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Ringtones Washington University

1) A study found that mobile phone ringtones, especially popular songs, can distract people and negatively impact their concentration and problem-solving abilities. 2) Researchers conducted an experiment where a cellphone was allowed to ring for 30 seconds during an undergraduate psychology lecture. Students exposed to the ringing phone scored 25% worse on a test of material presented before the distraction. 3) Students tested later also scored around 25% worse on recalling course content presented during the ringing phone distraction, even though the professor and slides covered the same information.

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Ramesh Kumar
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46 views

Ringtones Washington University

1) A study found that mobile phone ringtones, especially popular songs, can distract people and negatively impact their concentration and problem-solving abilities. 2) Researchers conducted an experiment where a cellphone was allowed to ring for 30 seconds during an undergraduate psychology lecture. Students exposed to the ringing phone scored 25% worse on a test of material presented before the distraction. 3) Students tested later also scored around 25% worse on recalling course content presented during the ringing phone distraction, even though the professor and slides covered the same information.

Uploaded by

Ramesh Kumar
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WEDNESDAY, FEBRAVARY 16, 2012

LONDON: It's always better to keep your cellphone on silent mode particularly when you are trying to solve a problem, for a study says that mobile ringtones can distract you -- especially if it's your favourite song. Researchers at Washington University in St Louis have claimed that mobile phone ringtones affect concentration most when they are popular songs -- in fact, they can brain power, the 'Daily Mail' reported. "Many of us consider a mobile phone ringing in a public place to be an annoying disruption, but this study confirms that these nuisance noises also have real-life impacts," lead author Jill Shelton said. She added: "These seemingly innocuous events are not only a distraction, but they have a real influence on learning." For their study, the researchers devised an experiment in which Shelton posed as a student seated in the middle of a crowded undergraduate psychology lecture at Louisiana State University and allowed a mobile phone in her handbag to continue ringing loudly for about 30 seconds. Students exposed to a briefly ringing cellphone scored 25 per cent worse on a test of material presented before the distraction, the findings revealed. Students tested later scored about 25 per cent worse for recall of course content presented during the distraction, even though the same information was covered by the Professor just prior to the phone ring and projected as text in a slide show shown throughout the distraction.

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