Is the smartphone a smart choice? The effect of smartphone separation on executive functions

Abstract Despite a huge spike in smartphone overuse, the cognitive and emotional consequences of smartphone overuse have rarely been examined empirically. In two studies, we investigated whether separation from a smartphone influences state anxiety and impairs higher-order cognitive processes, such as executive functions. We found that smartphone separation causes heightened anxiety, which in turn mediates the adverse effect of smartphone separation on all core aspects of executive functions, including shifting (Experiment 1) and inhibitory control and working-memory capacity (Experiment 2). Interestingly, impaired mental shifting was evident regardless of the extent of smartphone addiction, whereas smartphone addiction significantly moderated the negative effect of smartphone separation on inhibitory control, as assessed by the Stroop task. The study sheds light on cognitive mechanisms that may underlie some of these negative consequences of smartphone overuse.

[1]  Jaemin Jung,et al.  Mobile communication for human needs: A comparison of smartphone use between the US and Korea , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[2]  A. Hayes.  Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical Mediation Analysis in the New Millennium , 2009 .

[3]  Susan D. Moeller,et al.  «El mundo desconectado» y «24 horas sin medios»: alfabetización mediática para la conciencia crítica de los jóvenes , 2012 .

[4]  T. Marteau,et al.  The development of a six-item short-form of the state scale of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). , 1992, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[5]  Min Kwon,et al.  The Smartphone Addiction Scale: Development and Validation of a Short Version for Adolescents , 2013, PloS one.

[6]  A. Isen,et al.  Positive affect improves working memory: Implications for controlled cognitive processing , 2013, Cognition & emotion.

[7]  Andrew Lepp,et al.  The relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and Satisfaction with Life in college students , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[8]  Andrew K. Przybylski,et al.  Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[9]  Josefa N. S. Pandeirada,et al.  Source-constrained retrieval and survival processing , 2014, Memory & Cognition.

[10]  Jeffrey L. Foster,et al.  Shortened complex span tasks can reliably measure working memory capacity , 2015, Memory & cognition.

[11]  Ana-Paula Correia,et al.  Exploring the dimensions of nomophobia: Development and validation of a self-reported questionnaire , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[12]  Hyunseung Choo,et al.  Smartphones as smart pedagogical tools: Implications for smartphones as u-learning devices , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[13]  E. Vogel,et al.  Working memory and fluid intelligence: Capacity, attention control, and secondary memory retrieval , 2014, Cognitive Psychology.

[14]  R. Belk.  Extended Self in a Digital World , 2013 .

[15]  Richard Joiner,et al.  Constantly connected - The effects of smart-devices on mental health , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[16]  Andree Hartanto,et al.  Disparate bilingual experiences modulate task-switching advantages: A diffusion-model analysis of the effects of interactional context on switch costs , 2016, Cognition.

[17]  Reynol Junco,et al.  In-class multitasking and academic performance , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[18]  B. Thornton,et al.  The Mere Presence of a Cell Phone May be Distracting , 2014 .

[19]  A M KommersPiet,et al.  Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior , 2015 .

[20]  E. Thompson.  Development and Validation of an Internationally Reliable Short-Form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) , 2007 .

[21]  M. J. Emerson,et al.  The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis , 2000, Cognitive Psychology.

[22]  Larry D. Rosen.  iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us , 2012 .

[23]  N. Meiran,et al.  On the origins of the task mixing cost in the cuing task-switching paradigm. , 2005, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[24]  S. Darke,et al.  Anxiety and working memory capacity , 1988 .

[25]  Hyunna Kim.  Exercise rehabilitation for smartphone addiction , 2013, Journal of exercise rehabilitation.

[26]  Larry D. Rosen,et al.  Is Facebook creating "iDisorders"? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology use, attitudes and anxiety , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[27]  Russell B. Clayton,et al.  The Extended iSelf: The Impact of iPhone Separation on Cognition, Emotion, and Physiology , 2015, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[28]  P. Maurage,et al.  Can Disordered Mobile Phone Use Be Considered a Behavioral Addiction? An Update on Current Evidence and a Comprehensive Model for Future Research , 2015, Current Addiction Reports.

[29]  J. Stroop.  Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. , 1992 .

[30]  Piet Kommers,et al.  Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior: The role of smartphone usage types, emotional intelligence, social stress, self-regulation, age, and gender , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[31]  Cary Stothart,et al.  The attentional cost of receiving a cell phone notification. , 2015, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[32]  Toru Sato,et al.  Cell phone use and grade point average among undergraduate university students. , 2011 .

[33]  A. Miyake,et al.  The separability of working memory resources for spatial thinking and language processing: an individual differences approach. , 1996, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[34]  Michael F. Bunting,et al.  Working memory span tasks: A methodological review and user’s guide , 2005, Psychonomic bulletin & review.

[35]  Sang Yup Lee,et al.  Examining the factors that influence early adopters' smartphone adoption: The case of college students , 2014, Telematics Informatics.

[36]  M. Eysenck,et al.  Effects of state anxiety on performance using a task-switching paradigm: An investigation of attentional control theory , 2009, Psychonomic bulletin & review.

[37]  Aaron Smith,et al.  U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 , 2015 .

[38]  M. Linden,et al.  The Role of Impulsivity in Actual and Problematic Use of the Mobile Phone , 2008 .

[39]  M. Sheridan,et al.  Family Socioeconomic Status and Child Executive Functions: The Roles of Language, Home Environment, and Single Parenthood , 2010, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.

[40]  Saraswathi Bellur,et al.  Make it our time: In class multitaskers have lower academic performance , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[41]  Larry D. Rosen,et al.  Out of sight is not out of mind: The impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low, moderate and high users , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[42]  Larry D. Rosen,et al.  Facebook and texting made me do it: Media-induced task-switching while studying , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[43]  Sujin Yang,et al.  Positive affect facilitates task switching in the dimensional change card sort task: Implications for the shifting aspect of executive function , 2014, Cognition & emotion.

[44]  N. Derakshan,et al.  Anxiety impairs inhibitory control but not volitional action control , 2010 .

[45]  Jian Li,et al.  Locus of control and cell phone use: Implications for sleep quality, academic performance, and subjective well-being , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[46]  L. J. Hadlington,et al.  Cognitive failures in daily life: Exploring the link with Internet addiction and problematic mobile phone use , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[47]  Daniel E Forman,et al.  Utility and Efficacy of a Smartphone Application to Enhance the Learning and Behavior Goals of Traditional Cardiac Rehabilitation: A FEASIBILITY STUDY , 2014, Journal of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and prevention.