A Psychosocial Approach to Understanding Young Australians’ Mobile Phone Behaviour

This thesis by publication contributes to our knowledge of psychological factors underlying a modern day phenomenon, young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Specifically, the thesis reports a PhD program of research which adopted a social psychological approach to explore mobile phone behaviour among young Australians aged between 15 and 24 years. A particular focus of the research program was to explore both the cognitive and behavioural aspects of young people’s mobile phone behaviour which for the purposes of this thesis is defined as mobile phone involvement. The research program comprised three separate stages which were developmental in nature, in that, the findings of each stage of the research program informed the next. The overarching goal of the program of research was to improve our understanding of the psychosocial factors influencing young people’s mobile phone behaviour. To achieve this overall goal, there were a number of aims to the research program which reflect the developmental nature of this thesis. Given the limited research into the mobile phone behaviour in Australia, the first two aims of the research program were to explore patterns of mobile phone behaviour among Australian youth and explore the social psychological factors relating to their mobile phone behaviour. Following this exploration, the research program sought to develop a measure which captures the cognitive and behavioural aspects of mobile phone behaviour. Finally, the research program aimed to examine and differentiate the psychosocial predictors of young people’s frequency of mobile phone use and their level of involvement with their mobile phone. Mobile phone involvement iii Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used throughout the program of research. Five papers prepared during the three stages of the research program form the bulk of this thesis. The first stage of the research program was a qualitative investigation of young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Thirty-two young Australians participated in a series of focus groups in which they discussed their mobile phone behaviour. Thematic data analysis explored patterns of mobile phone behaviour among young people, developed an understanding of psychological factors influencing their use of mobile phones, and identified that symptoms of addiction were emerging in young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Two papers (Papers 1 and 2) emanated from this first stage of the research program. Paper 1 explored patterns of mobile phone behaviour and revealed that mobile phones were perceived as being highly beneficial to young people’s lives, with the ability to remain in constant contact with others being particularly valued. The paper also identified that symptoms of behavioural addiction including withdrawal, cognitive and behavioural salience, and loss of control, emerged in participants’ descriptions of their mobile phone behaviour. Paper 2 explored how young people’s need to belong and their social identity (two constructs previously unexplored in the context of mobile phone behaviour) related to their mobile phone behaviour. It was revealed that young people use their mobile phones to facilitate social attachments. Additionally, friends and peers influenced young people’s mobile phone behaviour; for example, their choice of mobile phone carrier and their most frequent type of mobile phone use. These papers laid the foundation for the further investigation of addictive patterns of behaviour and Mobile phone involvement iv the role of social psychological factors on young people’s mobile behaviour throughout the research program. Stage 2 of the research program focussed on developing a new parsimonious measure of mobile phone behaviour, the Mobile Phone Involvement Questionnaire (MPIQ), which captured the cognitive and behavioural aspects of mobile phone use. Additionally, the stage included a preliminary exploration of factors influencing young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Participants (N = 946) completed a questionnaire which included a pool of items assessing symptoms of behavioural addiction, the uses and gratifications relating to mobile phone use, and self-identity and validation from others in the context of mobile phone behaviour. Two papers (Papers 3 & 4) emanated from the second stage of the research program. Paper 3 provided an important link between the qualitative and quantitative components of the research program. Qualitative data from Stage 1 indicated the reasons young people use their mobile phones and identified addictive characteristics present in young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Results of the quantitative study conducted in Stage 2 of the research program revealed the uses and gratifications relating to young people’s mobile phone behaviour and the effect of these gratifications on young people’s frequency of mobile phone use and three indicators of addiction, withdrawal, salience, and loss of control. Three major uses and gratifications: self (such as feeling good or as a fashion item), social (such as contacting friends), and security (such as use in an emergency) were found to underlie much of young people’s mobile phone behaviour. Self and social gratifications predicted young people’s frequency of mobile phone use and the three indicators of addiction but security gratifications did not. These Mobile phone involvement v results provided an important foundation for the inclusion of more specific psychosocial predictors in the later stages of the research program. Paper 4 reported the development of the mobile phone involvement questionnaire and a preliminary exploration of the effect of self-identity and validation from others on young people’s mobile phone behaviour. The MPIQ assessed a unitary construct and was a reliable measure amongst this cohort. Results found that selfidentity influenced the frequency of young people’s use whereas self-identity and validation from others influenced their level of mobile phone involvement. These findings provided an important indication that, in addition to self factors, other people have a strong influence on young people’s involvement with their mobile phone and that mobile phone involvement is conceptually different to frequency of mobile phone use. Stage 3 of the research program empirically examined the psychosocial predictors of young people’s mobile behaviour and one paper, Paper 5, emanated from this stage. Young people (N = 292) from throughout Australia completed an online survey assessing