Special issue of applied cognitive psychology: Rethinking cognition in a digital environment

Abstract

AbstractThe digital environment has become increasingly pervasive in our lives, and as a result, may be profoundly impacting our cognitive processes. This special issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology brings together a collection of articles adopting a variety of methodological approaches and applied settings to examine how human cognition transforms in the context of digital environments. Some articles take a functional approach, examining how people use digital media as memory technology in relatively naturalistic contexts. Others adopt experimental methods to examine how basic cognitive processes such as memory and metacognition transform when embedded in digital activities such as Internet search or digital storage. Still others examine how design features of online media platforms shape how content from those different platforms are recalled. In all cases, the studies in this issue indicate how the integration of “onboard” cognitive resources with digital technologies transforms the nature and capacity of human cognition.