{"id":31874,"date":"2025-11-25T16:20:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=31874"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:20:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:20:40","slug":"new-study-reveals-how-personalized-algorithms-impair-learning-and-skew-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/new-study-reveals-how-personalized-algorithms-impair-learning-and-skew-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"New Study Reveals How Personalized Algorithms Impair Learning and Skew Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">New research from The Ohio State University shows that personalized algorithms, prevalent on social media, can narrow users&#8217; focus, leading to decreased learning and increased overconfidence in incorrect information.<br><\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Personalized algorithms, which curate online content based on users&#8217; previous choices on platforms like YouTube, may hinder learning and create distorted perceptions of reality, according to new research from The Ohio State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/psycnet.apa.org\/fulltext\/2026-31272-001.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Published<\/a> in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the study found that when an algorithm controlled the information shown to participants learning about a new topic, their focus narrowed to a limited subset of available information. Consequently, these participants frequently answered questions inaccurately but exhibited high confidence in their incorrect answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings are concerning, according to Giwon Bahg, who led the study as part of his doctoral dissertation in psychology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many studies on personalized algorithms explore their impact on shaping opinions on familiar political or social issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut our study shows that even when you know nothing about a topic, these algorithms can start building biases immediately and can lead to a distorted view of reality,\u201d Bahg, who is now a postdoctoral scholar at Pennsylvania State University, said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The findings suggest that many people may readily use the limited information provided by personalized algorithms to form broad, overarching conclusions, according to co-author Brandon Turner, a professor of psychology at Ohio State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople miss information when they follow an algorithm, but they think what they do know generalizes to other features and other parts of the environment that they\u2019ve never experienced,\u201d Turner said in the news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To illustrate, the study provided a hypothetical scenario: A person unfamiliar with movies from a specific country uses a streaming service&#8217;s algorithmic recommendations. Initially selecting an action-thriller film, the algorithm subsequently suggests more films of the same genre, causing the viewer to develop a limited, biased understanding of that country&#8217;s film industry and broader culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers tested these effects using a fictional experimental setup with 346 participants, who were asked to learn about categories of crystal-like aliens by sampling different features. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The participants had two conditions: one involving random sampling of all features, and the other where a personalization algorithm selected features to prioritize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The results showed that participants relying on the algorithm sampled fewer, selective features and were overly confident in their limited, often incorrect, categorizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey were even more confident when they were actually incorrect about their choices than when they were correct, which is concerning because they had less knowledge,\u201d added Bahg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Turner pointed to the potential societal consequences, particularly for young learners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you have a young kid genuinely trying to learn about the world, and they\u2019re interacting with algorithms online that prioritize getting users to consume more content, what is going to happen?\u201d Turner added. \u201cConsuming similar content is often not aligned with learning. This can cause problems for users and ultimately for society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/news.osu.edu\/how-personalized-algorithms-lead-to-a-distorted-view-of-reality\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">The Ohio State University<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Personalized algorithms, which curate online content based on users&#8217; previous choices on platforms like YouTube, may hinder learning and create distorted perceptions of reality, according to new research from The Ohio State University. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the study found that when an algorithm controlled the information shown to participants learning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[57],"class_list":["post-31874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai","tag-ohio-state-university"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Personalized algorithms, which curate online content based on users&#8217; previous choices on platforms like YouTube, may hinder learning and create distorted perceptions of reality, according to new research from The Ohio State University. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the study found that when an algorithm controlled the information shown to participants learning&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31874"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31905,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31874\/revisions\/31905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}