The revised extended iSelf: Disentangling the effects of smartphone position and ringing on cognitive performance and psychophysiological parameters

The extended self theory posits that individuals perceive their possessions—for example, the smartphone—as an extension of the self, the separation of which may influence cognition and may cause emotional distress. In line with this theory, previous research found that when the smartphone is distant and ringing, cognitive performance decreases and psychophysiological activity increases, compared to when the smartphone is near and does not ring. The present study aims to disentangle the effects of the smartphone position (near vs. distant) and ringing ( pre vs. post) on cognitive tasks and psychophysiological activity; we used a 2 × 2 mixed design, with position as the between-subjects independent variable and ringing as the within-subjects independent variable. Participants (N = 70) completed two-word search puzzles, while their psychophysiological activity was being recorded. We primarily hypothesized main effects of smartphone position and ringing, as well as the interaction between these factors, on cognitive performance and psychophysiological parameters; furthermore, we hypothesized that participants in distant condition would perceive less extension of the self. As for cognitive performance, findings did not reveal any effect of position, ringing, or their interaction. As for psychophysiological parameters, only ringing had an effect, which was primarily reflected by increased electrodermal activity, although it was inconsistent with other parameters. No difference in the perception of extended self was observed. This pattern of results may reflect habituation to constant smartphone connectivity in contemporary users.