Abstract
Attentional bias toward smartphone-related stimuli can intensify Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) behaviors. The main objective of this study was to investigate the impact of Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) on the attentional bias of individuals with PSU. Twenty-five individuals with PSU (PSUG) and 25 Control Group (CG) participants were recruited and screened using the Smartphone Addiction Scale. The dot-probe paradigm was used in conjunction with eye-tracking technology to examine the CR effect on attentional bias toward smartphone icon stimuli. Under non-reappraisal conditions, the first fixation duration on smartphone icon stimuli was significantly longer than that on neutral stimuli in the PSUG but not the CG. No other expected eye-tracking measures were significant. Additionally, the craving for smartphone icon stimuli of the PSUG was significantly higher than that of the CG under the non-reappraisal condition but not under the reappraisal condition. The findings indicated that CR improves the first fixation duration of attentional bias toward smartphone icon stimuli in the PSUG. This effect may be attributed to CR’s ability to reduce cravings for smartphone stimuli and enhance the inhibition capacity. The results of this study could guide interventions for treating PSU and provide theoretical support for such treatment.
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Data and survey materials will be made available upon request.
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Data and survey materials will be made available upon request (https://osf.io/3wc7y/).
References
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This study received a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32271140).
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Haibo Yang and Dongyu Liu designed the study protocol. Dongyu Liu conducted data collection, data management, cleaning, and analysis. Dongyu Liu wrote the first draft of the paper. Haibo Yang substantially revised the manuscript.
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All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with this study. However, outside the scope of the present paper, the authors report the following…Dongyu Liu notes that he is a graduate student at Tianjin Normal University. Dr. Haibo Yang notes that he is a paid full-time faculty member at Tianjin Normal University.
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Informed consent was obtained from all participants, while parents’ permission was also obtained for those less than 18 years of age. The procedures were carried out by the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval for this study was also obtained from the ethics committee of Tianjin Normal University (No. XL2022-21). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with ethical standards of institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, while parents’ permission was also obtained for those less than 18 years of age. The ethical approval for this study was also obtained from the ethics committee of Tianjin Normal University (No.2022031501).
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Liu, D., Yang, H. The improvement of attentional bias in individuals with problematic smartphone use through cognitive reappraisal: an eye-tracking study. Curr Psychol 43, 12828–12838 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05356-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05356-9