Emoji as gesture in digital communication: Emoji improve comprehension of indirect speech

As reliance on digital communication grows, so does the importance of communicating effectively with text. Yet when communicating with text, benefits from other channels, such as hand gesture, are diminished. Hand gestures support comprehension and disambiguate characteristics of the spoken message by providing information in a visual channel supporting speech. Can emoji (pictures used to supplement text communication) perform similar functions? Here, we ask whether emoji improve comprehension of indirect speech. Indirect speech is ambiguous, and appropriate comprehension depends on the receiver decoding context cues, such as hand gesture. We adapted gesture conditions from prior research (Kelly et al., 1999, Experiment 2) to a digital, text-based format, using emoji rather than gestures. Participants interpreted 12 hypothetical text-message exchanges that ended with indirect speech, communicated via text only, text+emoji, or emoji only, in a between-subjects design. Like that previously seen for hand gesture, emoji improved comprehension. Participants were more likely to correctly interpret indirect speech in the emoji-only condition compared with the text+emoji and the text-only conditions, and more likely in the text+emoji condition compared to the text-only condition. Thus, emoji are not mere decoration, but rather are integrated with text to communicate and disambiguate complex messages. Similar to gesture in face-to-face communication, emoji improve comprehension during text-based communication.

How the Effect of Virtual Reality on Cognitive Functioning Is Modulated by Gender Differences

Virtual reality (VR) can be a promising tool to simulate reality in various settings but the real impact of this technology on the human mental system is still unclear as to how VR might (if at all) interfere with cognitive functioning. Using a computer, we can concentrate, enter a state of flow, and still maintain control over our surrounding world. Differently, VR is a very immersive experience which could be a challenge for our ability to allocate divided attention to the environment to perform executive functioning tasks. This may also have a different impact on women and men since gender differences in both executive functioning and the immersivity experience have been referred to by the literature. The present study aims to investigate cognitive multitasking performance as a function of (1) virtual reality and computer administration and (2) gender differences. To explore this issue, subjects were asked to perform simultaneous tasks (span forward and backward, logical-arithmetic reasoning, and visuospatial reasoning) in virtual reality via a head-mounted display system (HDMS) and on a personal computer (PC). Our results showed in virtual reality an overall impairment of executive functioning but a better performance of women, compared to men, in visuospatial reasoning. These findings are consistent with previous studies showing a detrimental effect of virtual reality on cognitive functioning.

The basis of S-R learning: associations between individual stimulus features and responses

Three experiments tested the hypothesis that response selection skill involves associations between individual stimulus features and responses. The Orientation group in Experiments 1 and 2 first practiced responding to the orientation of a line stimulus while ignoring its color, and the Color group practiced responding to the color of the line while disregarding its orientation. When in the ensuing test conditions the Orientation group responded to the color of the line, RTs and errors increased when the then irrelevant line orientation was inconsistent with practice. This confirmed that during practice, Orientation participants had developed orientation feature-response associations they could not fully inhibit. Yet, evidence for color feature-response associations was not observed in the Color group. This was attributed to orientation identification being faster than color identification, even after having practiced responding to colors. Experiment 3 involved practicing to three line stimuli with unique orientation and color combinations. It showed evidence for the independent development of orientation feature-response associations and color feature-response associations. Together, these results indicate that the typical RT reduction with practice in response selection tasks is caused in part by the capacity of participants to learn selecting responses on the basis of the stimulus feature that becomes available first.

Problematic mobile phone use and time management disposition in Chinese college students: the chain mediating role of sleep quality and cognitive flexibility

BACKGROUND

With the widespread adoption of smartphones, there has been a notable increase in problematic mobile phone use (PMPU), particularly prevalent among college students. Research suggests that apart from being associated with various problematic behaviors, this excessive mobile phone use might also have an impact on individual personality traits, such as time management disposition (TMD), which plays a significant role in individual motivation and psychological well-being. While previous literature has identified a negative relationship between PMPU and TMD, few studies have delved into the underlying mediating mechanism. Thus, the main aim of this study was to examine the chain mediating effect of sleep quality and cognitive flexibility on the relationship between PMPU and TMD.

METHODS

A total of 921 Chinese college students completed the questionnaire. We collected basic information about the participants and assessed their PMPU, TMD, sleep quality, and cognitive flexibility using the Problematic Mobile Phone Use Scale-10, Adolescence Time Management Disposition Inventory, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scale and Cognitive Flexibility Inventory.

RESULTS

The results indicated a significant correlation among all the variables. Moreover, we noted that both sleep quality and cognitive flexibility fully mediated the association between PMPU and TMD. Additionally, a chain mediating effect involving sleep quality and flexibility in this relationship was also identified.

CONCLUSION

We found that sleep quality and cognitive flexibility had a series of multiple mediating effects in the pathway from PMPU to TMD, and both significantly mediated TMD. These findings indicated that impaired cognitive function and sleep quality may contribute to time management difficulties resulting from PMPU, suggesting that problematic behaviors like PMPU can impact one's personality traits. Therefore, interventions should be enhanced to mitigate the adverse effects of PMPU.

Problematic smartphone usage, objective smartphone engagement, and executive functions: A latent variable analysis

The negative consequences of smartphone usage have seen frequent discourse in popular media. While existing studies seek to resolve these debates in relation to executive functions, findings are still limited and mixed. This is partly due to the lack of conceptual clarity about smartphone usage, the use of self-reported measures, and problems related to task impurity. Addressing these limitations, the current study utilizes a latent variable approach to examine various types of smartphone usage, including objectively measured data-logged screen time and screen-checking, and nine executive function tasks in 260 young adults through a multi-session study. Our structural equation models showed no evidence that self-reported normative smartphone usage, objective screen time, and objective screen-checking are associated with deficits in latent factors of inhibitory control, task-switching, and working memory capacity. Only self-reported problematic smartphone usage was associated with deficits in latent factor task-switching. These findings shed light on the boundary conditions of the link between smartphone usage and executive functions and suggest that smartphone usage in moderation may not have inherent harms on cognitive functions.

