1. Level of Distraction
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Mean(QuestionsCorrectoutof30)
Low-level
High-level
Cellphone Distraction: How Real Is It?
Benjamin Zaniewski, Courtney O’Brien, & Jehlad Hickson
Method
Results
An independent-samples t test was calculated to determine
whether or not level of cellphone user distraction had an effect on
performance during a cognitive task. Figure 1 illustrates the
pattern of means. The t test showed that there was no statistically
significant difference between the two levels of distraction, t(30)
= 0.308, p = .508.
In addition to our main analysis, we examined the relationship
between distraction level and question difficulty (easy, medium,
difficult). Table 1 presents the pattern of means concerning
question difficulty. We found that overall mean question
performance by question difficulty did not differ as a function of
cellphone distraction level.
Table 1
Distraction Level and Question Difficulty
Note. The mean represents questions answered correctly out of
10.
References
Introduction
Previous research has shown that cellphone use increases levels
of distraction and negatively impacts performance in multitasking
(Thornton et al., 2014). Another similar study found that people
who were unable to answer their ringing iPhone while completing
a cognitive task experienced higher blood pressure, heart rate,
and self-reported feeling anxious (Clayton et al., 2014). We
explored the possible effects of cellphone distraction on cognitive
task performance. We tested the hypothesis that participants
exposed to higher levels of cellphone distraction would score
lower on a questionnaire related to a cognitive task compared to
those at lower distraction levels. We predicted that the more
distracted the participant, the lower their score would be on the
posttest questionnaire.
Participants
We recruited 31 Stonehill College students, including psychology
students from SONA systems and a convenience sample of the
student population.
Materials
This study utilized a Apple MacBook and two iPhone 6’s. The
laptop was used to play the video clip titled “Kiss of Death and
the Google Executive” from the television series The First 48
Hours Mystery from YouTube. The cellphones were used to send
and receive text messages. The posttest questionnaire consisted of
30 multiple choice questions about the video clip.
Procedure
We randomly assigned each participant to a distraction level (low
or high). Participants were instructed to watch the 10-min video
clip, during which they were exposed to cellphone distraction in
the form of text messages sent by the experimenters. Participants
responded to the question/task using the cellphone provided. Low
level participants received three text messages and high level
participants received six text messages, both in 90-sec intervals
beginning at the 1:00 mark. Upon completion of the video clip,
participants then completed the posttest questionnaire.
Clayton, R. B., Leshner, G., & Almond, A. (2015). The extended
iSelf: The impact of iPhone separation on cognition, emotion, and
physiology. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication,
20(2), 119-135.
Duggan, M., & Rainie, L. (2012). Cell phone activities 2012. Pew
Research Center.
Siggins, M., & Flood, C. (2013). Mobile phone separation and anxiety.
Cyberpsychology and New Media: A Thematic Reader, 38.
Thornton, B., Faires, A., Robbins, M., & Rollins, E. (2015). The
mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting. Social
Psychology, 45(6), 479-488.
Discussion
Stonehill College Psychology Department – Fall 2015
Although our results did not support our study’s hypothesis, this
is likely due to the high number of limitations. Participants
exposed to high cellphone distraction showed an almost equal
performance level compared to the low distraction group.
Isolating cellphone distraction and creating an equally controlled
experimental environment for each participant proved to be very
difficult. While we found no significant evidence that cellphone
distraction impacts cognitive performance in any way, our work
may encourage further examining the potential effects of
cellphone distraction.
Question Difficulty Distraction Level Mean
Easy
Low 7.87
High 8.00
Medium
Low 6.87
High 6.80
Hard
Low 5.60
High 5.60
Figure 1. Questionnaire performance (possible range: 0-30) as a
function of cellphone distraction level.