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Frontiers in Psychology 2023Guilt appeals are widely used as a persuasive approach in various areas of practice. However, the strength and direction of the persuasive effects of guilt appeals are...
INTRODUCTION
Guilt appeals are widely used as a persuasive approach in various areas of practice. However, the strength and direction of the persuasive effects of guilt appeals are mixed, which could be influenced by theoretical and methodological factors.
METHOD
The present study is a comprehensive meta-analysis of 26 studies using a random-effects model to assess the persuasive effects of guilt appeals. In total, 127 effect sizes from seven types of persuasive outcomes (i.e., guilt, attitude, behavior, behavioral intention, non-guilt emotions, motivation, and cognition) were calculated based on 7,512 participants.
RESULTS
The analysis showed a small effect size of guilt appeals [ = 0.19, 95% CI (0.10, 0.28)]. The effect of guilt appeals was moderated by the theoretical factors related to appraisal and coping of guilt arousal, including attributed responsibility, controllability and stability of the causal factors, the proximity of perceiver-victim relationship, recommendation of reparative behaviors, and different outcome types. The effect was also associated with methods used in different studies.
DISCUSSION
Overall, the findings demonstrated the persuasive effects of guilt appeals, but theoretical and methodological factors should be considered in the design and testing of guilt appeals. We also discussed the practical implications of the findings.
PubMed: 37842697
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1201631 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Oct 2023The ubiquity of short videos has demonstrated vast potential for health communication. An expansion of research has examined the persuasive effect of health... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The ubiquity of short videos has demonstrated vast potential for health communication. An expansion of research has examined the persuasive effect of health communication in short videos, yet a synthesis of the research is lacking.
OBJECTIVE
This paper aims to provide an overview of the literature by examining the persuasive effect of health communication in short videos, offering guidance for researchers and practitioners. In particular, it seeks to address 4 key research questions: What are the characteristics of short videos, samples, and research designs in short video-based health communication literature? What theories underpin the short video-based health communication literature? What are the persuasive effects of health communication in short videos? and What directions should future research in this area take?
METHODS
Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, an electronic search of 10 databases up to March 10, 2023, generated 4118 results. After the full-text screening, 18 articles met the eligibility criteria.
RESULTS
The current research lacks a uniform definition of short videos, demonstrates sample biases in location and education, and adopts limited methodologies. Most studies in this synthesis are theoretically grounded or use theoretical concepts, which are predominantly well examined in persuasion research. Moreover, relevant topics and suitable themes are effective in persuasive health communication outcomes, whereas the impact of diverse narrative techniques remains ambiguous.
CONCLUSIONS
We recommend that future research extends the definition of short videos beyond time constraints and explores non-Western and less-educated populations. In addition, researchers should consider diverse methods to provide a more comprehensive examination and investigate the impact of audience targeting and narrative techniques in short video health communication. Finally, investigating how the unique aspects of short videos interact with or challenge traditional persuasion theories is essential.
Topics: Humans; Persuasive Communication; Health Communication; Narration; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 37831488
DOI: 10.2196/48508 -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Jun 2023Taxonomies and models are useful tools for defining eHealth content and intervention features, enabling comparison and analysis of research across studies and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Taxonomies and models are useful tools for defining eHealth content and intervention features, enabling comparison and analysis of research across studies and disciplines. The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy version 1 (BCTTv1) was developed to decrease ambiguity in defining specific characteristics inherent in health interventions, but it was developed outside the context of digital technology. In contrast, the Persuasive System Design Model (PSDM) was developed to define and evaluate the persuasive content in software solutions but did not have a specific focus on health. Both the BCTTv1 and PSDM have been used to define eHealth interventions in the literature, with some researchers combining or reducing the taxonomies to simplify their application. It is unclear how well the taxonomies accurately define eHealth and whether they should be used alone or in combination.
OBJECTIVE
This scoping review explored how the BCTTv1 and PSDM capture the content and intervention features of parent-focused eHealth as part of a program of studies investigating the use of technology to support parents with therapy home programs for children with special health care needs. It explored the active ingredients and persuasive technology features commonly found in parent-focused eHealth interventions for children with special health care needs and how the descriptions overlap and interact with respect to the BCTTv1 and PSDM taxonomies.
