Background. In the context of rapid digitalization of the educational environment, a transformation of cognitive processes is observed, accompanied by a change in the nature of metacognitive regulation of educational activity. The problem of metacognitive decline syndrome, manifested in a weakening of the ability for self-reflection, planning and control of cognitive strategies, is of particular relevance. This phenomenon can be a key factor in university maladjustment, expressed in a decrease in academic performance, an increase in psychoemotional stress and cognitive overload in students.

Objective. To identify and analyze the dynamics of students' personality characteristics for the period 2014–2024, to reveal the impact of digitalization on the students' metacognition, regulatoryity, and communicativeness, and establish its connection with maladjustment in the educational environment. Based on the data obtained, propose "digital detox" strategies as a way to correct the identified negative trends.

Study Participants. The study involved 1148 respondents aged 18 to 22 years (Mage = 19.8; SD = 1.2). The sample included two time cohorts: 582 undergraduate students (2014), 566 undergraduate students (2024).

Methods. The study was based on a survey design using the 16PF-questionnaire by R.B. Cattell in an adapted Russian-language version. To process quantitative data, the method of psychological profiles and structural psychological analysis were used.

Results. A comparative analysis of students' personality profiles for 2014 and 2024 revealed increasing discordance and disorganization of the personality structure, which is manifested in a decrease in adaptive abilities and degradation of metacognitive functions. In the cognitive sphere, fragmentation of thought processes and weakening of correlations between cognitive factors were found, which indicates the formation of a superficial, situationally-oriented style of thinking. Structural analysis of personality showed looseness and fragmentation of connections between adaptively significant qualities, which reduces the integrity of the personality and its resources, and also confirms the need to develop "digital detox" programs and restore regulatory functions.

Conclusions. The results of the study confirm significant negative changes in the psychological structure of students' personalities during the period of digital transformation, including a decrease in adaptive abilities, fragmentation of thinking, and disintegration of self-regulation. The data obtained substantiate the need to implement psychological and pedagogical programs aimed at developing metacognitive skills, conscious digital behavior, and restoring cognitive-regulatory functions.

Abstract

Background. This study addresses a pressing issue in developmental ecopsychology — the analysis of transformation of the operational structure of primary school students' thinking under the influence of radical changes in the sign-mediated environment, which, in turn, is driven by total digitalization. A retrospective analysis allows for identifying the specifics of cognitive development in the context of permanent inclusion in a new digital "ecological niche", which is a key to understanding the emerging patterns of mental development in the modern socio-technological context.

Objective. To conduct a comparative retrospective analysis of transformation of the operational structure of verbal-logical thinking in primary school pupils in the context of digitalization of the educational and social environment. To identify and compare the productivity dynamics of key thinking operations across the 2015, 2020, and 2025 cohorts for differentiating stable and plastic components of the cognitive sphere.

Sample. The study employed a retrospective cohort analysis design. The current cohort (2025) consisted of 64 second-graders, while the reference groups comprised archival cohorts from the same school for 2015 (n = 66) and 2020 (n = 62).

Methods. To assess the operational structure of thinking, the standardized E.F. Zambaceviciene method was used. Data processing was performed using IBM SPSS 26.0 with non-parametric criteria.

Results. The study revealed statistically significant dynamics in the productivity of operations: a consistent and significant decrease in the productivity of classification (χ² = 29.84, p < 0.001, ε² = 0.16) and generalization (χ² = 34.57, p < 0.001, ε² = 0.18) was recorded from the 2015 cohort to the 2025 cohort. Indicators of awareness (χ² = 1.02, p = 0.60) and analogical inference (χ² = 1.45, p = 0.48) showed no statistically significant changes, indicating the stability of core semantic structures.

Conclusions. The study results confirm the formation of a specific phenomenon of "digital ontogenesis", characterized by a differentiated transformation of the operational composition of thinking. From the perspective of ecopsychology, this indicates a restructuring of the "subject-environment" system at the cognitive level. For educational practice, this implies the need to develop didactic models that harmonize the interaction of emerging digital and established traditional cognitive patterns.