A Study On The Attention Mechanism Of The Relationship Between Media Multitasking Experience And Anxiety And Depressio

With the increased portability,flexibility,and diversity of electronic media devices,media multitasking behavior has become a common lifestyle.Media multitasking is typically known as simultaneously engaging in multiple media tasks or switching quickly between multiple media activities,such as checking messages while watching TV,or listening to music while reading a book.Several studies have suggested that media multitasking is significantly and positively associated with anxiety and depression.At the same time,other studies have suggested that frequent media multitasking impairs individuals’ cognitive abilities such as attention control.Therefore,the present study sought to investigate the potential mediating role of attention in the relationship between media multitasking and anxiety and depression from a cognitive perspective.In addition,attention control includes attention focusing and attention shifting,but no consistent conclusions were reached regarding the effects of media multitasking on attention focusing and attention shifting.The dual mechanisms of cognitive control account was proposed by researchers for integrating different components of cognitive control from a higher level of cognitive control processes and can explain the variability of research findings in the field of cognitive control.Therefore,this study will also conduct a preliminary inquiry into whether the dual mechanisms of cognitive control account can explain the variability in research findings that media multitasking influences attention control.In order to explore the above problems,the following two studies are mainly carried out in this research.In study 1,we examined the relationship between media multitasking and anxiety and depression among college students and the mediating effects of attention control and negative information attention bias between them,526 participants were recruited.The results showed that:(1)Media multitasking was positively correlated with anxiety and depression,but it could not directly predict anxiety and depression;(2)Attention focusing and negative information attention bias play a serial mediating role in the relationship between media multitasking and anxiety and depression,but the serial mediating role between attention shifting and negative information attention bias is not valid.This indicated that the more media multitasking behaviors,the worse the attention concentration ability,and they prefer to process negative and negative information,which leads to the improvement of anxiety and depression symptoms.In study 2,we explore the influence of media multitasking on dual mechanisms of cognitive control.we used the media multitasking inventory to investigate the level of media multitasking of 268 participants.Then 67 college students with heavy or light media multitaskers whose scores were distributed in the front and back 25% were invited to participate in the AX-CPT task,and to explore the influence of media multitasking on dual mechanisms of cognitive control.The results showed that there was no significant difference in all indexes of proactive control or reactive control among those with heavy or light media multitaskers.That is,media multitasking did not affect individual dual cognitive control modes.It is difficult to use the dual mechanisms of cognitive control account to explain the differences in existing studies on the relationship between media multitasking and attention control.This study found that attention control plays a mediating role in the relationship between media multitasking behavior and anxiety and depression,suggesting that intervention attention control may be an important way to mitigate the negative effects of media multitasking on mental health.In addition,the present study found that the dual mechanisms of cognitive control account could not explain the variability in the effects of media multitasking on attentional control,providing data to support the construction of a relevant theory.