Robayo-Pinzon Oscar, Foxall Gordon R, Montoya-Restrepo Luz Alexandra, Rojas-Berrio Sandra
School of Marketing and Branding, Institucion Universitaria Politecnico Grancolombiano, Bogota, Colombia.
School of Business Administration, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Colombia.
Heliyon. 2021 Feb 6;7(2):e06104. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06104. eCollection 2021 Feb.
Problematic smartphone use has been associated with negative effects in work and school environments. This study proposes the application of a behavioural economics perspective to establish whether heavy smartphone users show a tendency to devalue the consequences of their behaviour in the long term. To address this proposition, the study sought to establish how an objective measurement of usage time of smartphones and apps might help to predict, firstly, participants' choice behaviour and, secondly, their perceived dependence levels.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: An objective measurement of the usage time of smartphones and apps was conducted over four weeks (N = 560 data points), and a computer-based intertemporal choice task and the Spanish version of the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) were applied. The participants were twenty undergraduate college students.
Although the usage time of devices and apps failed to predict the choice behaviour, a correlation was found between the total usage time of smartphones and WhatsApp and Facebook apps and users' dependence level. On the other hand, dependence had a positive effect on the average selection of the impulsive choice.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper proposes the application of a behavioural economics perspective to explore the relationship between objectively measured usage time of smartphone and apps, choice behaviours in an intertemporal task and users' perceived dependence levels. This allows us to consider an alternative to the traditional psychiatric approach in an environment of increasing access to and use of mobile digital platforms.
问题性智能手机使用已被证明与工作和学校环境中的负面影响相关。本研究提出应用行为经济学视角，以确定重度智能手机用户是否表现出长期低估其行为后果的倾向。为验证这一假设，该研究试图确定智能手机和应用程序使用时间的客观测量如何有助于预测，首先是参与者的选择行为，其次是他们的感知依赖水平。
设计/方法/途径：对智能手机和应用程序的使用时间进行了为期四周的客观测量（N = 560个数据点），并应用了基于计算机的跨期选择任务和西班牙语版的智能手机成瘾量表（SPAI）。参与者为20名本科大学生。
尽管设备和应用程序的使用时间未能预测选择行为，但发现智能手机与WhatsApp和Facebook应用程序的总使用时间与用户的依赖水平之间存在相关性。另一方面，依赖对冲动选择的平均选择有积极影响。
原创性/价值：本文提出应用行为经济学视角来探索智能手机和应用程序客观测量的使用时间、跨期任务中的选择行为以及用户感知依赖水平之间的关系。这使我们能够在移动数字平台的获取和使用日益增加的环境中，考虑一种替代传统精神病学方法的途径。
