Attitude Moderates the Relation between Frequency of Media Multitasking in the Classroom and Delay Discounting

The present study examined whether the attitude toward texting in the classroom moderates the relation between delay discounting and frequency of texting in the classroom. College students completed a survey to assess their attitude and frequency of texting in the classroom. Based on this information, students were stratified into four groups: Appropriate-Frequent, Appropriate-Infrequent, Inappropriate-Frequent, and Inappropriate-Infrequent. The groups were then compared on the degree of delay discounting of hypothetical monetary reinforcers. In the delay-discounting task, participants made repeated choices between $1,000 available after a delay and an equal or lesser amount of money available immediately. The results showed that the attitude toward texting in the classroom moderates the relation between the degree of delay discounting and the frequency of texting in the classroom. Among students who perceive texting in the classroom as inappropriate, those who frequently text in the classroom showed greater rates of delay discounting than those who infrequently text in the classroom, whereas there was no difference in students who perceive texting in the classroom as appropriate. Impulsive characteristics of texting in the classroom from a behavioral economic perspective are discussed.