the role of self-identity, ingroup norm, the need to belong, and selfesteem on their frequency of mobile phone use and their mobile phone involvement. Self-identity was the only psychosocial predictor of young people’s frequency of mobile phone use. In contrast, self-identity, ingroup norm, and need to belong all influenced young people’s level of involvement with their mobile phone. Additionally, the effect of self-esteem on young people’s mobile phone involvement was mediated by their need to belong. These results indicate that young people who perceive their mobile phone to be an integral part of their self-identity, who perceive that mobile phone is common amongst friends and peers, and who have a strong need for attachment to others, in some Mobile phone involvement vi cases driven by a desire to enhance their self-esteem, are most likely to become highly involved with their mobile phones. Overall, this PhD program of research has provided an important contribution to our understanding of young Australians’ mobile phone behaviour. Results of the program have broadened our knowledge of factors influencing mobile phone behaviour beyond the approaches used in previous research. The use of various social psychological theories combined with a behavioural addiction framework provided a novel examination of young people’s mobile behaviour. In particular, the development of a new measure of mobile phone behaviour in the research program facilitated the differentiation of the psychosocial factors influencing frequency of young people’s mobile phone behaviour and their level of involvement with their mobile phone. Results of the research program indicate the important role that mobile phone behaviour plays in young people’s social development and also signals the characteristics of those people who may become highly involved with their mobile phone. Future research could build on this thesis by exploring whether mobile phones are affecting traditional social psychological processes and whether the results in this research program are generalisable to other cohorts and other communication technologies. Mobile phone involvement vii Submitted Manuscripts and Publications from the PhD research program Paper 1 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2008). Over-connected? A qualitative exploration of the relationship between Australian youth and their mobile phones. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 77 92. Paper 2 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2008). The phone connection: A qualitative exploration of how belongingness and social identification relate to mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology (Online pre-print), DOI: 10.1002/casp.1983 Paper 3 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2007). Young and connected: Psychological influences of mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. In G. Goggin & L. Hjorth (Eds.), Mobile Media 2007: Proceedings of an international conference on social and cultural aspects of mobile phones, media and wireless technologies. (pp. 125134). Sydney: University of Sydney. Paper 4 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2008). Needing to connect: The impact of self and others on young people's involvement with their mobile phone. Manuscript submitted for publication. Mobile phone involvement viii Paper 5 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2009). Keeping in Constant Touch: The Predictors of Young Australians’ Mobile Phone Involvement. In preparation. Notes The publications listed above were produced during the candidate’s PhD program of research and relate only to the present research. The papers emanated from three distinct data collection points during the period 2005 to 2007. Additional publications (listed below) citing the candidate as first author within the dissertation resulted either from the candidate’s earlier Honours research project or from an Australian Government funded grant awarded to the candidate (as chief investigator) and PhD supervisors White and Watson during the PhD research program: Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., Watson, B. (2006). Psychosocial factors influencing mobile phone use when driving. Australian Transport Safety Bureau. ($24,570). As the following publications are separate to the current PhD research program, they are not discussed in full in the dissertation but are cited where appropriate and are listed in the reference list. Honours Publications Walsh, S. P., & White, K. M. (2007). Me, my mobile and I: The role of self and prototypical identity influences in the prediction of mobile phone behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 37, 2405-2434. Walsh, S. P., & White, K. M. (2006). Ring, ring, why did I make that call? Beliefs underlying Australian university students' mobile phone use. Youth Studies Australia, 25(3), 49-57. Mobile phone involvement ix Australian Transport Safety Bureau Grant Publications Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., Hyde, M. K., & Watson, B. (2008). Mobile phone use while driving: An investigation of the beliefs influencing drivers' hands-free and hand-held mobile phone use. Manuscript submitted for publication. Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., Hyde, M. K., & Watson, B. (2008). Dialling and driving: Factors influencing intentions to use a mobile phone while driving. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 40, 1893-1900. Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., Watson, B., & Hyde, M. K. (2007). Psychosocial factors influencing mobile phone use while driving. Canberra: Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Mobile phone involvement x Presentations during the PhD Research Program International Conferences Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2007). Constant connection: A social psychological approach to understanding young people's mobile phone use. Paper presented at The 54 British Psychological Society Social Psychology Section Conference. Canterbury, UK, 5-7 September, 2007. Australian Conferences Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2007). Young and connected: Psychological influences of mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. Paper presented at the Mobile Media Conference, Sydney, 2-5 July, 2007. Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2007). The constant company of a mobile phone and its influence on attitudes, norms, and behaviour amongst young people. Paper presented at the 36 Annual Conference of the Society of Australasian Social Psychologists. Brisbane, 12-15 April, 2007. Mobile phone involvement xi Table of