The phantom in my pocket: Determinants of phantom phone sensations

Abstract

This study investigated the prevalence and antecedents of the so-called phantom phone sensations (PPS) phenomenon – the false perception that one’s cell phone is ringing, vibrating, or blinking. While previous studies have already addressed the impact of personality traits and cell phone usage patterns on the likelihood of experiencing phantom phone sensations, we were interested in additionally addressing the impact of situational context factors. An online questionnaire assessed especially cell phone usage patterns (e.g., frequency of cell phone usage), personality traits (e.g., Big Five, need for popularity), and contextual factors (e.g., awaiting a call, being in a noisy environment). Analyses ( N = 249; 137 female) revealed that the majority of participants (83.5%) have experienced phantom phone sensations. Multivariate analysis methods indicated that, in particular, contextual factors regarding the social situation (awaiting a call) along with cell phone usage patterns are predictive for the experience of phantom phone sensations. Moreover, age was also found to have a high predictive value.