Digital processes on cog processes

Digital technology refers to electronic systems such as computers, smartphones, and the internet that process and store information

the internal mental activities—akin to "software" of the mind—that acquire, process, store, and retrieve information to interpret the environment

the cognitive process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information, acting as an active, reconstructive system rather than a perfect recorder. Digital Tech can negativily effect memory

Sparrow et al. (2011)

whether people rely on the Internet as an external memory store, leading to a reduced need for remembering information directly (this known as the google effect or digital amnesia)

- 60 undergraduate students at U of Harvard (37 f, 23 m)
- Given 40 trivia questions ranging from obscure facts to facts assumed to be well known
- Experiment was a 2 x 2 independent sample design meaning that there were two independent variables manipulated at different levels
- The two independent variables were:
> Participants were told that their information would be saved after pressing space and would be accessed later or, the participants were told that their info would be erased after pressing space to make room for a new answer.
> Participants were split into two groups: those told to remember the information and those who weren't told
- Participants were then given a blank sheet of paper and 10 minutes to recall everything they remembered
- They were then given a recognition task where there were 40 statements where they had to answer yes/no to if they were different from the original 40 trivia facts

Participants who believed their work would be erased remembered significantly more than those who thought it was saved.
Being explicitly asked to remember did not significantly improve recall.
Conclusion: People make less effort to remember information if they believe it is stored externally.

This suggests that digital technology reduces the depth of encoding into long-term memory by encouraging cognitive offloading (where individuals rely on external devices instead of encoding information into long-term memory.).

The study was influential because it introduced the concept of “digital amnesia,” suggesting that individuals are less likely to retain information when they know it is stored externally. This idea has been supported in real-world observations, such as surveys by Kaspersky Lab showing that many people struggle to recall basic information like phone numbers, which they previously memorised. This increases the practical significance of the findings.

However, attempts to replicate Sparrow et al.’s findings have not always been successful. This raises concerns about the reliability of the results, suggesting that the Google effect may not be as robust or universal as originally proposed.

The study has limited ecological validity because participants were asked to remember artificial, low-interest information in a laboratory setting. In real life, memory is influenced by personal relevance and emotional depth, which were not present in the experimental tasks. Therefore, the findings may not fully reflect how digital technology affects memory in everyday contexts.

There is also the possibility of demand characteristics, as participants may have guessed the aim of the study and adjusted their behaviour accordingly. If participants suspected the researchers were testing memory dependence on technology, this could have influenced their responses and reduced internal validity.

Finally, the sample consisted of university students who are highly familiar with computers and digital tools. This limits population validity, as their cognitive habits may differ from older adults or individuals with less exposure to technology.

digital technology can also enhance cognitive processes, particularly working memory.

A limited capacity store for retaining information for a brief period while performing mental operations on that information

Blacker et al (2014)

To investigate the effects of digital technology (video gaming) on visuo-spatial working memory

lab experiment
34 male undergraduates were recruited through advertisements. Before beginning the study, students had to do a video game experience questionnaire and they could only participate in the study in they hadn't played any action games in the past year.
They were then split into two groups, the action game training group played Call of Duty whereas the control group played Sims 3. Each group played their respective game for 30 hours over 30 days.
One of the measures of visuospatial memory was a change detection paradigm.
The paradigm involved the students being presented with a memory array of 4-6 colored squares. The memory and test array were the same apart from on half of the trials, the color of one square was different between the two arrays
Participants had to identify whether the two arrays were the same or different

The action game group showed significantly improved visual attention and faster reaction times in detecting stimuli.
They also demonstrated greater cognitive flexibility, meaning they could switch between tasks more efficiently.
The control group showed little to no improvement.
Researchers concluded that action video games enhance cognitive skills, particularly visual attention and task-switching ability.

This suggests that digital environments can strengthen attentional control and information processing speed

Testability: The study used an experimental design, which allows for high control over variables such as type of training (action video games vs control tasks). This increases internal validity because changes in cognitive performance can more confidently be attributed to the video game training. However, the controlled environment may reduce ecological validity, as playing video games in a lab setting for a short duration may not reflect real-world gaming habits or long-term cognitive effects.

Application: The findings have strong real-world applications. They suggest that video games could be used in educational settings, cognitive training programmes, and even rehabilitation for attention-related conditions such as ADHD, where improving attentional control is beneficial. However, applying video games as interventions may be overly simplistic. Individual differences (e.g. motivation, prior gaming experience, age) may affect outcomes, meaning the effectiveness of such applications may not be consistent across populations.

Unbiased: The study included both male and female participants, which reduces gender bias and improves population validity compared to more restricted samples. However, if the sample consisted mainly of young participants (common in cognitive experiments), this limits generalisability to older adults, whose cognitive plasticity and gaming experience may differ significantly.

Sparrow et al. (2011) demonstrate that reliance on technology can weaken long-term memory by reducing active encoding, whereas Blacker et al. (2014) show that certain forms of digital engagement can improve working memory capacity. This suggests that the impact of technology is not uniform but depends on the type of cognitive process being examined. Specifically, technology may impair deeper, long-term memory processes while enhancing more flexible, short-term cognitive functions such as attention and working memory. herefore, the overall effect of digital technology on cognition is not entirely positive or negative but depends on how it is used and which cognitive process is being considered.