Effects of cell phone presence on the control of visual attention during the Navon task

BACKGROUND

Although cell phones can provide great convenience to our lives, research has shown that they can also affect our behavior, even when not in use. It seems that having a cell phone nearby may not be ideal when the user needs to concentrate on work. However, little is known about whether cell phone presence specifically impairs attentional control.

METHODS

This study investigated whether cell phone presence can influence attentional control in the Navon task, which involves spatial switching of attention between global and local levels.

RESULTS

It was found that the reaction time for all types of trials decreased when the participants had a cell phone nearby compared to when they had a mobile battery nearby. It was also found that phone dependency led to more incorrect responses among participants, but this effect was independent of the influence of phone presence on the Navon task performance.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicate that cell phone presence may have a positive influence on the perceptual process of the Navon letter, suggesting that the effects of phone presence are not always negative. One implication provided by this study is that it is possible to challenge the assertion that cell phones should always be excluded from the workplace by highlighting the positive effects of their presence.

Does the Brain Drain Effect Really Exist? A Meta-Analysis

Smartphones have become an indispensable part of everyday life. Given the current debate about the use of smartphones in classrooms and schools, it seems appropriate to examine their effects on aspects of cognitive performance in more detail. Ward and colleagues not only demonstrated the negative effect of smartphones on cognitive performance but also showed that the mere presence of these devices can have this effect-this is known as the Brain Drain effect. In the present article, a meta-analytic approach was adopted in order to verify these findings. Here we show a significant overall negative effect of smartphone use and presence. In a database search we identified 22 studies with a total of 43 relevant effects that could be assigned to the categories "memory", "attention", and "general cognitive performance". A subgroup analysis suggests that not all cognitive domains are equally affected by the negative effect of smartphones. The heterogeneity of the effects reinforces this finding. The nationality of the test subjects or the origin of the studies was identified as a further key variable. Our findings also indicate that the distracting effect of smartphones varies on the area studies and further research is necessary. In view of the present research results, it seems important that people in general, and especially children and adolescents in schools and classrooms, learn how to deal with the distracting potential of smartphones.

The mere presence of a smartphone reduces basal attentional performance

The smartphone has become an indispensable part of everyday life. It enables endless possibilities and offers persistent access to a multiplicity of entertainment, information, and social contacts. The development towards a greater use and a persistent presence of the smartphone does not only lead to advantages, but also raises potential for negative consequences and a negative influence on attention. In this research, the hypothesis of the mere smartphone presence leading to cognitive costs and a lower attention is being tested. The smartphone may use limited cognitive resources and consequently lead to a lower cognitive performance. To investigate this hypothesis, participants aged 20-34 perform a concentration and attention test in the presence and absence of a smartphone. The results of the conducted experiment imply that the mere presence of a smartphone results in lower cognitive performance, which supports the hypothesis of the smartphone presence using limited cognitive resources. The study as well as the subsequent results and the resulting practical implications are presented and discussed in this paper.

Do I have your attention? Attention and engagement: What are they, and do I want them?

Why are my students not paying attention in class? Why are they not engaged? What am I doing wrong? These are questions that even seasoned faculty pose in moments of self-reflection. Although it is good practice for educators to continually evaluate their presentations for areas of improvement, it is unfortunately also true that questions of why students lack attention or engagement in class are often raised by school administrators as subtle implications of failure on the part of faculty. But why is it so hard for our students to pay attention? Why is it that students' focus can so easily ebb away during a class? Why are my students seemingly indifferent to the presented material? To address these issues, and to provide solutions that can be incorporated easily into class preparation and presentation, it is important to define precisely what we mean by attention and engagement. Are they the same thing, and if not, how do they differ? To what extent is the student responsible for acquiring and applying the material presented? Ultimately, of course, the student is accountable for learning the material and passing exams, but there are practices that we as educators often employ that erect hurdles and barriers to student learning, that can make the process significantly harder than it needs to be.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Although many articles and books exist describing various classroom strategies to increase student engagement, often advice to newer faculty is given as prescriptive ways to organize a class or to repeat what was given by the last person who presented the material. Yet irrespective of the structure of the class or learning environment, there are subtle hurdles that many faculty erect that hinder a student's progress. This Personal View discusses some of the potential barriers educators put up that deter effective student learning and, importantly, offers advice on how those barriers can be dismantled.

Reduced brain activity and functional connectivity during creative idea generation in individuals with smartphone addiction

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, the frequency of smartphone use has surged, which has caused an increase in smartphone addiction among individuals. Smartphone addiction can impair various cognitive abilities. However, to date, the impact of smartphone addiction on creative cognition remains unclear. The current functional near-infrared spectroscopy study compared neural differences between smartphone addiction tendency (SAT) and healthy control (HC) individuals during creative idea generation. In particular, by manipulating a key component of creative cognition, that is, overcoming semantic constraints, we explored whether SAT individuals could overcome semantic constraints. Both the SAT and HC groups completed the alternate uses task (AUT) in semantic constraint and unconstraint conditions. The results indicated that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and temporal regions were less active during AUT in the SAT group than in the HC group. In the SAT group, the PFC was less active under constraint than unconstraint conditions. Moreover, both task-related and resting-state functional connectivity analyses indicated weaker coupling between the PFC and temporal regions in the SAT than in the HC group. Furthermore, the left dorsolateral PFC mediated the effect of smartphone addiction on creative performance. These findings provide unprecedented neuroimaging evidence on the negative impact of smartphone addiction on creative cognition.

