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<p>This study focuses on cell phone usage. By comparing how a group of students use their cell phones in Sweden with that in China, alterant cell phone usage behaviors will be concluded. The study includes a case study. In order to do the research, the author selects a specific group and holds interviews. Three theories are used in this thesis which are: 1) mobile context, 2) switching behavior of mobile users and 3) transaction utility and reference situation. After introducing these three theories, the author concludes six theoretical factors which are combined into one competent framework. Base on the new framework, the author analyzes the result from the case study. After presenting the interview and the results, the author finds that Chinese students use their cell phones less frequent in Sweden compared to that in China. In order to find out the reasons, the author creates goal, emotion, fee, location and habit as the five matching factors which result in those changes. The matching factors are the bridge between the theories and the case study. After generalizing how those factors affect people while using cell phones, future work is to raise up some thoughts of how cell phones will be like in the future which is relevant to how to adapt information technology to human lives.</p>

This study sought to investigate the relationship between cell phone conversation type and dangerous driving behaviors. It was hypothesized that more emotional phone conversations engaged in while driving would produce greater frequencies of dangerous driving behaviors in a simulated environment than more mundane conversation or no phone conversation at all. Participants were semi-randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) no call, (2) mundane call, and, (3) emotional call. While driving in a simulated environment, participants in the experimental groups received a phone call from a research confederate who either engaged them in innocuous conversation (mundane call) or arguing the opposite position of a deeply held belief of the participant (emotional call). Participants in the no call and mundane call groups differed significantly only on percent time spent speeding and center line crossings, though the mundane call group consistently engaged in more of all dangerous driving behaviors than did the no call participants. Participants in the emotional call group engaged in significantly more dangerous driving behaviors than participants in both the no call and mundane call groups, with the exception of traffic light infractions, where there were no significant group differences. Though there is need for replication, the authors concluded that whereas talking on a cell phone while driving is risky to begin with, having emotionally intense conversations is considerably more dangerous.

In our technologically ever-advancing world, cell phones can either help us remain socially connected or can contribute to social isolation by substituting for face-to-face contact. This study examines the levels of social isolation in terms of the state of loneliness and trait of shyness and their correlations with academic achievement in 206 community college and university students to examine the connection between social isolation, GPA and cell phone use in college students. Two instruments used in the collection of data were the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale (RCBS) and the DeJong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Correlational analysis was used to examine the relationships between variables. Hypothesis 1 proposed a significant negative relationship between higher levels of cell phone use and academic achievement as measured by self-reported GPA. This was partially supported by the research findings. Hypothesis 2 proposed a significant negative relationship between shyness and higher levels of cell phone use. This was also partially supported by the research findings. Hypothesis 3 proposed a significant positive relationship between loneliness and higher levels of cell phone use. This was not supported by research findings. Implications for further research include examining non-college populations for greater generalization of results and examining additional personality traits.

<p>Cell phone use while driving is one of the commonest distracted driving behaviors that causes fatal crashes, and drivers are more likely to use their cell phones in work zones because of slow-moving traffic. The road safety campaign literature suggests that persuasive messages can positively influence safe driving behaviors leading to a reduction in crashes. Thus, this dissertation, guided by the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework, sought to examine how tailored messaging could serve as an effective communication strategy to promote positive attitudes and behavioral intentions in the context of cell phone use avoidance while driving through highway work zones. Findings from two studies, using a college student sample and a national sample of US young adults between 18 and 24 years old, revealed that the RPA framework likely does not serve as a useful audience segmentation strategy in this context because an overwhelming majority of participants (about 87%) belonged to the responsive group. A tailored messaging approach did not influence cell phone use avoidance while driving attitudes and intentions among the young adults because the majority of participants (70%) felt the messages were not designed uniquely for them and might not be personally relevant to them. However, the majority of participants (62%) reported that highway work zone safety was an important topic they would want to receive future messaging about because messages about this topic would help to save lives and protect public safety, drastically reduce crashes in highway work zones, and promote safe driving behaviors in highway work zones. Participants who were aware of the existence of state laws banning cell phone use while driving reported slightly higher attitudes toward and intentions to engage in safe driving behaviors compared to those who were not aware of the existence of such state laws. This dissertation suggests that instead of creating messages to raise risk perceptions and enhance efficacy perceptions, informing the young adult population in the US about the existence of laws banning cell phone use while driving might be an effective means to discourage them from using their cell phones while driving through highway work zones. By extending the RPA framework as an audience segmentation strategy, this dissertation also proposes a responsive group classification framework which could serve as a useful audience segmentation strategy in this study context to classify audiences into four groups to effectively tailor messages to them.</p>

