Lentis/Smartphones and Cognitive Offloading

Psychology

Cognitive Offloading

This casebook discusses the impact of smartphones as a tool for cognitive offloading. Cognitive offloading is the externalization of cognitive processes like problem solving and memory into outside tools. A person may cognitive offload to increase accuracy or to reduce their internal effort, reasons which need not be mutually exclusive. Logging reminders for events in a calendar help busy people keep track of their schedules; using a phone to calculate a tip for a server can ensure a customer gives an accurate 20% of the bill. A less ideal form of cognitive offloading would involve a student using ChatGPT to do complete homework problems.

Cognitive offloading certainly has its benefits. Over the years, studies have shown cognitive offloading to increase short-term efficiency in completing basic tasks (see Research). However, researchers also believe phones can support cognitive offloading to an unhealthy extreme. When brain pathways for storing information are not used as often, retention becomes more difficult and recall becomes slower.

Working Memory

Created in 1974, the multicomponent working memory model is a widely used explanation for how the brain stores and processes immediate information. In working memory, people work with only a few pieces of recent information at a time. Attention is not the same thing as working memory; it is a component that helps commit information from short-term to long-term memory. Dual-task studies indicate that using the same component of working memory (e.g. two numbers tasks) is slightly more difficult than accessing two different parts of working memory (e.g. processing numbers and letters), potentially proving different parts of working memory that deal with different classes of information.

Cognitive Load Theory

Developed by educational psychologist John Sweller in the 1980s, cognitive load theory (CLT) is a model of how working memory functions specifically in relation to learning. It divides working memory into three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. As they are additive, the three types compete for the limited space in a person's working memory. Intrinsic working memory involves processing information such as names and faces, interpreting a complex font, or understanding a native language. In a set of homework instructions, a large variety of interacting variables would induce intrinsic load. Extraneous load stems from unimportant pieces of instructions and external stimuli like ambient noises, elements that usually impede learning. Germane working memory deals with committing short-term information to long-term memory—this is the brain creating new schema. Creating a flowchart would help reinforce or create new schema, inducing germane cognitive load.

Phones are theorized to impose extraneous load, leaving less space for germane working memory to commit information to long-term memory. The issue with using CLT as the sole explanation for how phones take away from thinking and memory is that cognitive load cannot be quantified. However, CLT offers a lens with which to look at the impact of phones on thinking and memory.

Attention and Anxiety

Particularly in the last 30 years, attention spans have been shrinking. In 2004, the average attention span was about 2.5 minutes. In 2012, 75 seconds. Attention spans seem to have plateaued at 47 seconds between 2019 and 2024. With shorter attention spans comes more frequent task switching. Decades of research prove that the more quickly people switch between tasks, the more stressed they become. When a person's phone is nearby, it could induce extraneous stress that impedes cognitive performance.

Smartphone owners may also experience stress from phantom vibration (PV)/phantom ring (PR) syndrome, in which nonpsychotic hallucinations of phone notifications are felt or heard. Those who use devices more are more susceptible to PV/PR syndrome in more stressful periods like medical internships. PV/PR syndrome likely plays a role in how smartphones' presence can reduce cognitive abilities, particularly in those addicted to their devices. The casebook on Compulsive Connectivity covers more about smartphone addiction.

Research

Researchers have conducted many studies regarding the positive and negative effects of smartphones and cognitive offloading. One such study found that the average human attention span has decreased from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to about 47 seconds in the last five years . However, research also suggests that cognitive offloading has significantly boosted performance at the cost of diminishing memory. Two such research studies from Grinschgl et al and Skowronek et al have highlighted the benefits and drawbacks of smartphones and cognitive offloading.

Interface and Interaction: Design of Smartphones

Experiment

Grinschql et al's Interface and Interaction Design: How mobile touch devices foster cognitive offloading describes an experiment where researchers tasked 172 students to copy a color pattern from the model window on a blank canvas of identical size . The model window is represented as a grid where distinct, colored squares are placed randomly. Participants can switch between model window and the blank canvas but could view one at a time. Some students used a mouse while others used a touchscreen. Participants completed multiple trials in varying difficulties and researchers calculated metrics reporting that quicker responsivity environments offloaded more cognitive memory than slower responsivity. Additionally, touch screen offloaded more cognitive memory than a mouse. However, cognitive offloading improves immediate task performance and overcomes human limitations.

