Does Using Mobile Phones Make You Less Attractive? Phubbing and Perceptions of Warmth,Competence,and Social Attractiveness

Abstract

Phubbing has become a prominent phenomenon in today’s digital landscape, with detrimental effects on relational well-being. Beyond its negative impact on various types of relationships, scholarly interest has been paid to the influence of phubbing on impression formation. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model, which highlights the roles of warmth and competence in social perception and evaluation, this study examined how phubbing affects these dimensions and subsequently influences social attractiveness, likability, and interaction intentions. Two experiments were conducted. Study 1 found that phubbing significantly reduced perceptions of warmth and competence, which led to lower social attractiveness, likability, and interaction intentions. Serial mediation analysis confirmed the mediating roles of warmth, competence, and social attractiveness. In Study 2, moderated mediation analyses demonstrated that contextual information significantly moderated these effects. These findings offer important theoretical and practical implications by clarifying the psychological mechanisms through which phubbing harms social evaluations and undermines relational well-being.