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Laura A. Brannon / The current research investigated strategies to reduce cell phone use while driving. Anti-distracted driving campaigns, which typically communicate risk information and target driver behavior, may produce limited effects because people tend to underestimate their risk from this behavior (e.g., Schlehofer et al., 2010). Study 1 compared the effects of messages targeting drivers to messages targeting non-drivers in order to examine the potential of discouraging people from having cell phone communication with others who are driving. Some anti-distracted driving campaigns have emphasized the potential harm to both the driver and others, but whether one approach (self-oriented or other-oriented messaging) is more persuasive than the other has not been examined empirically. Study 1 compared messages that were self-oriented, other-oriented, or neutral in terms of who could be affected by cell phone use while driving. Although cell phone use while driving generally is perceived as dangerous, people may make justifications for engaging in the behavior on at least some occasions, and these justifications may override the influence of risk knowledge on behavior. Consistent with inoculation theory (McGuire, 1961), if given the opportunity to practice refuting these justifications in a controlled setting, people will be more likely to defend themselves against justifications to engage in cell phone use while driving. Thus, Study 1 tested the prediction that participation in an inoculation task would reduce the likelihood of cell phone use while driving. Results from Study 1 suggested an advantage of targeting non-driving participants of cell phone conversations to enhance efforts for reducing on-the-road cell phone use. Study 1 also demonstrated a positive effect of inoculation, but primarily for behavior of non-driving participants of cell phone conversations. In addition to overconfidence in ability to avoid risk, habitual tendencies also may impede the influence of risk communication campaigns (Bayer & Campbell, 2012). Study 2 investigated the potential of mindfulness-based and implementation intentions techniques for helping people overcome habitual responses to their cell phone when doing so is inappropriate or inconvenient. Results indicated that pairing mindfulness-based training with risk information may be significantly more effective than risk information alone at inhibiting inappropriate cell phone use.

This study focuses on cell phone usage. By comparing how a group of students use their cell phones in Sweden with that in China, alterant cell phone usage behaviors will be concluded. The study includes a case study. In order to do the research, the author selects a specific group and holds interviews. Three theories are used in this thesis which are: 1) mobile context, 2) switching behavior of mobile users and 3) transaction utility and reference situation. After introducing these three theories, the author concludes six theoretical factors which are combined into one competent framework. Base on the new framework, the author analyzes the result from the case study. After presenting the interview and the results, the author finds that Chinese students use their cell phones less frequent in Sweden compared to that in China. In order to find out the reasons, the author creates goal, emotion, fee, location and habit as the five matching factors which result in those changes. The matching factors are the bridge between the theories and the case study. After generalizing how those factors affect people while using cell phones, future work is to raise up some thoughts of how cell phones will be like in the future which is relevant to how to adapt information technology to human lives.

Ungdomar tillhör idag det som kallas den digitala generationen och äruppvuxna i en verklighet där tekniska redskap är en självklarhet.Mobiltelefonanvändning under lektionstid innebär deladuppmärksamhet. Tidigare forskning visar att användning av tekniskaredskap vid inlärning påverkar studenters akademiska prestationnegativt. Gymnasieelever är en sällan undersökt målpopulation isamband med uppmärksamhet och inlärning. Syftet med denna studievar att undersöka om mobiltelefonanvändning vid inlärning påverkargymnasieelevers minnesprestation. Ett experiment bestående av ettfriåtergivningstest och ett läsförståelsetest genomfördes med 49deltagare. Deltagarna som använde delad uppmärksamhet mottog ochsvarade på ett meddelande i sin mobiltelefon under inkodning.Resultatet visade att mobiltelefonanvändning vid inlärning påverkargymnasieelevers minnesprestation negativt vid läsförståelse. Merspecifikt påverkades manliga gymnasieelever mer av deladuppmärksamhet vid läsförståelse. / Adolescents today are part of what is called the digital generation andare raised in a reality where technical instruments are part of everydaylife. Cell phone use in class results in divided attention. Previousresearch has shown that usage of technical instruments during learninghas a negative impact on students’ academic performance. Highschool students are seldom the target population in studies concerningattention and learning. The purpose of this study was to investigatewhether cell phone use during learning affects high school students’memory performance. An experiment including a test of free recalland a test of reading comprehension was conducted with 49participants. The participants in the divided attention conditionreceived and responded to a message in their cell phones at encoding.The results showed that cell phone use during learning had a negativeimpact on high school students’ reading comprehension. Specifically,male high school students’ reading comprehension was more affectedby divided attention.

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