Relationship between media multitasking behavior and divergent thinking: The moderating effect of executive function

• The regression found a non-linear link of MMI and divergent thinking (DT). • Moderate media multitasking index (MMI) contributes to DT. • For low media multitaskers (LMMs), it increases the DT. • For heavy media multitaskers (HMMs), it hinders or has no effect on DT. • High executive function buffered the negative effect of media multitasking on DT originality. Media multitasking is the simultaneous use of multiple media streams. Numerous studies have suggested that it influences cognitive processing in various ways, but its relationship with divergent thinking (DT) and the underlying mechanism are unclear. The present study examined the relationship between media multitasking behavior and DT by using a segmented regression method and further analyzed the moderating effect of executive function on this relationship in a sample of 486 college students. The results showed a positive correlation between the media multitasking index (MMI) and DT fluency and a segmented linear correlation between the MMI and DT originality and flexibility. For light media multitaskers (LMMs), the MMI was positively correlated with DT originality, DT flexibility and total DT. For heavy media multitaskers (HMMs), the positive correlation disappeared, and we even found a negative correlation between MMI and DT originality. In addition, executive function was found to moderate the relation between media multitasking and DT originality in HMMs. A high level of executive function buffered the negative effect of MMI on DT originality. These findings demonstrated that an intermediate level of media multitasking is more conducive to improving creative performance in terms of originality, flexibility and total DT, which means that the influence of media multitasking on DT is not absolutely positive or negative and that high-level executive function could partly alleviate the negative effect of heavy media multitasking on creativity.