Cognitive Functions In The Digital Environment : Working Memory And Attention Under Real And Digital Conditions

The digital environment surrounds us everywhere and influences our cognitive system. However, there is a lack of theoretical models in the human-digital domain, and there are few studies aimed at finding the precise mechanisms of how the digital environment influences cognitive functions, namely attention and working memory. The present work is aimed at a consideration of the theoretical approaches and empirical studies related to the marked domain. Two experiments on working memory and attention were carried out. In the present paper, we have compared the attention and working memory processes under real and digital conditions within the comprehensible task like usage of the organizer (Experiment 1). As a result, we clarified the presence of differences in attention and WM within these two environments of performance. After that, the focus was shifted on digital properties: Experiment 2 focuses on such digital properties as saturation and were aimed at clarifying the attention process (shifting and sustainability of attention) under digital conditions. So if the digital system has feedback, the rates of attention sustainability will be higher than in the absence of feedback. Thus, within the result of the second experiment, it can be supposed that the digital environment might be considered as a system of cues improving the performance of complex tasks