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COGNITIVE RESILIENCE MECHANISMS AGAINST PERSISTENT ALGORITHMIC PERSUASION AND BEHAVIORAL NUDGING IN IMMERSIVE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENTS

Archives for Technical Sciences | 2026

Paper Details

Authors: Khalimova M.; Urinova N.; Dehkonboev S.; Iskhakova S.; Jurayev A.; Rafikova F.; Jabborova D.

DOI: 10.70102/afts.2026.1835.075

Journal: Archives for Technical Sciences

Year: 2026

Publisher: Technical institute of Bijeljina

Document Type: Article

Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access

Cited by: 0

Abstract

Adaptive algorithms have become increasingly influential in shaping the nature of immersive digital experiences and have been used to continually personalise content, recommendations, and behavioural prompts. Since over 70% of users interact with AI-modified systems daily, algorithmic mediation is a factor in almost two-thirds of content viewing and decision-making processes. Although personalisation increases engagement, systematic effects on cognition have been observed with continuous exposure to behavioural nudging, including a decrease in attentional flexibility (approximately 15-20% depreciation in task-switching performance) and an increase in impulsive interaction rates (approximately 25% increase in experimental simulations). Although there is growing alarm, less explored mechanisms to enhance user resistance to algorithmic persuasion remain. This paper examines cognitive resilience measures that can counter persuasive power in immersive digital environments. Three interventions, metacognitive awareness training, digital literacy activation prompts, and timed reflective interruption cues, were tested on 362 participants in the controlled experimental design. The participants were exposed to simulated adaptive platforms that were tuned to different levels of persuasion. Measures were made of behavioural compliance, engagement latency, and perceived autonomy. The results have shown that metacognitive training decreased the rate of compliance to high-intensity nudges by 38% (p < .01). Digital literacy also led to reduced impulsive click behaviour (by 26%), and reflective interruption cues increased perceived autonomy scores (by 35%). A combination of these interventions showed susceptibility to persuasive manipulation of more than 50% compared with control conditions. These findings indicate that cognitive resilience is strength enable in a systematic manner. Incorporating reflective, awarenessbased protective mechanisms into immersive systems can offset innovation and user independence in more persuasive digital ecosystems. © 2026, Technical institute of Bijeljina. All rights reserved.

Keywords

algorithmic persuasion; behavioural nudging; cognitive resilience; digital literacy interventions; immersive digital environments; metacognitive training; user autonomy and decision-making