From Automaticity To Consciousness:habitual Mobile Phone Use And Its Relationship With Mindfulness

The relationship between modern science and technology and human civilization has always been one of the topics concerned by the society.With the rapid development of mobile Internet and the increasing intelligence of mobile phone functions,mobile phones have exerted a wide and profound effect on people's daily life,study,work,and entertainment.At the same time,however,mobile phone use has also brought about an array of adverse effects on people's physical and mental health and social adaptation.In this context,it is of great practical significance to treat the relationship between human and mobile phones rationally,to guide people to form a healthy way of using mobile phones,and to improve their subjectivity and autonomy in the process of using mobile phones.Previous studies have investigated the relationship between human and mobile phones mainly from the perspectives of mobile phone use intensity,the type of mobile phone use,the "problems" and"symptoms" of mobile phone use,especially the pathological characteristics of mobile phone use(e.g.,mobile phone addiction).Few studies,however,have examined a more common way of using mobile phones from a habitual perspective based on a broader background.Unlike the general mobile phone use or pathological mobile phone use behavior(e.g.,mobile phone addiction),habitual mobile phone use(HMPU)reflects a more general and common mobile phone use behavior.Such behavior is neither good nor bad in itself and is characterized by lack of awareness,attention,intention,and control.This study will focus on the conceptual connotation and main characteristics of HMPU,aiming to provide a new perspective to reveal the relationship between human and mobile phones.In addition,based on the re-perceiving model of mindfulness and the model of de-automatization mechanism of mindfulness,this study tested the de-automatizing effect of mindfulness on HMPU from the three aspects of mindfulness(i.e.,trait mindfulness,state mindfulness,and mindfulness training).The findings contribute to enhancing people's awareness and autonomy in the process of using mobile phones and providing practical guidance for forming a healthy way of using mobile phones.Four studies were carried out to resolve two essential issues:(a)to reveal the conceptual structure and main characteristics of HMPU,and(b)to examine the relationship between mindfulness and HMIPU.Specifically,in Study 1,qualitative and quantitative approaches were combined through three sub-studies to investigate the conceptual connotation,structural characteristics,and basic status of HMPU among undergraduate students.In Study 2,three behavioral experiments were conducted to examine the automatic characteristics of HMPU,namely,loss of control,context dependence,and goal independence.In Study 3,three sub-studies using questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the effect of trait mindfulness on HMPU and its internal influencing mechanisms.In Study 4,three sub-studies using diary method,experimental induction method,and mindfulness training were carried out to investigate relationship between state mindfulness,mindfulness training,and HMPU.The results are as follows:1.Habitual mobile phone use:Conceptual structure and basic statusTo clarify the concept connotation and structural characteristics of HMPU,20 undergraduate students were investigated with the interview method in Sub-study la.The results showed that HMPU refers to an automatic behavior of using mobile phones triggered by situational cues(e.g.,phone vibrating)and internal cues(e.g.,boredom),which is acquired by repeating the same behaviors in stable contexts.It mainly includes the features of patterned behavior,behavioral automaticity,context dependence,goal independence,and negative consequences for non-performance.Based on the results of Sub-study la,Sub-study lb developed the Habitual Mobile Phone Use Questionnaire with good reliability and validity among undergraduate students.The questionnaire included 31 items,which measures Jack of control,context dependence,goal independence,patterned behavior,and efficiency,respectively.Sub-study 1 c conducted a questionnaire survey and found that the levels of HMPU among college students were relatively high,and there were significant gender and grade differences.HMPU was positively associated with negative physical and psychosocial adaptation indicators(e.g.,sleep problems,interpersonal alienation,academic burnout,negative emotions,and mobile phone addiction),with lack of control,context dependence,and goal independence having the stronger relationships with these adjustment indicators.2.Habitual mobile phone use:The automatic featuresStudy 2 focused on the automatic features of HMPU.Sub-study 2a adopted the addiction Stroop experimental paradigm.The results showed that the reaction time of the high habit group(HHG)was significantly greater than that of the low habit group(LHG)on mobile phone-related words,but there were no significant differences in the reaction time of the two groups on neutral words.In addition,the Stroop interfering size of HHG was significantly higher than that of LHG.These results indicated that HHG showed a dominant processing tendency toward mobile phone-related words,which influenced their inhibitory control ability when processing mobile phone-related stimuli.The results confirm the "lack of contrl" feature of HMPU.Sub-study 2b adopted the supraliminal priming experiment.The results showed that under the priming condition of mobile phone use situation,the reaction time of HHG was significantly greater than that of the LHG when the target word was“??”.Under the priming condition of exercise situation,the reaction time difference between“??”and“??”in HHG was significantly higher than that of LHG,and the accuracy rate of the target word“??”in HHG was significantly lower than that of the target word“??”