When phones interrupt: behavioural responses to partner’s phone use and interaction repair in two lab-based studies

Co-present phone use, often termed phubbing, refers to situations where partner A snubs partner B in favour of a mobile device. Using Goffman’s participation framework and insights from naturalistic observational studies, this paper examines behavioural patterns that emerge when phone use disrupts dyadic interaction, with the focus on the receiving partner (phubbee). We conducted two laboratory experiments in which couples engaged in either a stress-coping (Study 1, N = 30) or conflict-resolution (Study 2, N = 23) task while one partner was instructed to use their phone. The video-recorded interactions were behaviourally coded, later analysed for independence. We observed clear behavioural heterogeneity across immediate reactions, verbal responses, and re-engagement attempts. While several raw exploratory effects were significant, none survived false discovery rate corrections. However, given the robust underlying effect sizes, we cautiously discuss the prominent role of gaze direction as one of the key indicators of involvement and conversational repair. We anchor these findings in the Attention–Arousal–Attribution framework. While our small sample sizes and constrained exploratory effects require caution, these strong exploratory patterns offer a promising avenue for future lab-based research into dyadic coordination under co-present phone use.