Psychological effects of hybrid SCMC with mobile device management: distraction, classroom atmosphere, and foreign language anxiety

Introduction This study examines how mobile media regulation influences learners’ psychological experiences in hybrid synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) environments, by introducing an integrated hybrid SCMC–Mobile Device Management (MDM) configuration as a unified instructional approach and empirically examining its psychological effects. Focusing on attention, distraction, and foreign language anxiety, it investigates whether Mobile Device Management (MDM) can shape learners’ affective and cognitive responses by regulating mobile device use during mediated interaction. Rather than evaluating instructional design, the study explores how technological conditions influence psychological processes underlying classroom engagement and interaction quality. Methods A self-contrast study was conducted with 60 second-year undergraduate students (M age = 20.6, SD = 0.743) from a mid-tier university in Ma’anshan, China. The sample included 24 females and 36 males, all non-English majors enrolled in a compulsory English course. Participants experienced three instructional modes: traditional face-to-face instruction, hybrid SCMC without device regulation, and hybrid SCMC with MDM. Results The results indicate that hybrid SCMC with MDM significantly improves classroom focus and reduces digital distraction compared with the other conditions, whereas the direct effect of MDM on foreign language anxiety is limited. Discussion These findings suggest that MDM shapes learners’ psychological experiences primarily by regulating attention rather than directly modulating emotional responses. By clarifying how mobile media constraints shape learners’ psychological experiences, particularly through the integration of communicative affordances and attentional regulation, this study contributes to understanding media-mediated interaction in educational contexts and highlights how psychological mechanisms can inform the design of more effective hybrid learning environments.