All the information available online has a strange effect on our brains: We feel a lot smarter than we really are, a new study shows.
In 9 different experiments with more than 1,000 participants, Yale University psychologists found that if subjects received information through internet searches, they rated their knowledge base as much greater than those who obtained the information through other methods.
“This was a very robust effect, replicated time and time again,” says Matthew Fisher, a PhD student and the lead author of the study. “People who search for information tend to conflate accessible knowledge with their own personal knowledge.”
People who search for information tend to conflate accessible knowledge with their own personal knowledge.
