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Department of

Psychological Sciences

Title

Science Suggests That Cell Phones Are Annoying and Distracting

Message

Forbes -- If you find yourself irresistibly sucked into other people’s cell phone conversations, don’t beat yourself up too much. There’s a perfectly scientific explanation for your eavesdropping ways. A new study out in the journal PLOS ONE finds that when people are trying to mind their own business and complete a cognitive task, overhearing a cell phone conversation (by accident, of course) can steal away your attention much more than being witness to an old-fashioned, two-sided conversation.

Participants in the study also perceived the cell phone conversations as being more annoying and distracting than the two-sided ones. This may be because we get uncomfortable and anxious when we lack control of a situation, says lead researcher Veronica Galván. (Full Story)

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