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Technophobia: The psychological impact of information technology. By Mark Brosnan. London: Routledge. 1998. Pp. 220. Paper, 13.99. ISBN 0 415 13597 4.
At long last! Someone has taken the time to summarize the vast literature on technophobia and place it firmly in the realm of applied psychology. Mark Brosnan begins at the beginning, by taking a peek at the history of research into people's reactions to computers and computerized technology. He does a careful job of tracking some of the seminal early work-Tim Jay's definition, my early work with Weil and Sears, and that of Raub, Maurer and Simonson, Marcoulides, Heinnesen and others-in the 1980s and early 1990s. His summary of all the areas touched by this line of research in the opening chapter is worth the price of the book.
The next three chapters provide an in-depth look at the relationship between technophobia and three important and often-studied variables-gender, self-efficacy and cognitive style. Each is thorough and provides an even-handed view of the literature and competing theories. Then, Brosnan brings us straight into alternative explanations for why someone might be or become technophobic. The reasoning is effective and the incorporation of alternative models to his latest work is fair and complementary.
The true power of Brosnan's book is in his application of nearly two decades of research into technophobia in both education and business. For those who are interested in how students have fared during the frenzy to install computers into both American and British schools, Brosnan's chapter on `Technophobia in education' is enlightening. He captures the impact on the children with a focus on boys vs. girls and advantaged vs. disadvantaged systems but still remains true to the major line of thinking: `Mixed education can provide an environment which enhances technophobia....