Mediating and moderating effects of cognitive flexibility in the relationship between social media addiction and phubbing

Presently, social media is widely used worldwide among different populations. Therefore, phubbing rapidly became a popular phenomenon in our daily life. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism and interaction between social media use and phubbing. Therefore, this research examines the mediating and moderating role of cognitive flexibility in the association between social media addiction and phubbing. Participants were 385 university students (280 females) studying at a state university in eastern Turkey and completed the self-reported measures of cognitive flexibility, social media addiction, and phubbing. The results showed that cognitive flexibility mediated and moderated the effect of social media addiction on phubbing. These findings may contribute to the discussion around the psychological consequences of using social media alongside increasing awareness about factors affecting and explaining the association between social media use and phubbing, which have important implications for research and practice.

Entertainment apps, limited attention and investment performance

With the advent of the "information age," investors are now faced with the challenges of the "mobile age," which has had a profound impact on the daily lives of people worldwide. Investors must process more information while experiencing increasing mobile phone-related distractions, particularly those generated by the fast-growing entertainment-type app industry. Attention is a limited cognitive resource that is vital for deliberate and thoughtful analysis. We analyzed data from an online peer-to-peer lending market to evaluate the impact of mobile distractions on investment performance. Our findings revealed that investors with a large number of mobile phone entertainment apps were more likely to exhibit higher default rates and lower investment returns. The results are robust, even when using exogenous internet service outage of the entertainment server and instrumental variables. We observed that the negative impact of distraction was more pronounced on Fridays and in regions with high-speed Internet access. A further examination of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon revealed that investment decisions made while being distracted by mobile apps were influenced by information neglect and familiarity biases.

Measuring affect and complex working memory in natural and urban environments

Introduction

Research suggests that spending time in natural environments is associated with cognitive and affective benefits, while increased use of technology and time spent in urban environments are associated with depletion of cognitive resources and an increasing prevalence of mental illness. Attention Restoration Theory suggests that exposure to natural environments can restore depleted attentional resources and thereby improve cognitive functioning and mood. Specifically, recent meta-analyses have revealed that the most improved cognitive abilities after nature exposure include selective attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility.

Methods

While existing studies examined these cognitive abilities, few have examined the Operation Span (OSPAN), a complex measure of working memory capacity. Therefore, the current study (N = 100) compared performance on the OSPAN and self-reported mood using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule before and after a 30-min walk in a natural or urban environment.

Results

Results from the study showed that both groups exhibited an increase in positive affect and a decrease in negative affect, suggesting that going outside for a walk can boost mood regardless of environment type. Inconsistent with past work, there were no significant changes in OSPAN scores before and after the walk for either environment type.

Discussion

Future studies should analyze how the length of time spent in the environment, certain characteristics of the environment, and individual differences in connectedness to nature may impact attention restoration to gain insight on nature's ability to improve our affect and cognition.

Turkish adaptation of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

The aim of this study is to adapt the Smartphone Distraction Scale to Turkish and to examine its psychometric properties. The participants of the study consisted of a community sample of 399 people, 288 (72.2%) women and 111 (27.8%) men, aged between 18-60 (27.14±10.89). In data collection, Sociodemographic Form (SF), Smartphone Distraction Scale-Turkish Version (SDS), Bergen Social Media Scale (BSMS), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Current Symptoms Scale (CSS), and Perceived Multitasking Scale (PMS) were used. The data were analyzed through Cronbach alpha internal consistency coefficient, Pearson product-moment correlation test, item-total score correlation coefficients, confirmatory factor analysis to estimate the construct validity of the scale. Considering the internal consistency reliability of the scale, the Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was found to be .88 for attention/impulsivity, .80 for alertness, .76 for multitasking, and .76 for emotion regulation. The item and total score correlation coefficients of the scale items were found to be between 0.49 and 0.76. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 16-item and four-factor structure of the scale. The correlation of SDS with BSMAS, ERQ, CSS, and PMS was found to be statistically significant. The results of the research show that the SDS adapted to Turkish culture is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used in academic studies and clinical settings.

The relationship between smartphone addiction and aggression among Lebanese adolescents: the indirect effect of cognitive function

BACKGROUND

Despite a large body of research has shown that smartphone addiction (SA) is associated with aggressive behaviors, only a few mediators have been previously examined in this relationship among early adolescent students. No previous studies have explored, to our knowledge, the indirect role of cognitive function despite its great importance during this life period. This study is intended to verify whether cognitive function have indirect effects on the relationship between SA and aggression among high-school students in the context of Lebanese culture.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional designed study, conducted between January and May 2022, and enrolling 379 Lebanese adolescent students (aged 13-17 years). The Cognitive Functioning Self-Assessment Scale, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short form were used.

RESULTS

The bivariate analysis results revealed that higher SA and worse cognitive function were significantly associated with more physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility. The mediation analyses found that cognitive function mediated the association between SA and physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility. Higher SA was significantly associated with worse cognitive function and more physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility. Finally, worse cognitive function was significantly associated with more physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility.

CONCLUSION

Our findings cautiously suggest that, to reduce adolescent students' aggression, interventions that promote cognitive performance may be effective. Particularly, students who are addicted to smartphones and show aggressive tendencies require interventions designed to improve cognition function.

