The Formation Path And Cognitive Characteristics Of College Students’ Mobile Phone Addition

In today’s increasingly diversified and personalized mobile phone functions,people are increasingly inseparable from their mobile phones.While mobile phones bring us convenience,they also come with many troubles.For example,frequent and prolonged use of mobile phones can lead to the tendency of mobile phone addiction.The occurrence of addictive behavior is closely related to psychological craving.This study explores the formation path of mobile phone addiction among college students from the perspective of the psychological craving for mobile phone addiction.Numerous studies have shown that mobile phone addiction is significantly and positively associated with negative emotions such as anxiety and depression.In addition,addicts may have certain impairments in cognition,such as time perception.This study explores the formation pathways and temporal perception characteristics of mobile phone addiction among college students through three sub-studies.Study 1 developed a mobile phone addiction craving questionnaire for college students,studied the dimensions of the questionnaire by using exploratory factor analysis mathematical and statistical methods,determined the structure of the questionnaire by validating factor methods,and verified its calibration validity by using two scales,the impulsivity scale and the mobile phone addiction scale,as calibration scales.Study 2 examined the relationship between mobile phone addiction,mobile phone addiction craving,state anxiety and impulsivity among college students,and analyzed the mediating effects of mobile phone addiction craving and state anxiety between impulsivity and mobile phone addiction.Study 3 examined the effects of mobile phone addiction on time perception among college students.The results of the study were as follows.(1)Study I developed the Mobile Phone Addiction Craving Scale through literature analysis and interviews.Ten entries were identified through exploratory factor analysis and validation factor analysis.After that,the correlation test of the Mobile Phone Addiction Scale and the simple Barratt Impulsivity Scale with the Mobile Phone Addiction Craving Scale was used to check the validity of the calibration scale,and it was found that mobile phone addiction craving was significantly and positively correlated with both scales.Therefore,the mobile phone addiction craving scale has good reliability.(2)Study 2 further investigated the relationship between impulsivity,state anxiety,mobile phone addiction craving and mobile phone addiction among college students.In terms of correlation,mobile phone addiction was significantly and positively correlated with the variables of mobile phone addiction craving,impulsivity and its sub-dimensions,but not with state anxiety.Mobile phone addiction craving and state anxiety acted as parallel mediators between impulsivity and mobile phone addiction.(3)Study 3 used behavioral experiments to compare college students’ time-distance estimates of mobile phone Baidu APP and mobile phone We Chat APP,and also explored the correlation between college students’ mobile phone addiction and time-distance estimates using the Smartphone Addiction Scale for Adults.The results showed that the sub-dimension salience of mobile phone addiction was significantly correlated with the time-distance estimation of contextual pictures of using mobile phone Baidu APP and contextual pictures of using mobile phone We Chat APP.Based on the above studies,this study concluded the following:(1)It is a five-point,10-question unidimetional scale with good reliability and validity,which can effectively measure the level of mobile phone addiction craving of college students.(2)Impulsivity is an important factor affecting mobile phone addiction;the higher the impulsivity,the higher the degree of mobile phone addiction;high impulsivity triggers an increased sense of mobile phone addiction,which leads to a more pronounced tendency of mobile phone addiction;increased impulsivity is accompanied by the emergence of state anxiety,resulting in the occurrence of mobile phone addictive behavior.(3)Mobile phone addiction affects individuals’ temporal distance estimation.According to the scalar timing model theory,the limited attentional resources are allocated on gazing at mobile phone APP pictures and time estimation,which affect the length of time estimation.The higher the degree of mobile phone addiction among college students,the more likely they are to have distorted time distance estimation in the process of using mobile phones,resulting in shorter subjective time distance.This phenomenon makes individuals feel that the time is shorter than the actual time,which leads to the idea of “playing for a little longer”and eventually leads to excessive use of mobile phones and aggravates the degree of mobile phone addiction.