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Full-Text Articles in Cognition and Perception
Is The Smartphone A Smart Choice? The Effect Of Smartphone Separation On Executive Functions, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang
Is The Smartphone A Smart Choice? The Effect Of Smartphone Separation On Executive Functions, Andree Hartanto, Hwajin Yang
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Despite a huge spike in smartphone overuse, the cognitive and emotional consequences of smartphone overuse have rarely been examined empirically. In two studies, we investigated whether separation from a smartphone influences state anxiety and impairs higher-order cognitive processes, such as executive functions. We found that smartphone separation causes heightened anxiety, which in turn mediates the adverse effect of smartphone separation on all core aspects of executive functions, including shifting (Experiment 1) and inhibitory control and working-memory capacity (Experiment 2). Interestingly, impaired mental shifting was evident regardless of the extent of smartphone addiction, whereas smartphone addiction significantly moderated the negative effect …
Age Matters: The Effect Of Onset Age Of Video Game Play On Task-Switching Abilities, Andree Hartanto, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang
Age Matters: The Effect Of Onset Age Of Video Game Play On Task-Switching Abilities, Andree Hartanto, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Although prior research suggests that playing video games can improve cognitive abilities, recent empirical studies cast doubt on such findings (Unsworth et al., 2015). To reconcile these inconsistent findings, we focused on the link between video games and task switching. Furthermore, we conceptualized video-game expertise as the onset age of active video-game play rather than the frequency of recent gameplay, as it captures both how long a person has played video games and whether the individual began playing during periods of high cognitive plasticity. We found that the age of active onset better predicted switch and mixing costs than did …