METHODS
A scoping review was used to clarify concepts in the literature related to these taxonomies. Keywords related to parent-focused eHealth were defined and used to systematically search several electronic databases for parent-focused eHealth publications. Publications referencing the same intervention were combined to provide comprehensive intervention details. The data set was coded using codebooks developed from the taxonomies in NVivo (version 12; QSR International) and qualitatively analyzed using matrix queries.
RESULTS
The systematic search found 23 parent-focused eHealth interventions described in 42 articles from various countries; delivered to parents with children aged 1 to 18 years; and covering medical, behavioral, and developmental issues. The predominant active ingredients and intervention features in parent-focused eHealth were concerned with teaching parents behavioral skills, encouraging them to practice and monitor the new skills, and tracking the outcomes of performing the new skills. No category had a complete set of active ingredients or intervention features coded. The two taxonomies conceptually captured different constructs even when their labels appeared to overlap in meaning. In addition, coding by category missed important active ingredients and intervention features.
CONCLUSIONS
The taxonomies were found to code different constructs related to behavior change and persuasive technology, discouraging the merging or reduction of the taxonomies. This scoping review highlighted the benefit of using both taxonomies in their entirety to capture active ingredients and intervention features important for comparing and analyzing eHealth across different studies and disciplines.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID)
RR2-doi.org/10.15619/nzjp/47.1.05.
Topics: Child; Humans; Behavior Therapy; Delivery of Health Care; Persuasive Communication; Technology; Telemedicine
PubMed: 37342082
DOI: 10.2196/42083 -
Campbell Systematic Reviews Jun 2022Limited knowledge regarding the relative effectiveness of workplace accident prevention approaches creates barriers to informed decision-making by policy makers, public... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Limited knowledge regarding the relative effectiveness of workplace accident prevention approaches creates barriers to informed decision-making by policy makers, public health practitioners, workplace, and worker advocates.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of broad categories of safety interventions in preventing accidents at work. The review aims to compare effects of safety interventions to no intervention, usual activities, or alternative intervention, and if possible, to examine which constituent components of safety intervention programs contribute more strongly to preventing accidents at work in a given setting or context.
DATE SOURCES
Studies were identified through electronic bibliographic searches, government policy databanks, and Internet search engines. The last search was carried out on July 9, 2015. Gray literature were identified by searching OSH ROM and Google. No language or date restrictions were applied. Searches done between February and July of 2015 included PubMed (1966), Embase (1980), CINAHL (1981), OSH ROM (NIOSHTIC 1977, HSELINE 1977, CIS-DOC 1974), PsycINFO (1806), EconLit (1969), Web of Science (1969), and ProQuest (1861); dates represent initial availability of each database. Websites of pertinent institutions (NIOSH, Perosh) were also searched.
STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS
Included studies had to focus on accidents at work, include an evaluation of a safety intervention, and have used injuries at work, or a relevant proxy, as an outcome measure. Experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational study designs were utilized, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), controlled before and after (CBA) studies, and observational designs using serial measures (interrupted time series, retrospective cohort designs, and before and after studies using multiple measures). Interventions were classified by approach at the individual or group level, and broad categories based on the prevention approach including modification of: Attitudes (through information and persuasive campaign messaging).Behaviors (through training, incentives, goal setting, feedback/coaching).Physiological condition (by physical training).Climate/norms/culture (by coaching, feedback, modification of safety management/leadership).Structural conditions (including physical environment, engineering, legislation and enforcement, sectorial-level norms). When combined approaches were used, interventions were termed "multifaceted," and when an approach(es) is applied to more than one organizational level (e.g., individual, group, and/or organization), it is termed "across levels."
STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS
Narrative report review captured industry (NACE), work setting, participant characteristics, theoretical basis for approach, intervention fidelity, research design, risk of bias, contextual detail, outcomes measures and results. Additional items were extracted for studies with serial measures including approaches to improve internal validity, assessments of reasonable statistical approaches (Effective Practice of Organization of Care [EPOC] criteria) and overall inference. Random-effects inverse variance weighted meta-analytic methods were used to synthesize odds ratios, rate ratios, or standardized mean differences for the outcomes for RCT and CBA studies with low or moderate levels of heterogeneity. For studies with greater heterogeneity and those using serial measures, we relied on narrative analyses to synthesize findings.
