I need my smartphone: A hierarchical model of personality and cell-phone addiction

• A hierarchical model of personality is used to study cell phone addiction.
• Emotional instability, introversion, and materialism are significantly associated with cell phone addiction.
• Attention impulsiveness is positively associated with cell phone addiction.
• The association between conscientiousness, need for arousal and cell phone addiction is mediated by attention impulsiveness.

Using a comprehensive personality model, this study is the first to examine the relationship between a full range of personality traits and cell phone addiction. 346 college students completed an online survey that asked respondents to complete measures of the Big-Five personality traits and measures of materialism and need for arousal, Barratt’s (1959) impulsiveness scale, and a four-item measure of cell phone addiction. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Couched in Mowen’s (2000) 3M Hierarchical Model of Personality, the elemental traits of emotional instability and materialism were positively associated while introversion was negatively associated with cell phone addiction. The central trait of attention impulsiveness exhibited a direct and positive association with cell phone addiction. A significant negative relationship between conscientiousness and all three dimensions of Barratt’s impulsiveness scale (central trait) was found. Several additional relationships between the elemental traits of Mowen’s personality hierarchy and the three dimensions of impulsiveness (central trait) also were uncovered. Study implications and future research directions are discussed.