<![CDATA[The rapid advancement of digital technology has led to increased smartphone distraction among university students, particularly through notifications that disrupt learning activities. Such distractions potentially impair attentional control, which plays a critical role in working memory processes. This study aims to investigate the impact of smartphone notification interruptions on students' working memory. Using a quantitative experimental approach with a between-subjects design, this study involved undergraduate students aged 18–25, who were assigned to either a control group or an experimental group. The stimulus consisted of 15 meaningful words presented sequentially over approximately 45 seconds. The experimental group received three chat notification interruptions during the stimulus presentation, whereas the control group experienced no distractions. Following the presentation, participants underwent a one-minute retention interval before being asked to recall and write down as many words as possible using the free recall method. An Independent Samples t-Test revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, t(28) = -3.54, p = 0.001. The experimental group achieved a lower recall score (M = 3.40; SD = 1.18) compared to the control group (M = 5.40; SD = 1.84). These findings demonstrate that smartphone notification interruptions can disrupt attentional control and diminish working memory performance in university students.]]>
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