RESULTS
In total 100 original studies were included for synthesis analysis, including 16 RCT study designs, 30 CBA study designs, and 54 studies using serial measures (ITS study designs). These studies represented 120 cases of safety interventions. The number of participants included 31,971,908 individuals in 59 safety interventions, 417,693 groups/firms in 35 safety interventions, and 15,505 injuries in 17 safety interventions. Out of the 59 safety interventions, two were evaluating national prevention measures, which alone accounted for 31,667,110 individuals. The remaining nine safety interventions used other types of measures, such as safety exposure, safety observations, gloves or claim rates. Strong evidence supports greater effects being achieved with safety interventions directed toward the group or organization level rather than individual behavior change. Engineering controls are more effective at reducing injuries than other approaches, particularly when engineered changes can be introduced without requiring "decision-to-use" by workplaces. Multifaceted approaches combining intervention elements on the organizational level, or across levels, provided moderate to strong effects, in particular when engineering controls were included. Interventions based on firm epidemiologic evidence of causality and a strong conceptual approach were more effective. Effects that are more modest were observed (in short follow-up) for safety climate interventions, using techniques such as feedback or leadership training to improve safety communication. There was limited evidence for a strong effect at medium-term with more intense counseling approaches. Evidence supports regulation/legislation as contributing to the prevention of accidents at work, but with lower effect sizes. Enforcement appears to work more consistently, but with smaller effects. In general, the results were consistent with previous systematic reviews of specific types of safety interventions, although the effectiveness of economic incentives to prevent accidents at work was not consistent with our results, and effectiveness of physiological safety intervention was only consistent to some extent.
LIMITATIONS
Acute musculoskeletal injuries and injuries from more long-time workplace exposures were not always clearly distinguished in research reports. In some studies acute and chronic exposures were mixed, resulting in inevitable misclassification. Of note, the classification of these events also remains problematic in clinical medicine. It was not possible to conduct meta-analyses on all types of interventions (due to variability in approach, context, and participants). The findings presented for most intervention types are from limited sources, and assessment of publication bias was not possible. These issues are not surprising, given the breadth of the field of occupational safety. To incorporate studies using serial measures, which provide the only source of information for some safety interventions such as legislation, we took a systematic, grounded approach to their review. Rather than requiring more stringent, specific criteria for inclusion of ITS studies, we chose to assess how investigators justified their approach to design and analyses, based on the context in which they were working. We sought to identify measures taken to improve external validity of studies, reasonable statistical inference, as well as an overall appropriate inferential process. We found the process useful and enlightening. Given the new approach, we may have failed to extract points others may find relevant. Similarly, to facilitate the broad nature of this review, we used a novel categorization of safety interventions, which is likely to evolve with additional use. The broad scope of this review and the time and resources available did not allow for contacting authors of original papers or seeking translation of non-English manuscripts, resulting in a few cases where we did not have sufficient information that may have been possible to obtain from the authors.
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS
Our synthesis of the relative effectiveness of workplace safety interventions is in accordance with the Public Health Hierarchy of Hazard Control. Specifically, more effective interventions eliminate risk at the source of the hazard through engineering solutions or the separation of workers from hazards; effects were greater when these control measures worked independently of worker "decision-to-use" at the worksite. Interventions based on firm epidemiological evidence of causality and clear theoretical bases for the intervention approach were more effective in preventing injuries. Less effective behavioral approaches were often directed at the prevention of all workplace injuries through a common pathway, such as introducing safety training, without explicitly addressing specific hazards. We caution that this does not mean that training does not play an essential function in worker safety, but rather that it is not effective in the absence of other efforts. Due to the potential to reach large groups of workers through regulation and enforcement, these interventions with relatively modest effects, could have large population-based effects.