Implications

Grinschql et al's experiment has significant implications in one's daily life since most people have responsive and interactive phones. This implies that humans limit exercising their working memory reducing attention span and longterm memory on a daily basis. However, humans complete quick and immediate tasks with ease. Therefore, smartphones serve as hindrance to long-term memory and attention span while also providing a technological way for humans to "delegate" certain tasks to their device.

Attention Spans and the Mere Presence of a Smartphone

Experiment

Skowronek et al's The mere presence of a smartphone reduces basal attentional performance describes an experiment where the researchers test whether the mere presence of a smartphone affects one's attention span. Researchers asked 49 college students to perform an attention task in and out of smartphone presence in the form of a video conference. In the conditions where their smartphone was present, it was shutdown and placed screen-down while non-smartphone-present environments had students place their smartphone in a separate room. The researchers used a variety of metrics to measure the attention of the students and found that students in smartphone-present conditions had significantly lower performance than students in non-smartphone-present conditions. The researchers found that both attention score and working speed were significantly lower in smartphone-present environment than in non-smartphone-present environment.

Implications

Skowronek et al's experiment progresses beyond that the mere presence of it can lead to "cognitive overloading". Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) describes memory as having three major parts: sensory, working, and long-term argues that if there are not enough resources to handle both intrinsic and extrinsic information, then one's memory will miss some necessary information. The smartphone, as explained in Skowronek et al's experiment, serves as additional extrinsic load even when inactive. Therefore, in one's day-to-day life, the mere presence of a smartphone can hinder one from retaining important information in both an academic and in daily life.

Social Groups

Smartphone Users

Smartphones help with tasks such as reminders, but research shows that even unused smartphones add cognitive load, reducing focus and slowing tasks. For instance, Skowronek et al. (2020) demonstrated that users working with phones nearby experienced reduced attentional performance, highlighting how devices disrupt working memory capacity. The decline from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 47 seconds today reflects this shift as well. As stated by Cognitive Load Theory, the mental load from smartphones leaves fewer resources for germane processing and impairs long-term memory formation as a result. Notifications and phantom sensations further disrupt user focus and both increases stress and reinforcing reliance on smartphone utilities.

Smartphone Designers and Manufacturers

Designers and developers influence smartphone users' cognitive behaviors through interface design. Responsive systems and touch interfaces encourage offloading by making it easier to externalize memory tasks. While this improves immediate task efficiency, it diminishes internal memory use and problem-solving abilities. To counteract this, Cognitive Load Theory suggests simplifying interfaces to reduce distractions and promote deeper thinking. Grinschgl et al. (2020) also suggested that slowing interface responsiveness nudged users toward using internal memory, balancing efficiency with long-term cognitive engagement in the process.

Center for Humane Technology

Advocacies like the Center for Humane Technology promote healthier habits to counteract phone usage use among cell phone users. Reducing interaction costs, such as simplifying interfaces, can lower cognitive load but also increase dependency as a consequence. Due to this, advocacies call for policies such as screen time limits and the "right to disconnect" in an attempt to preserve users’ germane cognitive processes. These efforts generally align with ideas presented by Cognitive Load Theory, addressing the extraneous elements that smartphones introduce in order to help users internalize complex information without distractions.

Academic and Research Communities

Researchers examine the cognitive trade-offs associated with smartphones to inform best usage practices, finding that low interaction costs encourage offloading but harm memory retention. For instance, experiments by Grinschgl et al. reveal that this excessive offloading reduces memory accuracy, specifically when users lack explicit goals to retain information. Skowronek et al. found that phones, even when unused, deplete memory resources and distracted phone owners from tasks at hand. Models like Baddeley’s working memory framework also highlighted how smartphones strain central executive functions, affecting focus and problem-solving. Researchers recommend strategies like reducing distractions or setting clear goals for information retention to mitigate these effects.

Educational Institutions and Learning Environments

Smartphones disrupt learning in classrooms through information offloading, reducing cognitive effort and retention in the process. The excessive reliance on the utility of personal devices also diminishes problem-solving skills and long-term memory formation. As Skowronek et al. (2020) noted, even the physical presence of a phone divides attention, increasing cognitive load and reducing classroom engagement due to this split focus. Educators can counteract these effects by employing Cognitive Load Theory strategies, such as spacing material, reducing extraneous load, and promoting intrinsic cognitive effort to help reinforce the use of these processes. On top of this, separating phones during lessons and encouraging active recall help students internalize information more effectively.