Technology in Everyday Life and Perceptions of Competence¹

Studies of technology in the workplace generally report that the use of de‐skilling technology results in dissatisfied and alienated employees. To determine whether this relation existed in nonworkplace settings, a series of surveys were conducted to assess the relation between the kind of technologies people use and feelings of competence. In three separate surveys of cooking, photography, and driving cars, a positive relation was found between the skill requirements of the technology that people use and their assessment of their ability and level of enjoyment in these activities.