Psiychological correlates of smartphone use for non-academic purposes in studying

[K. Ž. Cvetković]

210 listova

Biografija autora: str. 210. Bibliografija: listovi 178-200.

Psychology

The primary objective of this research was to examine whether components of self-regulated learning and the tendency toward social comparison on social media predict students’ use of smartphones for non-academic purposes while studying independently. In addition, the study explored whether this relationship is mediated by academic emotions and online fear of missing out (FoMO), as well as whether habitual smartphone use moderates the associations between academic emotions and smartphone use, and between FoMO and smartphone use during studying. The dissertation is structured around two studies. The first study involved a psychometric evaluation of instruments translated into Serbian, designed to assess constructs such as smartphone use during studying, metacognitive awareness, effort regulation as aspects of self-regulated learning, social comparison on social media, academic emotions, FoMO in online contexts, and habitual smartphone use. These instruments were subsequently applied in the second study, in which the research hypotheses were tested and the proposed model was evaluated. In the first study, the sample comprised 332 undergraduate students from universities in Serbia (42.2% male), aged 18–27 years (M = 20.56, SD = 1.50). The scales were translated into Serbian following established guidelines for test translation and adaptation (Hedrih, 2019; International Test Commission, 2017). Reliability and construct validity were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, internal structure analyses, and tests of external validity. The findings demonstrated that all instruments were reliable and valid measures of their respective constructs and represented adequately adapted versions of the original questionnaires. The second study included a sample of 463 undergraduate students from universities in Serbia (37.8% male), aged 18–28 years (M = 20.75, SD = 1.72). Results indicated that self-regulated learning was positively associated with focus on study material, with hope and anxiety during studying serving as mediators. Conversely, a stronger tendency toward social comparison on social media was associated with more frequent smartphone use for non-academic purposes. This relationship was fully mediated by social media-related FoMO and negative academic emotions. Taken together, the findings suggest that digital distractions during studying are not solely a cognitive issue of self-regulation but also involve emotional processes (e.g., hope and anxiety) and social pressures (e.g., social comparison and FoMO). These results support the assumptions of socio-cognitive theory, social comparison theory, and control-value theory by demonstrating how motivation, emotions, and social context collectively influence students’ attention and engagement during learning. At the same time, the findings underscore the need for further research to examine more closely how specific emotions and forms of social pressure shape students’ attention and engagement in the learning context.

digitalne distrakcije, samoregulacija učenja, akademske emocije, socijalna komparacija, strah od propuštanja, društvene mreže, studenti

digital distractions, self-regulated learning, academic emotions, social comparison, fear of missing out (FoMO), social media, students

159.953:621.395.5(043.2)

S260

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