be critical. Repeatedly making many choices may also lead to a decreased sense of control. Critical evaluation of knowledge online is promoted by a lack of distractions (1), high information value of false information (2), prior knowledge of a topic (3) and a sense of efficacy (4).

The filter bubble refers to search engines making results more personally relevant which homogenises the results. The truth effect states that repeating the same information will make the information more subjectively believable than it was the previous time that it was encountered. Increased repetition of materials result in increased certainty that it is true.

The fluency heuristic refers to a distinct cue for our judgement of how accessible in our memory information is overall. The confidence in the answers people give to a variety of general knowledge questions is enhanced when those questions seem more familiar. To the extent that similar or the same information is seen often, it will be well remembered and seem more believable.

The personalization of our search results shapes our preferences. This leads to people preferring options they choose more. However, this only occurs if people have a sense of free will in the choices that are made and the options that are being compared are not dramatically different from each other.

One’s online network is a fairly accurate reflection of a person’s actual social network. People rarely misrepresent themselves more than they do offline. Online communication can produce greater equality of influence among co-actors. Equalizing is not found in anonymous and stereotype congruent environments.

Communication messages are strengthened when transmitted through voice rather than text. People may be more thoughtful and empathetic through text messages because they can be carefully constructed and are under less time pressure.

Electronic monitoring has the effect of impairing performance on complex tasks and slightly improving performance on simple tasks. Providing individuals with a sense of control over when they are monitored helps alleviate the detrimental effects on complex task performance.

When the information is ambiguous and we are communicate a message with an audience, the message is tuned toward what we think the audience believes about a topic. After successfully communicating a message, this changes our memory of the original information.

The plausibility of misinformation (1), the credibility of the source (2) and the degree to which the information can be vividly imagined (3) are key factors which increase the possibility of creating false memories that either bias the existing memories or create entirely new ones.

Retrieval induced forgetting refers to information that is not practiced but is related to the practice material is selectively forgotten compared to material that was not practiced but is also unrelated to the practice material.