The new psychological study is said to the first to draw a link between the personality of the individual and smartphone type. The study is based in the U.K., a population where 80 percent of people own a smartphone and the division between Android and Apple based systems is approximately 50-50. Such is the devotion and continual use of the smartphone with many people, that some psychologists see the the smartphone as becoming an extension of the personality of the user.
The study involved providing some 500 smartphone users various questionnaires, asking questions about the user and their attitude towards their mobile phone.
The research was carried out at Lancaster University. The lead psychologist, Dr David Ellis explains the reasons in his research note: “In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that an individual’s choice of smartphone operating system can provide useful clues when it comes to predicting their personality and other individual characteristics.”
As to the main findings, starting with the iPhone.
iPhone users are more likely to be:
Younger,
More than twice as likely to be women,
More likely to see their phone as a status object,
More extroverted,
Less concerned about owning devices favored by most people.
Whereas, with Android:
Android users were more likely to be:
Male,
Older,
More honest,
More agreeable,
Less likely to break rules for personal gain,
Less interested in wealth and status.
The research group have also developed a computer model through which they can predict what type of mobile device a person owns based on their response to a series of profiling questions. The practical use of this is not stated in the research briefing.
The findings are published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, with the research paper headed “Predicting Smartphone Operating System from Personality and Individual Differences.”
