Extent of Computer Use scale

Abstract

The Extent of Computer Use scale, developed by Medcof (1996), is a quantitative psychological measure designed for the field of organizational psychology. Its primary function is twofold: first, to determine the exact proportion of an employee’s workday that is dedicated to computer-related activities; and second, to classify this computer usage time according to varying levels of cognitive demands. The scale breaks down computer usage into categories defined as high, medium, and low cognitive load, allowing researchers to explore the relationship between technology utilization patterns and established job characteristics.

Keywords

Computer use, organizational psychology, job characteristics, cognitive demands, skill variety, autonomy, work productivity, Medcof (1996), job design.

Authors

J. W. Medcof

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Extent of Computer Use scale is to provide a precise, quantifiable measure of an individual’s reliance on computer technology within their professional role. It moves beyond simple binary measures of computer use by integrating a temporal element (percentage of time) and a qualitative element (type of cognitive demand).

This detailed assessment allows researchers to analyze how different forms of computer interaction—ranging from routine data entry (low demand) to complex problem-solving or programming (high demand)—impact employee job satisfaction, skill development, and perceived job dimensions, such as those defined by the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS).

Construct

The scale operationalizes two primary related constructs: Overall Computer Work Extent and Cognitive Load Distribution of Computer Tasks. Overall Computer Work Extent refers to the percentage of time spent actively using a computer during the working day, providing a measure of technological immersion.

The second construct, Cognitive Load Distribution, categorizes computer activities based on the mental effort required. This includes three distinct sub-constructs:

• Low Cognitive Demand: Tasks such as simple data entry or reading data.
• Medium Cognitive Demand: Tasks involving standard application use, like word processing or basic data analysis (e.g., using spreadsheet software).
• High Cognitive Demand: Complex tasks requiring significant problem-solving, suching as end-user programming or professional system use.

Validity

The validity of the Extent of Computer Use scale was examined by correlating its measures with core dimensions of the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS), specifically skill variety and autonomy.

Findings demonstrated differential relationships based on the cognitive level of the task:

• Low Cognitive Demand Activities: Computer usage time for low-demand tasks (e.g., data entry, data read, read and change data) exhibited a positive relationship with both skill variety and autonomy, suggesting that even simple computer use contributes positively to these job characteristics.
• High Cognitive Demand Activities: Usage time for high-demand tasks (e.g., end-user programming, professional system use) was positively related only to skill variety.
• Medium Cognitive Demand Activities: Usage time for medium-demand tasks (e.g., word processing, data analysis using systems like Lotus 1-2-3) showed no significant relationship with the JDS job dimensions tested.

Reliability

The internal consistency reliability of the Extent of Computer Use scale was assessed using coefficient alpha. In the original study by Medcof (1996), the resulting coefficient alpha was reported as .77, which indicates acceptable reliability for research purposes.

Factor Analysis

The source material does not explicitly detail a formal exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA) of the four main questions used to calculate the overall extent of computer use. However, the structure of the measure inherently defines two components: (1) a calculated score for the overall Extent of Computer Use derived from the weighted combination of four items, and (2) a descriptive measure of Type of Computer Use, which is factorially grouped into low, medium, and high cognitive demands based on the nature of the tasks listed (Medcof, 1996).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report measure, Quantitative Assessment of Work Behavior.

Format: Combination of ratio calculation (based on time spent) and a 5-point Likert-type scale item, followed by a detailed percentage allocation item for task type.

Language Available: English (Original publication).

Population Group: Employees and working professionals.

Age Group: Adult working population.

Population Details: Applicable to employees across various industries whose job functions involve the use of computers, allowing for differentiation based on the complexity of that usage.

Test Methodology: The scale uses four questions to calculate the overall percentage of computer time, which is then averaged with a weighted score (response to Q4 multiplied by 20) to generate the final extent score. A separate list item requires respondents to allocate percentages of their computer time across specific task categories (data entry, word processing, programming, etc.) which are then summed into low, medium, and high cognitive demand indices.

Keywords

Organizational psychology, computer utilization, job design, cognitive load, time management, technological intensity, Medcof scale, work activities.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not available in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not available in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Information not available in the source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1996.

Permissions: The original items were published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. The usage cited in the source compilation acknowledges that the content is Copyright © 1996 and was reproduced with permission. Researchers seeking to use the scale should contact the original author or the publisher of the journal for formal permission.

Fee: Information regarding usage fees is not specified in the source material.

Reference’s

Medcof, J. W. (1996). The job characteristics of computing and non-computing work activities. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 69, 199-212. Items were taken from text, pp. 203-204. Copyright © 1996. Reproduced with permission.

Items of the Extent of Computer Use scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Extent of computer use items: The measures uses four questions:

1. On a typical working day how many hours do you spend seated at and using the computer?
2. On a typical working day, how many hours do you spend at work?

The response to the first questions is divided by the response to the second and the quotient multiplied by 100 to provide a percentage of the day at the computer.

3. On a typical working day what percentage of your work time do you spend seated at and using the computer?
4. How would you describe the degree to which you use the computer to carry out your job functions?

Responses to question 4 are obtained using a 5-point Likert-type scale where 1 = rarely and 5 = always.

The response to question 4 is multiplied by 20 and averaged with the percentages obtained from questions 1, 2, and 3.

Type of computer use items:

In a single question, respondents are given a list of various types of computers use and asked to indicate what percentage of their time spent on the computer they did each. The list of types of computer use is as follows: data entry, data read, read and change data, word processing, data analysis using systems such as Lotus 1-2-3 and D-base III, end-user programming, professional system use, and other. The percentages for the first three categories (data entry, data read, read and change data) were summed to give the percentage of computer time spent at uses with low cognitive demands. The percentages for word processing and data analysis using systems such as Lotus 1-2-3 and D-base III were summed to give the percentage of computer time spent at uses with medium cognitive demands. The percentages for end-user programming and professional systems use were summed to give the percentage of computer time spent at uses with high cognitive demands.