Do you ever find yourself getting irritated and distracted by people around you having a telephone conversation, but not when two people are physically together conversing a table away? If so, the following article may help you understand why.
Should you choose to learn more about the distraction of one-sided conversations, please complete the following:
- Read this article.
- Summarize the article.
- According to the authors, why are one-sided conversations, opposed to two-sided conversations, so distracting?
- Have you ever experienced this? Maybe in the MUC, at the library, riding in car, etc.? In other words, do you buy into the idea set forth by the authors?
The article discusses a study done by psychologist Lauren Emberson in which she sought out to find whether one sided conversations are distracting. She performed an experiment that involved two groups. The first group had to track a dot as it moved across a computer screen. The other group had to memorize four letters of the alphabet and push a button when it appeared on the screen. Both groups performed their tasks while listening to full or half conversations or silence. The results of the study showed that both groups performed worse when listening to the half conversation as opposed to the full conversation or silence.
ReplyDeleteThe reason one-sided conversations are more distracting than two-sided conversations is because we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli. This is because our brains are trying to make sense of the lacking information.
Sometimes I do find it harder to concentrate when there is someone next to me on the phone. If it is someone I know I usually try to listen and pay attention to what is being said so I can piece the conversation together. And afterwards I typically ask what "so and so" had to say. I think who is talking on the phone plays a part in it though. There are some people I know that I will tune out when they are on the phone and others I will pay closer attention to. I guess it just depends on the environmental and situational factors.
The article talks about a study conducted by Lauren Emberson to figure out if one sided conversations are distracting. Emberson and colleagues set up an experiment that would test this out. They started out by recording cell-phone conversations between pairs of undergraduate students. After that they brought in two different groups of volunteers. One group had to track a dot with the computer mouse as it moved around the screen. The other group had to do a more difficult task. This group had to memorize four letters of the alphabet and push a button when they saw any of those letters on the screen. The experiment showed that listening to a whole cell-phone conversation didn't affect the volunteers' attention. But they did score lower when they listened to a half-conversation.
ReplyDeletePeople become more distracted during one-sided conversations because they are unpredictable. We never know when the person is going to respond next or when the conversation is going to be over.
I have experienced this before. When someone is on the phone next to me and I'm trying to concentrate and do homework is when this affects me. It has happened to me before when I was trying to read my textbook. The person next to me was talking on the phone and I could not concentrate at all. I was too concerned with the person who was talking on the phone next to me that I actually had to stop reading because I could no longer concentrate or understand what I had been reading. I buy into the idea set fourth by the authors.
This article discusses a study done in order to understand why one-sided conversations are so distracting. As it turns out, individuals trying to complete a task while listening to a one-sided conversation are much more distracted where as individuals trying to complete a task while listening to a two-sided conversation. This is because we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli and are than unable to focus on our original task. I have definitely experienced this in many different places. Almost everyone has a cell phone these days, and we all seem to be constantly on it. I believe the idea set forth by the authors, because I have witnessed first hand how one-sided conversations are incredibly distracting.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses a case study by a psychologist where she went out to find whether one sided conversations are distracting or not. The article showed two different groups of people have difficulty listening to one sided conversations. The authors found it so distracting because people trying to complete a task and not being able to during one sided conversations. I have experienced this in my life in many ways. An example from my life is when people are talking on the phone around me and I am trying to do something. This is especially hard when I am trying to focus and do a hard task such as homework, but instead if I was engaged in the conversation I would not have been distracted from my homework. I very much agree with the different points the authors made in the article.
ReplyDeleteThis article describes a study that is done to explain why people get more distracted by one-sided phone conversations rather than full conversations. The study found that people who where given a one-sided conversation to listen to while trying to complete a task got more distracted than a person given the same task to complete but instead were listening to a full conversation. This is because we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli than predictable ones, in this case the one-sided phone call.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced the distraction of one-sided phone calls because (and I can admit it) I try listening to the persons conversation and try figuring out what the person on the other side of the phone call is saying. This can make focusing much more difficult especially when I am trying to focus or do homework in the MUC. Because I have experienced this type of distraction countless times, I do agree with the authors and their findings in this study.
