The psychological impact of technology from a global perspective: A study of technological sophistication and technophobia in university students from twenty-three countries

摘要

This study examined technological sophistication and the level of technophibia in 3,392 first year university students in 38 universities from 23 countries. Technological sophistication was measured by the use of consumer technology (video-cassette recorders, microwave ovens, automated banking machines, computer/video games), university computing (classroom computers, word processing, programming languages, and library computers) and computer ownership. Technophobia was assessed by instruments measuring anxiety, cognitions and attitudes toward computer technology. Results indicated that many countries showed a majority of technophobic students while others showed very few technophobes. Consistent with expectations from prior research, age and gender were only mildly correlated with technophobia in less than one-fourth of the countries and computer/technology experience was negatively related to technophobia in the majority of country samples. Male students had more computer/technology experience than female students in half the samples. Technological sophistication varied greatly. A Discriminant Function Analysis indicated that two variables, a composite computer/technology experience measure and a composite technophobia score, were sufficient to provide maximal discrimination between the 23 country samples. Differences between country sample placement on this two-dimensional representation are discussed as a function of public attitudes toward technology, cultural characteristics, political climate, computer use in the educational system and general availability of technological innovations.