The hidden cost of a smartphone: The effects of smartphone notifications on cognitive control from a behavioral and electrophysiological perspective

Since their release in 2007, smartphones and their use have seemingly become a fundamental aspect of life in western society. Prior literature has suggested a link between mobile technology use and lower levels of cognitive control when people engage in a cognitively demanding task. This effect is more evident for people who report higher levels of smartphone use. The current study examined the effects of smartphones notifications on cognitive control and attention. Participants completed the Navon Letter paradigm which paired visual (frequent and rare target letters) and auditory (smartphone and control sounds) stimuli. We found that overall, participants responded slower on trials paired with smartphone notification (vs. control) sounds. They also demonstrated larger overall N2 ERP and a larger N2 oddball effect on trials paired with smartphone (vs. control) sounds, suggesting that people generally exhibited greater levels of cognitive control on the smartphone trials. In addition, people with higher smartphone addiction proneness showed lower P2 ERP on trials with the smartphone (vs. control) sounds, suggesting lower attentional engagement. These results add to the debate on the effects of smartphones on cognition. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Someone to Watch Over You: Using Bluetooth Beacons for Alerting Distracted Pedestrians

In the United States, an estimated 7,005 (crude rate 2.13) pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This statistic is currently increasing annually and research suggests that distraction by smartphones may be a primary reason for the increasing number of pedestrian injuries and deaths. Timely interruptions may alert inattentive pedestrians and prevent fatalities. To this end, we developed StreetBit, a Bluetooth beacon-based system that warns distracted pedestrians with a visual and/or audible interruption when they approach a potentially dangerous traffic intersection while distracted by their smartphones. We posit that by using StreetBit, we can educate distracted pedestrians and elicit behavioral change to reduce or remove smartphone-based distractions when they enter and cross roadways. To demonstrate the feasibility of StreetBit, we conducted a field study with 385 participants. Results show that the system demonstrates adequate feasibility and behavior change in response to the StreetBit program.

Reexamining the "brain drain" effect: A replication of Ward et al. (2017)

The present study was a pre-registered direct replication of Ward et al.'s (2017) second experiment (OSF pre-registration found at: https://osf.io/5fq4r). This replication assigned both smartphone location (on desk, in pocket/bag, or outside of the testing room) and smartphone power (on, or off) for a total of six conditions. Participants completed an automated operation span (OSpan) task, a Cue-Dependent Go/No-Go task, and the smartphone attachment and dependency inventory. It was hypothesized that performance on an attention-demanding task (i.e., the OSpan task) would be worse for those in closer proximity to their smartphone (on desk) and that those with greater smartphone attachment and dependency would have a larger "brain drain" effect. Using the same tasks and conditions as in Ward et al.'s (2017) second experiment, the present study found that the "brain drain" effect did not replicate: there was no difference between smartphone location conditions on performance on either the o-span task or the go/no-go task. These findings demonstrate that the mere presence of one's smartphone may not be enough to affect cognitive performance. Understanding these effects is crucial in a time where smartphones are a basic necessity.

The Impact of Enhancing Phone Activeness on the Negative Effect Induced by the Presence of a Cell Phone

In the information-driven workplace, cell phones have gradually become irreplaceable. Although the use of work-related cell phones can bring convenience, recent research has demonstrated that the presence of a cell phone can impair cognitive task performance by reducing available attentional resources and suggested that the effect of the phone’s presence can be influenced by phone-related factors. This study focused on the relationship between this effect and phone activeness and conducted two experiments to investigate whether increasing phone activeness is associated with a stronger effect from the phone’s presence by using a dual-task paradigm (primary: letter recognition task, secondary: luminance-change detection task). Phone activeness was manipulated by two potential factors: the phone’s power state (control, powered-off, powered-on) and physical contact state (the phone was placed on the desk or held in the hand). The results showed that secondary task performance decreased with the phone’s presence, regardless of its power state and contact state. This indicated that the presence of the phone only affects the available attentional resources devoted to the peripheral visual field where the secondary task stimuli occurred; however, the effect of the phone’s presence was not moderated by phone activeness. The current findings provided several extended understandings related to the negative effects caused by the presence of the cell phone and their underlying mechanisms.

Effects of the presence of a cell phone and exposure to natural environments on remote associates task performance

In today's advanced information society, creativity in work is highly valued, and there is growing interest in the kinds of work environments that produce more creative outcomes. Recent researchers have demonstrated that when environmental factors change a worker's attentional state to a diffused state, the worker has access to more information than usual, which can contribute to creativity. Here, we examined whether manipulating environmental factors (the presence of a cell phone and exposure to natural environment) that could affect such attention states would improve performance on the Remote Associates Task, a measure of creativity. Our results showed that the presence of a cell phone increased creative performance regardless of immersion in natural environment. In contrast, exposure to nature did not facilitate creative performance; instead, feelings of pleasure increased, and frustration decreased. These results suggest that the presence of a cell phone can enhance creativity by influencing workers' attentional states. The current study provides a meaningful approach to enhancing creativity by modulating attentional states through environmental factors. It also highlights the essential features of environmental factors that can moderate creative abilities.

The Association Between Temperament and Characteristics, Smartphone App Use Patterns and Academic Performance of University Students

BACKGROUND

Smartphone use patterns may predict daily life efficacy and performance improvements in sports. Additionally, personal characteristics may be associated with smartphone overuse.

METHODS

We investigated the correlation between the temperament and character inventory (TCI) and academic performance using smartphone log data. We hypothesized that the elite and general groups, divided based on academic performance, differed according to the TCI and downloadable smartphone apps (applications). Additionally, we hypothesized a correlation between smartphone app usage patterns and TCI. A total of 151 students provided smartphone log data of the previous four weeks. They also completed the TCI and provided academic records of the previous year.

RESULTS

The first and second most frequently used apps by both groups of students were social networking and entertainment, respectively. Elite students scored higher on novelty seeking, reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, and self-transcendence than general students. In all participants, the usage time of serious apps was correlated with the scores for novelty seeking (r = 0.32, P < 0.007), reward dependence (r = 0.32, P < 0.007), and self-transcendence (r = 0.35, P < 0.006). In the elite group, the usage time of serious apps was correlated with the scores for novelty seeking (r = 0.45, P < 0.001), reward dependence (r = 0.39, P = 0.022), and self-transcendence (r = 0.35, P = 0.031). In the general group, the usage time of serious apps was correlated only with self-transcendence (r = 0.32, P < 0.007).

