Problematic Texting Behaviors: Individual Differences In Personality

Problematic texting behaviors consist of well-understood behaviors (such as texting while driving) and behaviors that have not been thoroughly researched in the past. A study was performed to examine several physically and socially problematic texting habits with respect to individual differences in personality and sensation-seeking behavior. Participants completed several self-report surveys gauging texting habits, personality, and sensation seeking. General findings indicated that extraversion and neuroticism were positively related to some socially problematic texting behaviors, but unexpectedly, extraversion was related to non-social aspects of texting, such as texting while driving. The disinhibition subscale was most strongly related to almost all of the problematic texting behaviors that we assessed, most notably for texting and driving. Based on these findings, an example of using individual differences to improve analyses of problematic texting behavior is provided. Additional results and implications for human factors are further discussed