Physiological and Psychological Consequences of Forced Mobile Phone Abstention

Date

2012-08

Authors

Dickson, Duncan

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Abstract

This study investigated problematic mobile phone use in a sample of 50 undergraduate students. The experiment utilized a new paradigm for examining this phenomenon, in which participants were exposed to a quasi-deceptive provocation task involving forced mobile phone abstention. Physiological and psychological response (blood pressure and pulse rate; and self-reported anxiety, respectively) were measured pre- and post-manipulation. Correlations between these measures and participants’ responses to the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale and Mobile Phone Dependence Questionnaire were also examined. The most intriguing finding was that the extent of increase in anxiety over the course of the manipulation was significantly, positively correlated with MPPUS scores (r(48) = .41; p = .003), suggesting that the manipulation selectively increased anxiety among individuals who were prone to mobile phone dependence. Changes in physiological indices were non-significant

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Keywords

Mobile phone addiction, Cue-reactivity, MPPUS, MPDQ, Mobile phone dependence

Citation

Dickson, D. M. (2012). <i>Physiological and psychological consequences of forced mobile phone abstention</i> (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas.

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