Smartphone use and self-control impairment

Excessive use of smartphones has been associated with a number of negative consequences for individuals. Some of these consequences relate to many symptoms of behavioral addictions. The present study aims to investigate whether participants with high levels of smartphone addiction may have difficulty with their ability to wield the self-control that is needed to restrict smartphone use compared to participants with lower levels of smartphone addiction. Specifically, we expect that people with high levels of smartphone addiction may have problems in refraining from using a smartphone. In addition, we expect people with a high level of smartphone addiction may show deficiencies in cognitive tasks such as memory, executive control, and visual and auditory attention. An ABA design was used to analyze the effects of smartphone withdrawal. The first A refers to baseline measurements: Visual RT, Auditory RT, Go/No-Go RT and N-Back RT and Eriksen flanker RT. The B refers to 3-days of smartphone withdrawal, the second A refers to the same measurements used in the baseline. In addition, several standardized scales were administered, among them: Smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV), Fear of missing out scale (FoMOs), Procrastination scale, Psychological General Well-Being Index. One hundred and one participants took part in the study. Based on median split they were divided into two groups: high levels of smartphone addiction and low levels of smartphone addiction. Moreover, thanks to an app installed on the participant's smartphone, it was possible to measure levels of compliance with the task. Results indicate that participants with low levels of smartphone addiction show less difficulty in their ability to wield the self-control needed to withdraw smartphone use and faster reaction times on cognitive tests than participants with high levels of smartphone dependence. Moreover, the profile of participants with high levels of smartphone addiction shows higher scores on the FoMOs and Procrastination scale, and lower scores in the Psychological General Well-Being Index. The results are discussed in light of self-regulation theory.过度使用智能手机已被证实与个体诸多不良后果相关，其中部分后果表现为行为成瘾的多种症状。本研究旨在探究：与智能手机成瘾程度较低的参与者相比，高成瘾水平参与者在运用限制智能手机使用所需的自我控制能力方面是否存在困难。具体而言，本研究预期高智能手机成瘾人群在克制智能手机使用方面存在障碍；此外，该人群在记忆、执行控制、视听觉注意等认知任务中或表现出能力缺陷。本研究采用ABA实验设计（ABA design）分析戒断智能手机的影响：第一个A阶段为基线测量，包含视觉反应时（Visual RT）、听觉反应时（Auditory RT）、Go/No-Go任务反应时、N-Back任务反应时以及埃里克森侧翼任务反应时（Eriksen flanker RT）；B阶段为为期3天的智能手机戒断期；第二个A阶段则重复基线阶段的相同测量流程。此外，本研究施测了多项标准化量表，包括简版智能手机成瘾量表（Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version, SAS-SV）、错失恐惧量表（Fear of Missing Out Scale, FoMOs）、拖延量表以及一般心理健康指数量表（Psychological General Well-Being Index）。本研究共招募101名参与者，通过中位数分割法（median split）将其分为高智能手机成瘾组与低智能手机成瘾组。此外，通过安装在参与者智能手机上的应用程序，可对任务完成依从性水平进行量化评估。研究结果显示：相较于高智能手机成瘾参与者，低成瘾水平参与者在克制智能手机使用所需的自我控制能力方面表现更优，且认知测试中的反应时更短。此外，高智能手机成瘾参与者在FoMOs量表与拖延量表上的得分更高，而在一般心理健康指数量表上的得分更低。本研究最后结合自我调节理论（self-regulation theory）对实验结果进行了讨论。