Psychological factors of development and chronicity of technological addictions

Abstract

The article is devoted to the formation of technological addictions, criteria for their identification and diagnosis, as well as analysis of the psychological factors that contribute to their development. According to the results of comparative analysis of existing models and studies, we present ways of further development of this problem in psychology. Model of technological addictions should be based on a model of “normative” use of technology and cannot be reduced only to the “addictive potential” of technology or person. In addition, one must consider unique humans function of technology (ease, avoiding, and overcoming), which makes a virtual situation more attractive than the real life situation, and provides a transition from “normal” to pathological processes. A special topic is identification of compensatory mechanisms system that support developed forms of addictive behavior (cognitive dissonance reduction strategies, cognitive distortion of perception and evaluation).

Keywords

• technological addictions
• addictive behavior
• abuse of technology
• technology adoption model
• adjustment disorders
• psychological factors