This article entitled, "One Sided Conversations," discusses how distracting one sided conversations can be. Lauren Emberson set up an experiment testing to see if this theory was correct. She took two groups of individuals and performed a series of audio tests and computer tests all while listening to half conversations and whole conversations. After all the data was compiled, it showed that listening to a half conversation was the most distracting to the individuals. The author stated that this is probably a fact because the unpredictability of half conversations is commonly more distracting. It is distracting because you never know when the speaker will start talking or stop so the sound was unpredictable. Second, the listener was missing half the conversation which was just as unpredictable. I have refrained from doing homework at the MUC because of this simple reason. I tend to find anything and everything else to do when it comes to finishing my homework. There are always people talking to one another or taking on their phones. I would have to agree with the author on this idea because the half conversations just leave your mind to wander.
ReplyDeleteResearchers asked the question why is it distracting to have someone talking on the phone next to you, but not when there are two people talking to each other beside you. The researchers did an experiment to find out why. They had people do a task on the computer which required them to be focused. While they were doing the task a tape was played with only one side of a phone conversation then another time with both sides of the conversation. The test showed that when the participants did the computer task while the one sided tape was playing they could not concentrate very well and had lower scores. Compared to when the tape with both side of the conversation played. When both sides where heard the participants had no problem focusing and performed the same as they did when they did the computer task in silence. The researchers said the reason for this change in performance was because when we only hear one side of a conversation our brains try to guess the other side and make sense of it, taking away some of our focus on other things. When we hear both sides of the conversation our brains think that it already makes sense so we don’t have to take focus away from other things.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the authors one sided conversations are distracting because our brains are trying to figure out the other side of the story. When we hear a two sided conversation our brains can understand it and make sense of it and don’t need to put forth effort to focus on it.
I find what the researchers are saying very interesting. I have had experiences like these and sometimes found them distracting. I think that it also has to do with the situation and what you are working on. If you are very focused on writing a paper I don’t think you will even notice the person next to you talking on the phone. On the other hand if you are reading a boring chapter in your text book and aren’t that interested in it then you are probably more likely to let your attention be drawn somewhere else.
Discussed in this article was an experiment done by researchers to determine why one-sided conversations are so distracting when two-sided conversations are not. To do so, researcher and psychologist Lauren Emberson, along with her colleagues, recorded cell-phone conversations being held between two people. A different group of volunteers was then brought in and asked to perform tasks on a computer that required varying levels of attention. While the volunteers were performing said tasks, they were also forced to listen to either one, both, or neither side(s) of the previously recorded phone conversation. Results showed that having a whole conversation did nothing to affect attention, nor did complete silence. Hearing just one side, however, resulted in lower performance scores. These results indicate that one-sided conversations are more distracting, a concept that can be attributed to our tendency to be more distracted by unpredictable stimuli than predictable ones. A one-sided conversation is unpredictable because (1) we never know when a speaker will start/stop talking, and (2) we are missing out on half the content of the conversation, making the content itself unpredictable. What this suggests is that we inadvertently try to make sense of a one-sided conversation, even though we are missing half the conversation. As we try to tune in to the half-conversations of those around us, our attention is taken from whatever else we may be trying to accomplish simultaneously; it is because of our limited attention span that we find one-sided conversations so distracting.
ReplyDeleteResults of this experiment were some I found very interesting. What the authors have pointed out is something that everybody can relate to; we quite often find ourselves tuning out of whatever we were trying to do and tuning into the half conversations being held by those around us instead. On a personal level, I have had several occasions where I realized that I was listening to others' conversations without really taking in what they are saying. Since phone use in public is something we are constantly subjected to, it is no wonder that we find the distraction of one-sided conversations occurring so often.
This articles discusses a study conducted by researchers to answer the question are one-sided phone conversations more distracting than two-sided conversations. To complete the study, researchers recorded phone conversations with permission, and manipulated them so that during the study the participants could hear either no sound, both sides, one side, or a conversation that could not be understood. The participants participated in two tasks, one that required minimal thinking, and one that required more attention to accurately complete it. The researchers found that the participants had greater accuracy when they were listening to no sound, both sides of the conversation, or the conversation that was not able to be understood than the one-sided conversation. From the results, the researchers were able to conclude that yes, one-sided conversations are more distracting.
ReplyDeleteThe researchers concluded that one-sided conversations are more distracting because the people who can only hear one side of the conversation are trying to not only focus on the task they are trying to complete, but also trying to process and complete the other side of the conversation.
I have had experiences with overhearing conversations, and I fully buy into the authors’ ideas of why it is so distracting. Even though you may not try to, because you can only hear one side of the conversation, you always are trying to figure out what the other half of the conversation is about. I think this is especially true when the people you overhear are having very weird conversations. I also think though that they are more distracting because sometimes when people are on the phone, they do not realize how loud they are talking on the phone, but when you are both there in person you tend to think more about how loudly you are getting.
