Online Cognition Scale (OCS)

Brief Description:
• Davis, Flett, & Besser (2002)
• Focus on cognitions instead of behaviors
• Four subscales: Loneliness/depression, diminished impulse control, social comfort, and distraction

Versions:
• Chinese
• English
• Turkish

Type of Measure:
• Self-completed
• Thirty-six items: Loneliness/depression = 6 items; diminished impulse control = 10 items; distraction = 7 items; social comfort = 13 items
• Seven point Likert scale

Target Population:
• Adult
• Adolescents

Scoring:
• Totals are summed

Psychometrics:
Source Reference: Davis, Flett, & Besser (2002): 211 undergraduate psychology students.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.94; Item-total correlations = 0.47-0.77 (social comfort), 0.49-0.81 for loneliness, 0.50-0.76 for diminished impulse control, 0.55-0.80 for distraction
• Validity: predictive, convergent, discriminate
• Four factor model
Ozcan & Frosted (2005): 148 Turkish University students
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha = 0.91, Total item correlations = 0.17-0.66; Test-retest reliability (4 weeks) = 0.90
• Validity: correlated with depression (Beck’s Depression Scale) and loneliness (UCLS Loneliness Scale)

Utility for Prevalence Surveys:
• Fair

Research Applicability:
• Potentially good
• Widely used
• Can be scored as a global measure of problematic Internet use

Copyright, Cost and Source Issues:
• Public domain (no cost): available in source reference

Source References:
Davis, R. A., Flett, G. L., & Besser, A. (2002). Validation of a new scale for measuring problematic Internet use: Implications for pre-employment screening. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 5(4), 331-345.

Supporting References:
Ozcan, N. K., & Buzlu, S. (2005). An assistive tool in determining problematic Internet use: Validity and reliability of the “Online Cognitions Scale” in a sample of university students. Journal of Addiction, 6(1), 19-26. [In Turkish-translated online at: http://www.psikiyatridizini.org/viewarticle.php?article_id=491]

Strengths:
• Widely used

Weaknesses:
• More work on the predictive validity is needed
• No cut-scores