Cybercognition
Brain, behaviour and the digital world
- Lee Hadlington - Nottingham Trent University
Cybercognition explores the ideas of technology addiction, brain training, and much more. This text provides readers with a guide to understanding concepts related to the online world.
It answers important questions:
- What is the impact of digital technology on our learning, memory, attention, problem-solving, and decision making?
- If we continue to use digital technology on a large scale, can it change the way we think?
- Can human cognition keep up with technology?
Hadlington's book fills a void in the library of academic tones in this field...the breadth of topics included is impressive, and there are dedicated chapters to the much-debated topics of technology addictions and brain training applications (which) also encourage readers to consider all sides of these debates. The author takes complex topics, presents them in a highly engaging and thorough format, and encourages the reader to apply the research data to their own daily interactions with technology. He also carefully considers the peer-reviewed research in the field, avoiding sensationalism in favour of basing his conclusions on evidence-based studies. It is, in all, an excellent read, engaging and informative for undergraduates, postgraduates, and academic staff alike.
Written in a clear, concise and accessible style, this book will keep readers engaged and reading on.
The language of the book is lucid and impressive, and the sections follow a natural flow. Some of most influential aspects of the book include learning aims at the start of each chapter, Information snippets and questions to consider, detailed tables and figures, and a chapter summary that is informative and elegantly written.
The book covers the effects of being online on such cognitive processes as memory, perception, and attention. and is written for undergraduate and graduate students of cyberpsychology and cognitive psychology.
In Cybercognition, Hadlington explores two questions; in accessing the virtual world of the Internet, are we different cognitively than when we operate in the physical world, and do our interactions with this virtual world change us cognitively.
Hadlington reflects on a broad sampling of cognitive research to explore questions such as; does experience with video games and computer-based exercises improve our cognitive functions, what is multitasking and do we get better at it, how are the frequent interruptions we get from our digital devices affecting the way we do other things, how are digital technologies affecting education, and how might we assess the credibility of information we find on the Internet.
Rather than selecting research to support a good story, Hadlington offers a balanced sampling, one that more truthfully represents what is known in this area. If you are looking for information and credibility rather than entertainment, this is a good place to start.
This book is written in a sharp and well-supported style, providing plenty of evidence-based arguments. The "Learning Aims and Objectives" available at the start of each chapter provide a valuable guide to the reader.
Regarding the core contents of this edition, the impact of digital technology in task performance across a variety of contexts (e.g., educational settings) is comprehensively covered. The same applies to the diversity of self-interruptions according to the device in use. In a very appealing chapther, the author fully examines "trial and error" approaches to problem solving in specific settings, as well as the efects of multitasking and task-switching costs. All those subjects are key to experimental design in several fields of Psychology.
The usefulness of digital games and digital game paradigms is also explored, including the potential benefits for cognitive skills training. Further, the constraints of information processing in digital environments are also examined, including the effectiveness of attention drivers on distinct types of tasks. Those are key topics regarding the broad human exposure to digital web environments. The same applies to the reliance (i.e., credibility) on the internet for decision-making, which is becoming an increasingly hot topic. Finally, both the "heuristics for search strategies" and the "cognitive impact of excessive technology use" wrap up this edition with excelence.
