The Effect of Google on Memory Retrieval: Internet Searching as a Negative Prime

The red rever psychology journal

Shelby E Pearson

People have a near constant ability to access the internet and search for anything they want to know. By having Google searching available, they may not utilize their memory to its full capability. This study examined how memory retrieval is affected by priming Internet searching. Three groups of participants (N=48) took a condensed version of a general knowledge norms test after being primed with Internet searching by varying degrees. If the participants were unsure of an answer, they either left it blank or looked it up on Google. More questions unanswered or looked up on Google signified greater blocking and less memory retrieval. I predicted that participants’ memory retrieval would decrease as the strength of the prime increased. This study found that when Google is available, people tend to rely on their memory significantly less than when they cannot access Google. This may lead to decreased cognitive ability and deficits in memory function over time.

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2018

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2018

en