Starting with the idea of embedded cognition, which stresses the interdependence of a mental phenomenon with its environment, this research aimed to assess how emotions fit into this process. How can one’s emotional response to the environment affect cognition and behaviour? What factors are related to it? Age, frequency of use, perceptions, literacy, or surrounding objects? According to our hypothesis, emotional reactions to digital environments (e.g., mental fatigue) would impact executive and attentional functioning, resulting in different levels of cognitive efficiency (e.g., the accuracy of task results). Additionally, based on the existing evidence, we anticipated that participants’ prior perceptions and literacy levels regarding the digital environment would influence their emotional responses to the environment and, consequently, their cognitive performance in goal-oriented tasks developed online. Therefore, we conducted a survey (n=300) on students’ perceptions, literacy, and use of digital tools. And one experiment (n=16) at the Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering (IBEB) of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. After taking a digital or traditional in-person class, participants underwent neuropsychological testing through the Stroop test, the Maslach Burnout Inventory Student Survey (MBI-SS), and the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Simultaneously, they wore a headband with a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor that captured their heart rates. Though exploratory in nature, results showed that the emotionally embedded hypothesis holds in the context of our experiment. Results further allowed us to understand environment engagement through emotional and cognition interaction, in the context of digital classes, by showing that perceptions and literacy were associated with each other; the realisation/achievement factor of the MBI-SS scale was associated with students’ perceptions of digital technologies; environmental engagement predicted the Stroop effect (interference) to decrease and heart rate variability during the Stroop task to increase. Regarding moods, melancholy predicted the Stroop effect to decrease, and confusion predicted the participant’s heart rate to increase.

Thanks for the use of the materials to CAMELOT C2-Advanced Multi-domain Environment and Live Observation Technologies, Project ID: 740736, is financed by EU Commission Grants H2020–EU3.7.3 and H2020-Eu 3.7.7.

Cognição,Emoções,Ambientes digitais,Neurofisiologia,Investigação expererimental