CONCLUSION

High usage time of serious apps can help sports majors to excel academically. Particularly among sports majors, serious apps are related to activity, the desire for rewards and recognition, and the tendency to transcend themselves.

New Technology Evokes Old Memories: Frequent Smartphone Use Increases Feeling of Nostalgia

In the era of technology, smartphone use occupies an important position in our lives. The present research focused on the psychological consequence of frequent smartphone use and possible way to remedy it. We proposed that frequent smartphone use could damage people's sense of control and in turn trigger nostalgia. Moreover, nostalgia could directly compensate for the low sense of control induced by frequent smartphone use. Five studies (N = 918) were conducted. Study 1 found through a field study that frequent smartphone use increases nostalgia. Studies 2 and 3 found through 14-day tracking and a laboratory experiment that frequent smartphone use decreased people's sense of control and then triggered nostalgia. Furthermore, nostalgia could enhance the low sense of control, and it worked by increasing self-esteem (Studies 4 and 5). The findings show the negative impact of frequent smartphone use, and nostalgia is an effective way to remedy it without preventing people from using smartphones.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Mobile Phone Dependence, and Academic Boredom in Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has threatened adolescents’ mental health and even elicited their academic problems. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common negative psychological reactions, and academic boredom is a typical academic problem to the pandemic. PTSD might be related to academic boredom, but the underlying mechanism of this potential relation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear.

Aims: Under the framework of the job demands–resources model and the model of compensatory internet use, this study aims to examine the mediating role of mobile phone dependency in the relation between PTSD and academic boredom.

Methods: Six hundred and thirty-one middle school students in Hubei Province were investigated using self-report questionnaires. SPSS19.0 and Mplus7.0 were used for data analysis.

Results: PTSD symptoms were associated positively with academic boredom, and mobile phone dependence played a mediating role in the relation between PTSD and academic boredom. Specifically, adolescents with severe PTSD symptoms tended to report greater dependency on mobile phones, and hence show higher levels of boredom in learning.

Conclusion: PTSD symptoms of adolescents directly aggravated their academic boredom, and indirectly affected academic boredom by increasing their dependence on mobile phones.

The relationship between maternal smartphone use, physiological responses, and gaze patterns during breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions with infant

Smartphone use during parent-child interactions is highly prevalent, however, there is a lack of scientific knowledge on how smartphone use during breastfeeding or face-to-face interactions may modulate mothers’ attentive responsiveness towards the infant as well as maternal physiological arousal. In the present study, we provide the first evidence for the influence of the smartphone on maternal physiological responses and her attention towards the infant during breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions. Twenty breastfeeding mothers and their infants participated in this lab study during which electrodermal activity, cardiograph impedance, and gaze patterns were monitored in breastfeeding and face-to-face interactions with three conditions manipulating the level of maternal smartphone involvement. We report that mothers’ gaze toward their infants decreased when breastfeeding while using the smartphone compared to face-to-face interaction. Further, we show that greater maternal electrodermal activity and cardiac output were related to longer maternal gaze fixation toward the smartphone during breastfeeding. Finally, results indicate that mothers’ smartphone addiction levels were negatively correlated with electrodermal activity during breastfeeding. This study provides an initial basis for much required further research that will explore the influence of smartphone use on maternal biobehavioral responses in this digital age and the consequences for infant cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Notification alert! Effects of auditory text alerts on attention and heart rate variability across three developmental periods

In a modern world saturated with cellphone-related stimuli, surprisingly little is known about their psychological effects. A small number of previous studies have found global distracting effects of cellphone rings on cognitive performance in undergraduate students. However, moment-to-moment reactions to cellphone sounds have not been investigated, nor have physiological changes that might accompany the cognitive effects. Developmental variations also remain unexamined. Thus, two experiments were conducted to examine the effects of cellphone notification sounds on cognitive performance (i.e., reaction time and accuracy on math problems) and heart rate variability in three age groups: adolescents (mean age: 15 years); young adults (mean age: 20 years); and mid-life adults (mean age: 48 years). Effects were most pronounced in the adolescent group, whose math problem accuracy and reaction time was compromised in response to notification sounds. These compromises were accompanied by increases in heart rate variability.

Smartphone-Related Accidents in Children and Adolescents: A Novel Mechanism of Injury

OBJECTIVES

Smartphones have become an integral part of daily life, often grabbing full attention of its user. We hypothesized that smartphone-associated trauma in children and adolescents has increased in the last decade. The objective of this study was to analyze smartphone-related injuries in children at two German centers for pediatric emergency care.

METHODS

Smartphone-related injuries were recorded between January 2008 and March 2018 at two centers of pediatric surgery in Germany. Data were assessed for patient demography, cause of accident, type of injury, treatment, and outcome.

RESULTS

Ten children (8 girls, 2 boys; mean ± SD age, 10.6 ± 6.0 years; range, 10 weeks to 17 years) were included. Two patients were injured in 2008 to 2015, eight in 2016 to 2018, of which three required hospital admissions. Six accidents happened in public spaces, and four within domestic environments. Eight children (mean ± SD age, 13.3 ± 2.4 years; 7 girls) were injured while using their smartphone, therefore being distracted. Two children (mean ± SD age, 6.5 ± 6.4 months) were involuntarily hurt by the smartphone of their caregivers. The causes of accident and related injuries were highly variable and ranged from minor trauma (mild head injury [n = 3], abrasions [n = 2], bruises of fingers [n = 2]/hand [n = 1]/ankle [n = 2]) to major injuries requiring intensive care treatment (pelvic [n = 1] or vertebral body fractures [n = 1]).

CONCLUSIONS

Smartphone-associated injuries mainly caused by distraction gain increasing importance in pediatric traumatology. The frequency is higher in females compared with their male counterparts. The prevention of these accidents should become part of educational programs for children and adolescents.

