cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
Study: Who needs food? College students choose smartphones over eating - University of Buffalo
Research is first to demonstrate that smartphone use is a reinforcing behavior
University at Buffalo researchers have found that college students prefer food deprivation over smartphone deprivation, according to results from a paper in Addictive Behaviors.
Sara O’Donnell, lead author on the paper and clinical psychology doctoral student in the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, said the results suggest that smartphones can be more reinforcing than food for college students.
“In this study, we provide evidence for the first time that smartphones are reinforcing,” she said. O’Donnell is co-author with Leonard H. Epstein, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of the behavioral medicine division in the Department of Pediatrics.
“We also found that when deprived of both food and smartphones, students were much more motivated to work for time to use their smartphone, and were willing to part with more hypothetical money to gain access to their phone,” she said.
Research is first to demonstrate that smartphone use is a reinforcing behavior
University at Buffalo researchers have found that college students prefer food deprivation over smartphone deprivation, according to results from a paper in Addictive Behaviors.
Sara O’Donnell, lead author on the paper and clinical psychology doctoral student in the Department of Pediatrics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, said the results suggest that smartphones can be more reinforcing than food for college students.
“In this study, we provide evidence for the first time that smartphones are reinforcing,” she said. O’Donnell is co-author with Leonard H. Epstein, PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor and director of the behavioral medicine division in the Department of Pediatrics.
“We also found that when deprived of both food and smartphones, students were much more motivated to work for time to use their smartphone, and were willing to part with more hypothetical money to gain access to their phone,” she said.