Reliance
on smartphones linked to lazy thinking
University of Waterloo, Science
Daily
Our smartphones help us find a phone number quickly, provide us
with instant directions and recommend restaurants, but new research indicates
that this convenience at our fingertips is making it easy for us to avoid
thinking for ourselves.
The study, from researchers at the University of Waterloo and
published in the journal Computers
in Human Behavior, suggests that smartphone users who are intuitive
thinkers -- more prone to relying on gut feelings and instincts when making
decisions -- frequently use their device's search engine rather than their own
brainpower. Smartphones allow them to be even lazier than they would otherwise
be.
"They may look up information that they actually know or could easily learn, but are unwilling to make the effort to actually think about it," said Gordon Pennycook, co-lead author of the study, and a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at Waterloo.
In contrast, analytical thinkers second-guess themselves and
analyze a problem in a more logical sort of way. Highly intelligent people are
more analytical and less intuitive when solving problems.
"Decades of research has revealed that humans are eager to
avoid expending effort when problem-solving and it seems likely that people
will increasingly use their smartphones as an extended mind," said
Nathaniel Barr, the other lead author of the paper, and a postdoctoral
researcher at Waterloo.
In three studies involving 660 participants, the researchers
examined various measures including cognitive style ranging from intuitive to
analytical, plus verbal and numeracy skills. Then they looked at the
participants' smartphone habits.
Participants in the study who demonstrated stronger cognitive
skills and a greater willingness to think in an analytical way spent less time
using their smartphones' search-engine function.
"Our research provides support for an association between
heavy smartphone use and lowered intelligence," said Pennycook.
"Whether smartphones actually decrease intelligence is still an open
question that requires future research."
The researchers say that avoiding using our own minds to
problem-solve might have adverse consequences for aging.
"Our reliance on smartphones and other devices will likely
only continue to rise," said Barr. "It's important to understand how
smartphones affect and relate to human psychology before these technologies are
so fully ingrained that it's hard to recall what life was like without them. We
may already be at that point."
The results also indicate that use of social media and
entertainment applications generally did not correlate to higher or lower
cognitive abilities.
Professors Jennifer Stolz and Jonathan Fugelsang, also from
Waterloo's Department of Psychology, are co-authors of the study. Funding from
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada supported the
research.
Story
Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Waterloo. Note: Materials may be edited for
content and length.
Journal
Reference:
Nathaniel Barr, Gordon Pennycook, Jennifer A. Stolz, Jonathan A.
Fugelsang. The brain in
your pocket: Evidence that Smartphones are used to supplant thinking. Computers in Human Behavior,
2015; 48: 473 DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2015.02.029
Cite
This Page:
University of Waterloo. "Reliance on smartphones linked to
lazy thinking." Science Daily,
5 March 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150305110546.htm>.
