DOMINGUEZ HILLS : Widespread Consumer Fear of New Technology Found
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Many people are still spooked by having to program a videocassette recorder, use a microwave oven or even set the time on a digital clock, according to a new study.
Larry Rosen, a Cal State Dominguez Hills psychology professor, has studied a phenomenon he describes as “technophobia” for about a decade.
“We’re talking about a phobia that in its worst form actually causes sweaty palms, heart palpitations and headaches,” Rosen said. “Technophobia is a major predictor of who will use consumer technology.”
Rosen and his wife, Michelle Weil, a clinical psychologist and adjunct professor of psychology at Chapman University in Orange, completed two years of international research.
About 3,400 first-year students at 38 universities in 23 countries were questioned. All the members of the Indonesian study group reported they were technophobic, compared to about 30% of the U.S. students surveyed.
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