The mere presence of a mobile phone: Does it influence driving performance?

The ubiquity of mobile phones has led to a rapid increase in its presence and use in vehicles, especially among young adults (up to 25 years), who are generally the least experienced group of drivers. The potential for phones to draw attention away from the main driving task has significant consequences for road safety. Previous studies have found that the mere presence of a mobile phone can be distracting by impairing attention in experimental non-driving contexts. However, the effect of phone presence, independent to usage, has not yet been examined in the context of driving. As such, the present study examined whether the mere presence of a mobile phone, its proximity to the driver, and power status (on/off) influenced the driving performance of young drivers. Additionally, this study assessed whether the effects of phone presence and proximity were moderated by an individual's level of dependence on, or emotional attachment to, their phone. A sample of 127 undergraduate psychology students (M = 19.76, SD = 1.63) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) phone absent (control), (2) phone on, in holder, (3) phone off, in holder, and (4) phone on, in pocket. They all completed the same simulated drive, and were measured for degree of phone dependence and phone emotional attachment. Overall, drivers in all the phone present conditions made significantly more driving errors (speeding and collision) compared to those in the phone absent (control) condition, irrespective of proximity to the phone and whether it was on or off. Phone dependence, but not phone emotional attachment, moderated the effect of phone presence on speeding behaviour. These findings suggest that the mere presence of a phone is distracting for drivers, especially so for those who are highly dependent on their phone, which may place them at a greater risk of a distraction induced crash.

Fear of Missing Out Predicts Distraction by Social Reward Signals Displayed on a Smartphone in Difficult Driving Situations

Smartphones are particularly likely to elicit driver distraction with obvious negative repercussions on road safety. Recent selective attention models lead to expect that smartphones might be very effective in capturing attention due to their social reward history. Hence, individual differences in terms of Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) – i.e., of the apprehension of missing out on socially rewarding experiences – should play an important role in driver distraction. This factor has already been associated with self-reported estimations of greater attention paid to smartphones while driving, but the potential link between FoMO and smartphone-induced distraction has never been tested empirically. Therefore, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate whether FoMO would modulate attentional capture by reward distractors displayed on a smartphone. First, participants performed a classical visual search task in which neutral stimuli (colored circles) were associated with high or low social reward outcomes. Then, they had to detect a pedestrian or a roe deer in driving scenes with various levels of fog density. The social reward stimuli were displayed as distractors on the screen of a smartphone embedded in the pictures. The results showed a significant three-way interaction between FoMO, social reward distraction, and task difficulty. More precisely, under attention-demanding conditions (i.e., high-fog density), individual FoMO scores predicted attentional capture by social reward distractors, with longer reaction times (RTs) for high rather than low social reward distractors. These results highlight the importance to consider reward history and FoMO when investigating smartphone-based distraction. Limitations are discussed, notably regarding our sample characteristics (i.e., mainly young females) that might hamper the generalization of our findings to the overall population. Future research directions are provided.

How bad is the mere presence of a phone? A replication of Przybylski and Weinstein (2013) and an extension to creativity

A 2013 article reported two experiments suggesting that the mere presence of a cellphone (vs. a notebook) can impair the relationship quality between strangers. The purpose of the present research is twofold: (1) closely replicate this article's findings, and (2) examine whether there may be an impact of the mere presence of a phone on creativity, whether at a group- or an individual- level. In two experiments (N = 356 participants, 136 groups), we followed the original procedure in the 2013 article. In particular, groups of participants who had never seen each other before the study had a conversation in the mere presence of either a smartphone or a notebook. The participants then carried out creative tasks, in groups (Studies 1 and 2) or alone (Study 1). In both studies, we failed to replicate the original results on relationship quality. We also failed to find any effect of the mere presence of a phone on creativity. We discuss possible reasons which may have caused differences between our results and the original ones. Our main conclusion is an effect of the mere presence of a phone on relationship quality and creativity is at minimum harder to find than what was previously assumed in the literature. More generally, this research contributes to qualify the view that smartphones are harmful.

The neural basis underlying impaired attentional control in problematic smartphone users

As a portable media device that enables ubiquitous access to friends and entertainment, smartphones are inextricably linked with our lives. Although there is growing concern about the detrimental effect of problematic smartphone use on attentional control, the underlying neural mechanisms of impaired attentional control in problematic smartphone users (PSU) has yet to be investigated. Using a modified cognitive conflict task, we examined behavioral performance in the presence of distracting words during functional magnetic resonance imaging in 33 PSU and 33 control participants (CON). Compared with the CON group, the PSU group demonstrated impaired performance that was accompanied by constantly enhanced but not differentiated activation in the frontoparietal regions across all conditions, regardless of distractor saliency. The inferior parietal lobule (IPL) activation in the PSU group, in particular, showed an association with performance deficits in the distractor conditions. Furthermore, the PSU group exhibited decreased functional connectivity of the right IPL with the right superior temporal gyrus of the ventral attention system in the attention-demanding condition relative to the easiest condition, which was associated with the severe dependence on smartphone use. Our findings suggest that greater distractibility in the PSU group during the attentional control task may be associated with inefficient recruitment of the ventral attention network involved in bottom-up attentional processing, as indicated by hyperactivation but less coherence within the network. The present study provides evidence for understanding the neural mechanisms underlying the impaired ability to keep attention from being oriented to task-irrelevant stimuli observed in PSU.

Psychiatric rehabilitation through teaching smartphone skills to improve functional outcomes in serious mental illness

This study measured the impact of a digital competencies and skills course on participants with serious mental illness. Close to 75% of participants reported an improvement in a smartphone related skill, and the majority of participants that reported improvement in one skill reported improvement in at least one other. Qualitative feedback from participants suggests how digital competencies acquired were used to immediately support functional outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

To improve functional outcomes in patients with serious mental illness through a multi-session curriculum designed to improve smartphone skills and engage participants in group learning and problem solving, targeting negative and cognitive symptoms of illness.

