Cognitive-digital interaction: the state of the field, weaknesses and solutions

Acta Psychologica. 2025. Vol. 259. Article 105229.

Anufrieva A.

The present review aims to examine the current state of research in the field of cognitive-digital interaction (CDI). CDI is a field of fundamental research studying the regularities of cognitive processes under the influence of digital environment. The article defines key concepts, such as “cognitive system”, “environment”, and “artifact” and exploring theoretical frameworks for the relationship between them. The review focuses on three main areas: cognition in real vs. digital environments, cognitive processes with digital presence, and cognition within digital environments, concentrating on attention and memory. The review reveals a gap between theoretical approaches, models of environmental/artifact characteristics, and empirical studies. Most studies are exploratory or based on specific niche theories. This lack of systematicity leads to a wide variety of research methodologies and contexts, as well as low reproducibility of findings. According to the analysis of empirical studies, the differences between real and digital environments, as well as the influence of the digital environment in the context of cognition, are related to cognitive and perceptual load/offload and depth of information processing. Also, the empirical findings demonstrate a complex interplay of characteristics of environments that are not reducible to a quantitative principle (there is/isn't some characteristics or more or less of them). Therefore, it is proposed to take into account all these factors in order to develop a unified theoretical model.

Keywords: внимание, память, attention, memory, human-digital interaction, человек-цифровое взаимодействие, cognitive-digital interaction, когнитивно-цифровое взаимодействие

Publication based on the results of: Cognitive processes in the information environment: phenomena and explanatory models (2025)