Does taking multiple photos lead to a photo-taking-impairment effect?
Level 2 - randomized trial
Controlled laboratory experimental trials (grade assigned by design analogy for non-clinical cognitive psychology)
PubMed 35854206 · doi:10.3758/s13423-022-02149-2
What was done
Three laboratory experiments evaluated whether taking multiple photos alters the photo-taking-impairment effect on visual memory. In Experiment 1, participants completed a within-subjects task viewing paintings photographed once, five times, or not at all, followed by a visual detail memory test. Experiment 2 used a between-subjects design where participants photographed all viewed paintings once, five times, or zero times before testing. Experiment 3 tested a between-subjects condition where participants taking multiple photos took five unique photos per painting.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, sample sizes, or effect estimates. Across all three experiments, the photo-taking-impairment effect persisted: memory for visual details was impaired when participants took multiple photos (Experiment 1), in both single- and five-photo conditions relative to no-photo controls (Experiment 2), and when taking five unique photos per item (Experiment 3).
Why it matters
These findings indicate that increasing photo-taking volume or capturing varied angles does not alleviate memory impairment for photographed objects, confirming the robustness of the photo-taking-impairment effect under nonselective photography.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, demographic characteristics, effect magnitudes, or statistical significance metrics. The laboratory viewing of paintings may not generalize to naturalistic photography in daily life, and long-term memory retention beyond immediate post-task testing was not evaluated.
Cited by
- supports Photographing an object or event can impair subsequent memory for the photographed details due to cognitive offloading.