METHODS

An eight-week smartphone digital competencies and skills course was offered to two distinct groups of youth with serious mental illness. Pre and post self-report measurements were captured for each participant for each session.

RESULTS

Group participation varied by session, but overall 28 unique patients attended. From survey results, 75% reported improvement in smartphone related skills because of the groups. Qualitative feedback suggests how skills acquired by patients were immediately utilized to gain insight into health and support functional outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Smartphone skills groups are a means to provide practical psychiatric rehabilitation that may enable some patients to compensate for cognitive and social deficits due to illness. While ensuring groups are responsive to patients with varying degrees of skills remains a challenge, adapting lesson structures and mediums, as well as creating new measurement tools, offers a means to modify the course with the clinical need.

Exploring the Dimensions of Smartphone Distraction: Development, Validation, Measurement Invariance, and Latent Mean Differences of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS)

Background: Distraction is a functional emotion regulation strategy utilized to relieve emotional distress. Within the attention economy perspective, distraction is increasingly associated with digital technology use, performance impairments and interference with higher-order cognitive processes. Research on smartphone distraction and its association with problematic smartphone use is still scarce and there is no available psychometric assessment tool to assess this cognitive and emotive process parsimoniously. Method: The present study reports the development and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity, gender invariance, and latent mean differences. The study was conducted in a sample of British university students (N = 1,001; M = 21.10 years, SD = 2.77). Results: The 16-item SDS was best conceptualized in a four-factor model solution comprising attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, emotion regulation, and multitasking. Construct validity was established using relevant psychosocial and mental health measures, with SDS scores being moderately associated with deficient self-regulation and problematic social media use. Gender measurement invariance was achieved at the configural, metric, and scalar levels, and latent mean differences indicated that females had significantly higher means than males across all four SDS latent factors. Discussion: The SDS presents with several strengths, including its theoretical grounding, relatively short length, and sound psychometric properties. The SDS enables the assessment of distraction, which appears to be one of the pathways to problematic smartphone use facilitating overuse and overreliance on smartphones for emotion regulation processes. The assessment of distraction in relation to problematic use in vulnerable populations may facilitate interventions that could encourage metacognition and benefit these groups by allowing sustained productivity in an increasingly disrupted work and social environment.

Investigating predictors of online vigilance among university students

Purpose

Online vigilance is a novel construct which describes individual differences in users' cognitive orientation to online connectedness, their attention to and integration of online-related cues and stimuli and their prioritisation of online communication. Its proponents argue that it is acquired through the processes of instrumental and attentional training that underlie media use behaviours. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of three personal characteristics (emotional intelligence, rumination and identity distress) as predictors of online vigilance in addition to media use behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted an exploratory frame and followed a survey-methodology to collect data among a sample of university students (n = 812). The resulting data were analysed through a hierarchical multiple regression process in which four models were considered.

Findings

The findings indicate that while media use behaviours (daily smartphone use, social media use, messaging, video watching and media multitasking) predict online vigilance, their combined effect is weak. However, when considering these behaviours in combination with trait rumination and identity distress, a moderate effect is observable.

Research limitations/implications

While the findings do not permit causal inference, it suggests that two personal characteristics, trait rumination and identity distress, play an important role in determining an individual's tendency or ability to psychologically disconnect from their online spheres. This provides an initial step towards the theorisation of online vigilance and the identification of individuals who may be at risk of acquiring it.

Originality/value

Online vigilance is a novel construct which has only been investigated in a small number of studies. However, its emphasis on psychological connectedness presents a unique and important development in the context of permanently online, permanently connected living. The present study is the first to explore its association with personal characteristics.

College Campuses and Student Walkability: Assessing the Impact of Smartphone Use on Student Perception and Evaluation of Urban Campus Routes

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationships between college campus walking route characteristics and student perceptions of them with smartphone use. The study used student sketch maps, survey questionnaires, and observations and measurements of route features on a Korean urban campus. The results show that the pedestrian perception and evaluation of campus walking routes are impacted differently in two conditions: walking with smartphone use and walking without smartphone use. “Smartphone walkers” found the safety and quality of routes more important, while walkers without phones considered the shortest distance and positive walking experience to be important factors in their route choices. Campus-built environments need to be improved to provide more adaptive solutions to respond to changes in pedestrian behavior and perception due to increased “smartphone walking”. Recommendations include a walker-friendly campus with well-connected streets and networks, separation from vehicles (ensuring safety), good quality sidewalks, and increased campus green space.

Preventing Child and Adolescent Mental Illness - We Got This

Background:

International data indicates that up to 20% of the world’s children and adolescents have at least one mental health disorder. In the United States, nearly 50% of teenagers meet DSM criteria for a psychiatric disorder, and over 25% suffer from a “severe disorder.” Mental health and substance use disorders remain two of the greatest contributors to the global disease burden. Typically, mental health professionals are not trained for prevention; however, over the past 50 years, the field of psychiatry has identified many practices that prevent and limit the severity of psychiatric disorders.

Objective:

In this overview, we first address the great degree of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral suffering that children and adolescents face world-wide. We then describe how a health promotion/disease prevention model differs from typical mental health care. Finally, we describe a series of interventions at the individual, community, and societal levels that can be utilized to prevent and lessen the burden of mental illness.

Conclusion:

Given our enhanced understanding of the prevalence of mental illness, the degree to which it interferes with healthy functioning, and the enormous global burden it causes, now is the time to engage psychiatrists and psychologists in health promotion and disease prevention. The field of psychiatry should begin to focus on designing and implementing mental health promotion and disease prevention programs, akin to those described here, to combat the onset, development, and progression of mental illness.