PubMed: 36911341
DOI: 10.1002/cl2.1234 -
Journal of Behavioral Addictions Sep 2022This systematic review examines whether sports betting behaviors differ among and between sports bettors in different countries, evaluates psychosocial problems related... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
This systematic review examines whether sports betting behaviors differ among and between sports bettors in different countries, evaluates psychosocial problems related to sports betting behaviors and how problems may vary by country, and lastly, summarizes the current regulatory guidelines for sports betting.
METHODS
We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and included peer-reviewed articles from PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO. Studies on sports betting behavior were included if they were published in English or Chinese between January 1, 2010 and March 28th, 2022. We gathered regulatory information from peer-reviewed articles, legal acts, and relevant websites. Of 2,450 articles screened, 65 were included in the final review.
RESULTS
Marketing and promotion of sports betting were more prominent for sports betting in Australia and the United Kingdom. Interviews with sports bettors demonstrated that sports betting is persuasive and normalized. Psychosocial problems do not appear to differ greatly by country, and sports betting appears to be associated with elevated levels of problem gambling. Responsible gambling approaches have helped address risky sports betting behaviors. China and South Korea have imposed more strict regulations and restrictions on sports betting access in comparison to countries such as Australia or the United States.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
Currently, sports betting is easy to access, normalized, and contains many attractive features for sports bettors. Psychoeducation about potential risks of sports betting and encouragement of responsible gambling strategies could help lessen risky sports-betting behaviors, though cross-cultural adaptations should be explored.
Topics: Humans; Gambling; Sports; Risk-Taking; Marketing; Persuasive Communication
PubMed: 36067022
DOI: 10.1556/2006.2022.00064 -
JMIR MHealth and UHealth Mar 2022Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is one of the first-line treatments for stress urinary incontinence among pregnant women. Mobile health (mHealth) technology is... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is one of the first-line treatments for stress urinary incontinence among pregnant women. Mobile health (mHealth) technology is potentially effective for delivering PFMT to pregnant women. Persuasive technology in the development of such mobile apps may facilitate behavior change by improving adherence to the exercises. The Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation-Behavior (COM-B) model is potentially useful in selecting the appropriate interventions to be incorporated into the apps.
OBJECTIVE
This review of mHealth apps for PFMT aims to describe the principles of persuasion used for each app and to propose mHealth app design features based on the COM-B model.
METHODS
A systematic literature search was conducted to answer three main research questions: what are the available mHealth apps for PFMT in the published literature, what persuasive strategies were used in their studies how were they mapped to the COM-B model, and how effective were the selected persuasive strategies for PFMT adherence? We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and local Malaysian databases such as MyCite and MyMedR for articles reporting mHealth apps used for the delivery of PFMT. We included original articles reporting experimental and cross-sectional studies, including pilot or feasibility trials. Systematic and narrative reviews were excluded. Narrative and thematic syntheses were conducted on the eligible articles based on the research questions. The Cochrane risk of bias tool and the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Studies were used to assess study bias.
RESULTS
Of the 169 records from the initial search, 10 (5.9%) articles meeting the selection criteria were included in this review. There were 8 mHealth apps designed for the delivery of PFMT. The Tät, which used 3 categories of persuasive system design, improved PFMT adherence and was cost-effective. Only 1 app, the iBall app, used all categories of persuasive system design, by including social support such as "competition" in its design. The Diário Saúde app was the only app developed using operant conditioning. All apps incorporated Tailoring and Expertise as part of their PSD strategies. Only 3 apps, the Diário Saúde, Tät, and Pen Yi Kang demonstrated improved PFMT adherence.
CONCLUSIONS
Persuasive technology used in mobile apps may target desired behavior change more effectively. The persuasive system design can be mapped to the COM-B model to explain its effectiveness on behaviour change outcomes.
Topics: Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Mobile Applications; Pelvic Floor; Persuasive Communication; Pregnancy; Technology; Telemedicine
PubMed: 35315777
DOI: 10.2196/28751 -
The International Journal of Behavioral... Dec 2021This systematic review aimed to evaluate AI chatbot characteristics, functions, and core conversational capacities and investigate whether AI chatbot interventions were... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
This systematic review aimed to evaluate AI chatbot characteristics, functions, and core conversational capacities and investigate whether AI chatbot interventions were effective in changing physical activity, healthy eating, weight management behaviors, and other related health outcomes.
