How do people decide between maintaining information in short-term memory or offloading it to external reminders? How does this affect subsequent memory? This article presents a simple computational model based on two principles: A) items stored in brain-based memory occupy its limited capacity, generating an opportunity cost; B) reminders incur a small physical-action cost, but capacity is effectively unlimited. These costs are balanced against the value of remembering, which determines the optimal strategy. Simulations reproduce many empirical findings, including: 1) preferential offloading of high-value items; 2) increased offloading at higher memory loads; 3) offloading can cause forgetting of offloaded items (‘Google effect’) but 4) improved memory for other items (‘saving-enhanced memory’); 5) reduced saving-enhanced-memory effect when reminders are unreliable; 6) influence of item-value: people may preferentially offload high-value items and store additional low-value items in brain-based memory; 7) greatest sensitivity to the effort of reminder-setting at intermediate rather than highest/lowest levels of task difficulty; 8) increased offloading in individuals with poorer memory ability. Therefore, value-based decision-making provides a simple unifying account of many cognitive offloading phenomena. These results are consistent with an opportunity-cost model of cognitive effort, which can explain why internal memory feels effortful but reminders do not.

中文翻译：

---

认知卸载是基于价值的决策：对认知努力和记忆的预期价值进行建模

人们如何决定将信息保留在短期记忆中还是将其转交给外部提醒？这对后续记忆有何影响？本文提出了一个基于两个原则的简单计算模型：A）存储在基于大脑的记忆中的项目占据其有限的容量，产生机会成本； B) 提醒会产生少量的身体动作成本，但容量实际上是无限的。这些成本与记忆的价值相平衡，从而决定了最佳策略。模拟再现了许多实证结果，包括：1）优先卸载高价值物品； 2) 在较高内存负载下增加卸载； 3) 卸载可能会导致忘记卸载的项目（“谷歌效应”），但 4) 改善其他项目的内存（“节省增强内存”）； 5）当提醒不可靠时，降低保存增强记忆效果； 6）物品价值的影响：人们可能会优先卸载高价值的物品，并将额外的低价值的物品存储在大脑记忆中； 7) 对任务难度中等而不是最高/最低级别的提醒设置的努力最敏感； 8）记忆能力较差的人的负担增加。因此，基于价值的决策为许多认知卸载现象提供了一个简单的统一解释。这些结果与认知努力的机会成本模型一致，这可以解释为什么内部记忆感觉很费力，而提醒则不然。