Investing in brain-based memory leads to decreased use of technology-based memory

Humans frequently use external (environment-based) strategies to supplement their internal (brain-based) thought. In the memory domain, whether to solve a problem using external or internal retrieval depends on the accessibility of external information, judgment of mnemonic ability, and on the problem's visual features. It likely also depends on the accessibility of internal information. Here, we asked whether internal accessibility contributes to strategy choice even when visual features bear no information on internal accessibility. Specifically, 114 participants were to validate alphanumerical equations (e.g., A + 2 = C) whose visual appearance (Addends 2, 3, or 4) signified different difficulty levels. First, some equations were presented more frequently than others, allowing participants to establish efficient internal access to the correct solution via memory retrieval rather than counting up the alphabet. Second, participants viewed the equations again but could access the correct solution externally using a computer mouse. We hypothesized that external strategy use should selectively decrease for frequently learned equations and irrespectively of the task's visual features. Results mostly confirm our hypothesis. Exploratory analyses further suggest that participants partially used a sequential "try-internal-retrieval-first" mechanism to establish the adaptive behavior. Implications for intervention methods aimed at improving interactive cognition are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).