Does a smartphone on the desk drain our brain? No evidence of cognitive costs due to smartphone presence in a short-term and prospective memory task

It has recently been shown that the mere presence of one's own smartphone on the desk impairs working memory performance. The aim of this study was to follow up on this important finding by assessing the effect of smartphone presence (present on the desk vs. absent from the desk) on different memory functions (short-term memory and prospective memory), and by further examining the moderating role of individual differences in smartphone dependency and impulsiveness. We found no overall effect of smartphone presence on short-term and prospective memory performance. There was a moderating effect for prospective memory: Performance was better when the smartphone was absent versus present for participants with low smartphone dependency. In light of the absence of an overall effect of smartphone presence on memory functions, our results show that previous findings of impairments in working memory due to smartphone presence do not generalize to other domains of memory capacity.

Feeding in the Digital Age: An Observational Analysis of Mobile Device Use during Family Meals at Fast Food Restaurants in Italy

Caregiver mobile phone use while monitoring children is a behavior of increasing prevalence. Family mealtimes have long been considered a time in which parents and children connect emotionally and model eating behaviors, but prior studies have documented less parent-child conversation and more negative parent reactions to child behavioral bids at the table during parent phone use. Research on this topic to date is sparse and focuses only on US populations. The current study used non-participant naturalistic observation to record data on parental mealtime device use and family interactions while dining with children in a fast food restaurant in Italy. Thirty seven families (individuals observed = 129) were observed at a restaurant for the duration of their meal. Qualitative analysis of field notes indicated that mobile phones are frequently used by caregivers during feeding interactions. A novel observation in the current study was different patterns of use by parent gender and age. Mothers appeared to divide their attention between phone and child, whereas fathers evidenced more continuous mobile phone use during which there was lower responsiveness towards children during the meal. Younger parents more frequently used mobile phones, compared to older parents. Parents who missed child bids for attention were all phone users during the mealtime.

Mobile phones: The effect of its presence on learning and memory

Our aim was to examine the effect of a smartphone's presence on learning and memory among undergraduates. A total of 119 undergraduates completed a memory task and the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). As predicted, those without smartphones had higher recall accuracy compared to those with smartphones. Results showed a significant negative relationship between phone conscious thought, "how often did you think about your phone", and memory recall but not for SAS and memory recall. Phone conscious thought significantly predicted memory accuracy. We found that the presence of a smartphone and high phone conscious thought affects one's memory learning and recall, indicating the negative effect of a smartphone proximity to our learning and memory.

Mobile phone addiction and cognitive failures in daily life: The mediating roles of sleep duration and quality and the moderating role of trait self-regulation

Previous studies have reported well-documented findings that mobile phone addiction (MPA) is associated with negative emotion-related consequences; however, sporadic research has investigated the associations between MPA and cognitive outcomes related to daily cognitive functioning. Sleep duration, sleep quality, and trait self-regulation are thought to be linked to this association. The present study aimed to examine the mediating roles of sleep duration and quality and the moderating role of trait self-regulation between MPA and daily cognitive failures. A total of 1721 secondary school students were recruited to complete four self-reported questionnaires. The model results indicated that sleep quality (but not sleep duration) partially mediated the association between MPA and daily cognitive failures, and high levels of trait self-regulation could attenuate the potential impact of MPA on daily cognitive failures through sleep quality. Overall, these findings address the issue of how and when MPA is linked with cognitive performance in daily life, which can advance a better understanding of the negative consequences induced by MPA. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Mobile Phone Addiction and Risk-Taking Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model

Objectives: The mobile phone (MP) is an indispensable digital device in adolescents’ daily lives in the contemporary era, but being addicted to MP can lead to more risk-taking behavior. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. To address the gaps in the literature, the present study examined the idea that MP addiction is associated with reduced self-control, which further associates with increased risk-taking behavior. In addition, this study also investigated the moderation effect of adolescent sex in the association between MP addiction and self-control. Methods: A three-wave longitudinal study, each wave spanning six months apart, was conducted in a sample of Chinese adolescents (final N = 333, 57.4% girls). Results: Results of the moderated mediation model suggest that after controlling for demographic variables and baseline levels of self-control and risk-taking behavior, MP addiction at T1 positively predicted increased risk-taking behavior at T3 through reduced self-control at T2 for girls but not for boys. Conclusions: Theoretically, these findings contribute to the understanding about the working processes in the association between MP addiction and risk-taking behavior in adolescents. Practically, the results implied that boosting self-control appeared as a promising way to reduce girls’ risk-taking behavior, particularly for those who are addicted to MPs.

Mind over Matter: Testing the Efficacy of an Online Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Distraction from Smartphone Use

Evidence suggests a growing call for the prevention of excessive smartphone and social media use and the ensuing distraction that arises affecting academic achievement and productivity. A ten-day online randomized controlled trial with the use of smartphone apps, engaging participants in mindfulness exercises, self-monitoring and mood tracking, was implemented amongst UK university students (n = 143). Participants were asked to complete online pre- and post-intervention assessments. Results indicated high effect sizes in reduction of smartphone distraction and improvement scores on a number of self-reported secondary psychological outcomes. The intervention was not effective in reducing habitual behaviours, nomophobia, or time spent on social media. Mediation analyses demonstrated that: (i) emotional self-awareness but not mindful attention mediated the relationship between intervention effects and smartphone distraction, and (ii) online vigilance mediated the relationship between smartphone distraction and problematic social media use. The present study provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of an intervention for decreased smartphone distraction and highlights psychological processes involved in this emergent phenomenon in the smartphone literature. Online interventions may serve as complementary strategies to reduce distraction levels and promote insight into online engagement. More research is required to elucidate the mechanisms of digital distraction and assess its implications in problematic use.