METHODS
In collaboration with a medical librarian, six electronic bibliographic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, ACM Digital Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and IEEE) were searched to identify relevant studies. Only randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies were included. Studies were screened by two independent reviewers, and any discrepancy was resolved by a third reviewer. The National Institutes of Health quality assessment tools were used to assess risk of bias in individual studies. We applied the AI Chatbot Behavior Change Model to characterize components of chatbot interventions, including chatbot characteristics, persuasive and relational capacity, and evaluation of outcomes.
RESULTS
The database search retrieved 1692 citations, and 9 studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the 9 studies, 4 were randomized controlled trials and 5 were quasi-experimental studies. Five out of the seven studies suggest chatbot interventions are promising strategies in increasing physical activity. In contrast, the number of studies focusing on changing diet and weight status was limited. Outcome assessments, however, were reported inconsistently across the studies. Eighty-nine and thirty-three percent of the studies specified a name and gender (i.e., woman) of the chatbot, respectively. Over half (56%) of the studies used a constrained chatbot (i.e., rule-based), while the remaining studies used unconstrained chatbots that resemble human-to-human communication.
CONCLUSION
Chatbots may improve physical activity, but we were not able to make definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of chatbot interventions on physical activity, diet, and weight management/loss. Application of AI chatbots is an emerging field of research in lifestyle modification programs and is expected to grow exponentially. Thus, standardization of designing and reporting chatbot interventions is warranted in the near future.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42020216761 .
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; Diet, Healthy; Exercise; Female; Humans; Weight Loss
PubMed: 34895247
DOI: 10.1186/s12966-021-01224-6 -
The Cochrane Database of Systematic... Jul 2021Infectious diseases are a major cause of illness and death among older adults. Vaccines can prevent infectious diseases, including against seasonal influenza,...
BACKGROUND
Infectious diseases are a major cause of illness and death among older adults. Vaccines can prevent infectious diseases, including against seasonal influenza, pneumococcal diseases, herpes zoster and COVID-19. However, the uptake of vaccination among older adults varies across settings and groups. Communication with healthcare workers can play an important role in older people's decisions to vaccinate. To support an informed decision about vaccination, healthcare workers should be able to identify the older person's knowledge gaps, needs and concerns. They should also be able to share and discuss information about the person's disease risk and disease severity; the vaccine's effectiveness and safety; and practical information about how the person can access vaccines. Therefore, healthcare workers need good communication skills and to actively keep up-to-date with the latest evidence. An understanding of their perceptions and experiences of this communication can help us train and support healthcare workers and design good communication strategies.
OBJECTIVES
To explore healthcare workers' perceptions and experiences of communicating with older adults about vaccination.
SEARCH METHODS
We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus on 21 March 2020. We also searched Epistemonikos for related reviews, searched grey literature sources, and carried out reference checking and citation searching to identify additional studies. We searched for studies in any language.
SELECTION CRITERIA
We included qualitative studies and mixed-methods studies with an identifiable qualitative component. We included studies that explored the perceptions and experiences of healthcare workers and other health system staff towards communication with adults over the age of 50 years or their informal caregivers about vaccination.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We extracted data using a data extraction form designed for this review. We assessed methodological limitations using a list of predefined criteria. We extracted and assessed data regarding study authors' motivations for carrying out their study. We used a thematic synthesis approach to analyse and synthesise the evidence. We used the GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach to assess our confidence in each finding. We examined each review finding to identify factors that may influence intervention implementation and we developed implications for practice.