The article discusses a study that was performed to discuss whether or not one sided or two sided conversations were more distracting. To do this, conversations were recorded and volunteers performed tasks while listening to the one sided, two sided or silence. It was found that the volunteers were much more distracted with the one sided conversations. This was attributed to the fact that humans don’t operate well with unknown variables. This is why one sided conversations are so much more distracting.
ReplyDeleteI have experience this while riding in a car with a friend. I found it impossible to detach from the phone call and stop listening. I did not even really care about what she was saying on the call, but I simply could not detach. This is why I found the one sided conversation very distracting. I have never felt this while listening to a conversation between two people. I have always been able to disengage.
There once was a time where we almost never heard someone talking on the phone in public, but in today’s world we hear it everywhere. Lauren Emberson and her colleagues experimented on why hearing someone else talk on a cell phone can be distracting. They recorded a cell phone call and replayed it to people taking a computerized attention test. There were two different test taken, one needed more concentration that the other. One test represented driving on an empty highway, while the other one represented driving through traffic. These tests were performed while either listening to full conversations, half-conversations, or silence. The results concluded that full conversations and silence received the same score, but the test takers listening to the half-conversation scored lower than the other two. This is because we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli than predictable ones. They tested these effects in another way as well by running one-sided conversations that were impossible to understand. The effects of these were the same as silence and full conversations.
ReplyDeleteOne-sided conversations are more distracting because they are unpredictable. A person doesn’t know when the one talking on the phone is going to speak again. They also don’t know what is happening on the other end of the phone. This gives the people in distance of hearing the phone call an unavoidable temptation to eavesdrop. If it is a two-sided conversation, then the information isn’t as unpredictable and there is almost always constant talking. This then makes the conversation less interesting to an outside listener.
I experience this while trying to sleep and my roommate decides it is a good idea for a phone call with her boyfriend. I find it impossible to sleep because as soon as I’m used to the silence from her listening to the other end, she talks and it jolts me awake. It does distract me from what I’m trying to do because even though I’m trying to drown her out, it is extremely hard to do because of the unpredictability.
Hearing one side of a conversation can be very distracting. The author of the article described a study that was performed. The study concluded that if people only heard one side of a converation they would perform worse on memory and attention tests than when they heard the whole converation. If the person heard the whole conversation, it did not impact their performance. It also concluded that hearing one side of the conversation was distracting when they could be fully understood.
ReplyDeletePeople are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli in this situation, because we don't know when the other speaker is speaking or when they stop talking. The sound is unpredictable. Also, the listener is missing half of the conversation, so they don't know the actual conent of the conversation.
Researchers then ran a second experiment. The researchers ran an one-sided conversation through an audio filter so that they could not understand. The content was not predictable. In this experiment, the distraction effect went away. When putting the research together, if we only hear one side of a conversation, we try to fill in the missing information. We tend to make snap judgements about others.
I have experienced this before. I do see a lot of people talking on the phone everywhere. We only are able to hear one side of the conversation. We do not know what the other person is saying. For example, if there is a guy yelling at a girlfriend on the other end of the phone, we tend to think that they guy is a dick. When in reality we do not know why he is yelling at her and also what she is saying. I do somewhat agree with this article. I think that I do get drawn in and often like to listen to others conversations. I sometimes make judgements. I am not really sure if it affects my performance.
This article talked about how cell phone conversations can pose as distractions. It also made the point of mentioning that just a few years ago, you almost never would have heard someone talking on the phone in public. Today this is an everyday occurrence. We aren’t concerned about making a phone call in most public situations. Usually we just pull out our cell phones and don’t give a second thought to whether it would be appropriate to call someone or not. We just do it. However, this could be a distraction to other people. When we are on the phone, our attention level to our surroundings go down and hearing someone on the phone does that same thing for listeners.
ReplyDeleteWhen listening to someone else’s conversation, it’s a distraction because there are missing elements. It’s not a steady stream of noise, which is actually distracting to our brains. Our brains prefer to hear longer increments of sound and a general pattern. If there are awkward gaps, as there always are in one-sided cell phone conversations, then our brain tunes in to that conversation to try and fill those gaps in. I thought this was really interesting. I thought that only hearing one side of the conversation would make people lose interest because they can’t know the full extent of what the person they hear talking and the other person that the listener isn’t hearing are talking about. This article clearly state that it’s the other way around. The ending of the article talks about how when we talk on our phones in public, we probably have an audience that we haven’t been aware of until now.
