Internet Users Have Inflated Opinion of Own Knowledge Base: Study

Advertisement
By Indo-Asian News Service | Updated: 1 April 2015 19:44 IST
Internet Users Have Inflated Opinion of Own Knowledge Base: Study
Procuring information from the Internet also has a startling effect on our brains - we feel a lot smarter than we actually are, says a new study.

In nine different experiments with more than 1,000 participants, 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.

"The Internet is such a powerful environment, where you can enter any question, and you basically have access to the world's knowledge at your fingertips," said lead researcher Matthew Fisher from Yale University.

"It becomes easier to confuse your own knowledge with this external source. When people are truly on their own, they may be wildly inaccurate about how much they know and how dependent they are on the Internet," he added.

In one experiment during the study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, people searched online for a website that answers the question, "How does a zipper work?"

Advertisement

The control group received the same answer that they would have found online, but without searching for it themselves.

When later asked how well they understood completely unrelated domains of knowledge, those who searched the Internet rated their knowledge substantially greater than those who were only provided text.

Advertisement

Prior to the experiment, no such difference existed. The effect was so strong that even when a full answer to a question was not provided to Internet searchers, they still had an inflated sense of their own knowledge.

"The cognitive effects of 'being in search mode' on the Internet may be so powerful that people still feel smarter even when their online searches reveal nothing," said senior author professor Frank Keil.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Internet, Science, Yale University
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo K13x 5G Design, Colour Options Revealed; May Launch Later This Month
  2. Starlink to Launch in India With Rs. 33,000 Setup Kit, Unlimited Plans
  1. Top Smartphones Under Rs 30,000 in India (June 2025): Nothing Phone 3a Pro, Motorola Edge 60 Pro, Poco X7 Pro
  2. Over 4,300 Koalas Found in Newcastle’s Fringe Forests by Drone Survey
  3. Zoom Expands Phone Service to Six Telecom Circles, Zoom Contact Centre Launched in India
  4. NASA F-15 Flights Validate Supersonic Tools for X-59 Quiet Flight Quesst Mission
  5. NASA’s Chandra Spots Unexpectedly Strong Jet from Distant Black Hole at Cosmic Noon
  6. Shubhanshu Shukla’s Axiom-4 Spaceflight Postponed Following Oxygen Leak in Falcon 9 Booster
  7. Giada In My Kitchen OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Giada De Laurentiis Makeover Special
  8. Too Much OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Upcoming Rom-Com Online?
  9. Alappuzha Gymkhana OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Malayalam Comedy Drama Online?
  10. Ballard OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch Crime Thriller Series Online?
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.