.The results indicated that HHG was more dependent on the mobile phone use priming situation.When the priming situational stimuli and target stimuli were inconsistent,HHG would be affected by conflict control and decreased cognitive flexibility,which in turn slowed their response.The results confirm the defining feature of "contextual dependence" in HMPU.Sub-study 2c adopted a subliminal priming experiment.The results showed that in the priming condition of mobile phone use goal,the reaction time of the HHG on mobile phone-related words was significantly shorter than that of the neutral words.However,there were no significant differences of the LHG on these two types of words.The results indicated that HHG was more likely to be affected by the priming effect of mobile phone use goal,and responded faster to mobile phone-related words.However,there were no significant differences in the reaction time of HHG on mobile phone-related words under the priming conditions of mobile phone context,mobile phone goal,and neutral word.These results suggested that HHG had a processing advantage over mobile phone-related words,and were less likely to be affected by the types of priming stimuli.Therefore,the priming effect of mobile phone goal was not significant.These findings provides part of the evidence for the feature of "goal independence" in HMPU.3.The effect of trait mindfulness on HMPU and its underlying mechanismsSub-study 3a adopted a variable-centered approach and found that:(a)there was a significant negative correlation between overall trait mindfulness and HMPU;(b)the two dimensions of trait mindfulness(i.e.,acting with awareness and non-judging)significantly and negatively predicted HMPU;and(c)the relationships between trait mindfulness and the specific dimensions of HMPU showed that the different facets of trait mindfulness exerted different predictive effects on HMPU.Sub-study 3b adopted a person-centered approach and found that:(a)the mindfulness characteristics of undergraduate students can be divided into three classes:Moderate Mindfulness group,Non-judgmentally Aware group,and Judgmental Observing group;and(b)the Moderate Mindfulness group had middle levels of HMPU and its dimensions,the Non-judgmentally Aware group had the lowest scores in the overall level of HMPU and its dimensions,while the Judgmental Observing group had the highest scores in the overall level of HMPU and its dimensions.Consistent with the results of Sub-study 3a,the results also confirm the different predicting effects of different dimensions of trait mindfulness on HMPU.Sub-study 3c conducted the mediating effect analysis to examine the mediating roles of attentional control,emotional reactivity,and self-concept clarity in the relationships between the specific dimensions of trait mindfulness and HMPU.The results showed that:(a)describing,acting with awareness,and non-judging could predict HMPU indirectly through the mediating roles of attentional control,emotional reactivity,and self-concept clarity;(b)non-reacting could predict HMPU through the mediating role of emotional reactivity;and(c)the mediating effects of attentional control,emotional reactivity,and self-concept clarity in the relationship between observing and HMPU were neither significant.These findings are generally consistent with the re-perceiving model of mindfulness and the model of de-automatization mechanism of mindfulness.4.The effect of state mindfulness and mindfulness training on HMPUSub-study 4a used a diary method to examine the relationship between state mindfulness in a natural state and HMPU.The results showed that both state mindfulness and trait mindfulness could significantly and negatively predict individuals' daily levels of HMPU.In addition,trait mindfulness could strengthen the negative predicting effects of state mindfulness on the overall levels of HMPU as well as the facets of lack of control,context dependence,patterned behavior,and efficiency.Sub-study 4b adopted an experimental induction method to examine the relationship between individual state mindfulness and HMPU after short-term mindfulness training.The results showed that:(a)after 10 minutes of short-term mindfulness intervention,the state mindfulness levels of the experimental group were significantly improved;(b)the reaction time of mobile phone-related words in the post-test addiction Stroop task was significantly shorter than in the pre-test task in the experimental group;and(c)with increases in the levels of state mindfulness,individuals responded faster to mobile phone-related words.The results confirm that experimentally induced state mindfulness could reduce the automatic response in the addiction Stroop task and enhance inhibitory control of the experimental group.Sub-study 4c combined Internet-based brief mindfulness training and ecological momentary assessment to investigate the effect of mindfulness training on HMPU.The results showed that:(a)the levels of state mindfulness and trait mindfulness were significantly improved and the levels of HMPU and related psychosocial adjustment problems were significantly decreased after 10 minutes of mindfulness training per day for 10 consecutive days;(b)in the ecological momentary assessment,both state mindfulness and trait mindfulness could significantly and negatively predict the levels of HMPU,and the predicting effect of state mindfulness on HMPU was stronger in people with low levels of trait mindfulness than those with high levels of trait mindfulness;and(c)the qualitative review results after the training indicated that mindfulness training could affect individuals' HMPU by improving their attentional control,emotional regulation,self-concept and self-control.To better understand how to cope with the relationship between human and mobile phones in the era of information technology,this study focuses on habitual mobile phone usage behavior,and explores its conceptual connotation,automatic features,and its relationship with different aspects of mindfulness.In terms of theoretical significance,different from the previous studies which focused on the "problems" and "symptoms" of mobile phone use,this study reveals a more common and normal way of using mobile phones from the perspective of habit and examines the features of automaticity in HMPU.In addition,the present study investigates the effect of mindfulness on HMPU as well as its underlying mechanisms based on the re-perceiving model of mindfulness and the model of de-automatization mechanism of mindfulness.These findings can provide support for improving individuals' awareness and autonomy in HMPU and verifying the positive role of mindfulness in information technology use behavior.In terms of practical significance,this study suggests that future studies can understand people's mobile phone use behavior from a new perspective and reveal the relationship between human and mobile phones in a more comprehensive way.In addition,this study indicates that whether it is trait mindfulness,state mindfulness under natural conditions,or experimentally induced state mindfulness,or Internet-based brief mindfulness training,they can exert a positive effect on HMPU behavior,which also provides practical reference for future research to intervene in people's information technology usage behavior from the different aspects of mindfulness.