Theme 1: Memory in Daily Life
Pandemics and infodemics: Research on the effects of misinformation on memory
(Greenspan & Loftus, 2020)
Infodemic: descriptor used for the current media climate describing its abundance of
both accurate and inaccurate information
Health-related online searches are very frequent, during which people are likely to
encounter misinformation that can have serious negative consequences
Current study → discuss the varying definitions of misinformation, research from
cognitive scientists about whether and when people are susceptible to misinformation,
and possible technology-based solutions to prevent misinformation spread
Misinformation: sometimes is separated from disinformation (which is intentional) but
determining intentionality can be difficult so we consider the definition of misinformation
as information that is inaccurate regardless of intentionality
the misinformation effect: exposing people to misinformation can negatively affect their
memory of previous knowledge
Past research on the effects of misinformation on memory
- misinformation effect is stronger in younger children and older adults → older
adults are less technologically apt & use social media for socialising more than
for information seeking
- people are more susceptible to misinformation when it fits with their preexisting
attitudes
- repeated exposure to information makes that information feel more familiar and
thus more accurate (& harder to correct afterwards)
Continued influence effect: when misinformation is withdrawn, it can still continue to
influence people → preventing is more effective that debunking
, Preventing the spread of misinformation
- Warnings - informing people before or after that some of the information they
read may be inaccurate → pre-warnings are best, post are good when they
correct the misinformation too and explain why
Con: people might expect warnings on misinformation so they believe it
when it’s not labelled
- Related articles - suggests additional, related reading on a person's News Feed
before they click on a link to an article
- Providing additional information - e.g. stating an article is old
- Cause people to pause and reflect
The Digital Expansion of the Mind: Implications of Internet Usage for Memory and
Cognition
Marsh & Rajaram (2019)
RQ: does our reliance on the internet change cognition, given that our cognitive system
developed in a very different world, for different goals and in response to different
pressures, and if so, how does relying on the internet change cognition?
Properties of the Internet
1. Unlimited scope of the types of information that can be found
2. Inaccurate content due to minimal fact-checkers and the ease at which anyone
can create content
3. Rapidly changing content due to how easy it is to change
4. Distractions and choices due to the amount of images, ads, & pop-ups on
screen. People (especially older adults) struggle to ignore irrelevant information,
even when they know how to identify it
5. Widespread access - many people have access, technological sophistication is
not required for access, and one does not have to go anywhere for access
6. Requirement to search as most information must be actively sought out
7. Fast results are cognitively satisfactory bc of their ease even when they’re wrong
8. The ability to author leads to plagiarism as minor edits to entries become warped
in our memory over time and begin to feel like 100% our own work
9. Source information is obscured making it difficult to assess the quality of sources
10. Connections to others - the nature of one’s connections, the extent to which
people communicate within or across community clusters, & the size of one’s
network will affect what common ground is reached within a community
Pandemics and infodemics: Research on the effects of misinformation on memory
(Greenspan & Loftus, 2020)
Infodemic: descriptor used for the current media climate describing its abundance of
both accurate and inaccurate information
Health-related online searches are very frequent, during which people are likely to
encounter misinformation that can have serious negative consequences
Current study → discuss the varying definitions of misinformation, research from
cognitive scientists about whether and when people are susceptible to misinformation,
and possible technology-based solutions to prevent misinformation spread
Misinformation: sometimes is separated from disinformation (which is intentional) but
determining intentionality can be difficult so we consider the definition of misinformation
as information that is inaccurate regardless of intentionality
the misinformation effect: exposing people to misinformation can negatively affect their
memory of previous knowledge
Past research on the effects of misinformation on memory
- misinformation effect is stronger in younger children and older adults → older
adults are less technologically apt & use social media for socialising more than
for information seeking
- people are more susceptible to misinformation when it fits with their preexisting
attitudes
- repeated exposure to information makes that information feel more familiar and
thus more accurate (& harder to correct afterwards)
Continued influence effect: when misinformation is withdrawn, it can still continue to
influence people → preventing is more effective that debunking
, Preventing the spread of misinformation
- Warnings - informing people before or after that some of the information they
read may be inaccurate → pre-warnings are best, post are good when they
correct the misinformation too and explain why
Con: people might expect warnings on misinformation so they believe it
when it’s not labelled
- Related articles - suggests additional, related reading on a person's News Feed
before they click on a link to an article
- Providing additional information - e.g. stating an article is old
- Cause people to pause and reflect
The Digital Expansion of the Mind: Implications of Internet Usage for Memory and
Cognition
Marsh & Rajaram (2019)
RQ: does our reliance on the internet change cognition, given that our cognitive system
developed in a very different world, for different goals and in response to different
pressures, and if so, how does relying on the internet change cognition?
Properties of the Internet
1. Unlimited scope of the types of information that can be found
2. Inaccurate content due to minimal fact-checkers and the ease at which anyone
can create content
3. Rapidly changing content due to how easy it is to change
4. Distractions and choices due to the amount of images, ads, & pop-ups on
screen. People (especially older adults) struggle to ignore irrelevant information,
even when they know how to identify it
5. Widespread access - many people have access, technological sophistication is
not required for access, and one does not have to go anywhere for access
6. Requirement to search as most information must be actively sought out
7. Fast results are cognitively satisfactory bc of their ease even when they’re wrong
8. The ability to author leads to plagiarism as minor edits to entries become warped
in our memory over time and begin to feel like 100% our own work
9. Source information is obscured making it difficult to assess the quality of sources
10. Connections to others - the nature of one’s connections, the extent to which
people communicate within or across community clusters, & the size of one’s
network will affect what common ground is reached within a community
