Comparison of sustained and selective attention in nomophobic and normal subjects

In recent years, the dramatic increase in the use of smartphones has led to the emergence of a psychological disorder called nomophobia, which can have consequences for individual's cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to compare sustained attention and selective attention between nomophobic and normal individuals. The research method was descriptive-comparative, and the sample included 60 students of Semnan University who were identified through screening among a group of 120 students and were divided into two groups of 30 nomophobic and normal. The research instruments included Nomophobia Questionnaire, Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and Stroop Test. Data were analyzed using two-way MANOVA in SPSS software version 26. The results of the Continuous Performance Test showed that the amount of Omission error and reaction time of nomophobic individuals was higher than normal performance individuals. In the Stroop test, the rate of errors and the interference score of nomophobic individuals were higher than normal individuals. Also, despite gender differences in some components of the continuous performance and Stroop tests, it was found that the interactive effect of nomophobia and gender on the results of these two tests is not significant. These results show that nomophobia can be involved in reducing sustained attention and impaired selective attention regardless of gender. Therefore, because of the continuous interaction of people with smartphones and the significant prevalence of nomophobia among young people, measures should be taken to prevent nomophobia and cognitive rehabilitation of nomophobic people.