MAIN RESULTS
We included 11 studies in our review. Most studies explored healthcare workers' views and experiences about vaccination of older adults more broadly but also mentioned communication issues specifically. All studies were from high-income countries. The studies focused on doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others working in hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and nursing homes. These healthcare workers discussed different types of vaccines, including influenza, pneumococcal and herpes zoster vaccines. The review was carried out before COVID-19 vaccines were available. We downgraded our confidence in several of the findings from high confidence to moderate, low or very low confidence. One reason for this was that some findings were based on only small amounts of data. Another reason was that the findings were based on studies from only a few countries, making us unsure about the relevance of these findings to other settings. Healthcare workers reported that older adults asked about vaccination to different extents, ranging from not asking about vaccines at all, to great demand for information (high confidence finding). When the topic of vaccination was discussed, healthcare workers described a lack of information, and presence of misinformation, fears and concerns about vaccines among older adults (moderate confidence). The ways in which healthcare workers discussed vaccines with older adults appeared to be linked to what they saw as the aim of vaccination communication. Healthcare workers differed among themselves in their perceptions of this aim and about their own roles and the roles of older adults in vaccine decisions. Some healthcare workers thought it was important to provide information but emphasised the right and responsibility of older adults to decide for themselves. Others used information to persuade and convince older adults to vaccinate in order to increase 'compliance' and 'improve' vaccination rates, and in some cases to gain financial benefits. Other healthcare workers tailored their approach to what they believed the older adult needed or wanted (moderate confidence). Healthcare workers believed that older adults' decisions could be influenced by several factors, including the nature of the healthcare worker-patient relationship, the healthcare worker's status, and the extent to which healthcare workers led by example (low confidence). Our review also identified factors that are likely to influence how communication between healthcare workers and older adults take place. These included issues tied to healthcare workers' views and experiences regarding the diseases in question and the vaccines; as well as their views and experiences of the organisational and practical implementation of vaccine services.
AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There is little research focusing specifically on healthcare workers' perceptions and experiences of communication with older adults about vaccination. The studies we identified suggest that healthcare workers differed among themselves in their perceptions about the aim of this communication and about the role of older adults in vaccine decisions. Based on these findings and the other findings in our review, we have developed a set of questions or prompts that may help health system planners or programme managers when planning or implementing strategies for vaccination communication between healthcare workers and older adults.
Topics: Age Factors; Aged; Caregivers; Communication; Decision Making; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Personnel; Herpes Zoster Vaccine; Humans; Influenza Vaccines; Middle Aged; Persuasive Communication; Pneumococcal Vaccines; Professional-Family Relations; Qualitative Research; Vaccination; Vaccines
PubMed: 34282603
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013706.pub2 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2021Persuaders face many message design choices: narrative or non-narrative format, gain-framed or loss-framed appeals, one-sided or two-sided messages, and so on. But a...
Persuaders face many message design choices: narrative or non-narrative format, gain-framed or loss-framed appeals, one-sided or two-sided messages, and so on. But a review of 1,149 studies of 30 such message variations reveals that, although there are statistically significant differences in persuasiveness between message forms, it doesn't make much difference to persuasiveness which option is chosen (as evidenced by small mean effect sizes, that is, small differences in persuasiveness: median mean s of about 0.10); moreover, choosing the on-average-more-effective option does not consistently confer a persuasive advantage (as evidenced by 95% prediction intervals that include both positive and negative values). Strikingly, these results obtain even when multiple moderating conditions are specified. Implications for persuasive message research and practice are discussed.
PubMed: 34267703
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664160 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2021Media multitasking became increasingly popular over the past decade. As this behavior is intensely taxing cognitive resources, it has raised interest and concerns among...
Media multitasking became increasingly popular over the past decade. As this behavior is intensely taxing cognitive resources, it has raised interest and concerns among academics in a variety of fields. Consequently, in recent years, research on how, when, and why people media multitask has strongly emerged, and the consequences of the behavior for a great variety of outcomes (such as working memory, task performance, or socioemotional outcomes) have been explored. While efforts are made to summarize the findings of media multitasking research until date, these meta, and literature studies focused on specific research subdomains. Therefore, the current study adopted a quantitative method to map all studies in the broad field of media multitasking research. The bibliometric and thematic content analyses helped us identifying five major research topics and trends in the overall media multitasking domain. While media multitasking research started by studying its prevalence, appearance, and predictors, early research within the domain was also interested in the impact of this media consumption behavior on individuals' cognitive control and academic performance. Later on in 2007, scholars investigated the implications of media multitasking on the processing of media- and persuasive content, while its impact on socioemotional well-being received attention ever since 2009. Our analyses indicate that research within the field of media multitasking knows a dominant focus on adolescents, television watching, and cognitive depletion. Based on these findings, the paper concludes by discussing directions for future research.
PubMed: 34248735
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.623643