I definitely agree with what the authors are saying. When people I know are on the phone, I definitely listen in because I’m right there. I can generally figure out the conversation rather quickly and feel like I have a pretty good idea what the person at the other end of the line is saying. If I’m standing in line for lunch at the MUC and someone near me is talking on their phone, I listen because I have nothing else to do. I never realized I did any of this until after reading the article.
Laura Emberson and her colleagues conducted a study to determine if one sided phone calls are truly distracting. They got a group of volunteers to let them recorder their phone calls and manipulate them to play either side. Then they got a group of new volunteers to participate in the research by doing an exercise with the phone calls. They had people track a dot with the computer mouse as it moved around the screen, similar to driving a car. The other task was more like driving in traffic: the user had to memorize four letters of the alphabet, and push a button when she saw any of those letters on the screen. While the volunteers were doing the tasks they were either in silence, listening to the full conversation, or listening to half of the conversation. These volunteers demonstrated that the ones who were in complete silence or were listening to the full conversation were not affected by the task. However the ones who listened to only half of the conversation got distracted during the task and scored poorly. Emberson declares that there are two reasons for this to happen. She said that one never knew when the speaker would stop speaking or start again, so this is unpredictable. Also because the other half of the conversation is missing this is unpredictable to what was said. She says that our brains automatically try to find that missing information, but with a phone call our sources are limited so it is quite distracting.
ReplyDeleteAs stated above in the research in Emberson’s study one sided conversations are more distracting than two sided conversations because one sided conversations are unpredictable. Our brains will search for the missing information, that missing half of the conversation even though we don’t care what is being discussed. It is hard for our brains to process one person randomly talking at random moments and not knowing when. Versus a two sided conversation where you can hear everything in the conversation if needed and you can anticipate when the person is going to talk because you know when the last person stopped talking.
I have experienced this before but I never really found it to be as distracting. But I never really tested to see what my performance would be like if I completed homework in absolute quiet versus with some background noise with that one sided phone call. But now that I have read that you are trying to figure out what is being said in the conversation I can say that it is true because if my friend makes a phone call in the car and you can barely hear the person respond the second my friend hangs up I ask them “What did they say?” It is a very curious thing to see how our brains work and how they need to know information even though they are busy working on something else. After reading this article I definitely do buy into the idea set by the authors.
This article talks about a study that tests if one sided phone calls are more distracting than hearing the entire conversation. They had two different activities they would have volunteers do while either listening to a one sided phone call, listening to the entire conversation, and silence. The two activities were memorizing letters and pushing a button whenever one came up and track a dot on a computer screen with the mouse. According to the article, one sided conversations are more distracting because our brain wants to predict what is going to be said next or if they conversation will continue but it cannot because we can't hear it. While the brain is trying to predict, it is taking away attention from the task being performed. During a full conversation, the brain doesn't have to predict what is going to happen next so it is not preoccupied with the phone call and can give full attention to the activity. This has happened to me with my roommates before. Usually when I am trying to read and they are on the phone, I am more distracted from reading than I usually am even with background noise. I do agree with the author because it is distracting not knowing what is going to be said next or knowing if they conversation will continue on.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great time back when you didn't have people talking on the cell phone all the time, or while you are trying to talk to them they are constantly looking at something on their phone. The article talks about how distracting one-sided conversations are and it is even more distracting then if you would here the whole conversation. People listening to a one-sided conversation are trying to predict what is going to come next or with the response they heard from the one side what the other side had said in the conversation. If you are hearing a two-sided conversation you hear what both people are saying so your brain doesn't have to predict what is coming up next. During the studies it was even proven that the volunteers performed lower while listening to a one-sided conversation over complete silence or a two-sided conversation. The brain doesn't have to process as much information if it is completely silent or if you are hearing the whole conversation.
ReplyDeleteI go through this all the time, with 2, 12 year old daughters I always hear one-sided conversations. I can be in the middle of doing homework and I start hearing one of them talk on the phone and then my mind starts to wonder on what they are talking about with their friends. I am always trying to think if they are doing something they shouldn't be doing or trying to hide something from Dad. And every time I am talking to my oldest daughter it never fails, her roommates always start talking to her and I only hear half of what is being said. It is very distracting and it doesn't take much for me to get off track. I could read half a chapter in a textbook while listening to them and by the time I finish reading I only retained 1/4 of what I read because I am trying to figure out the second half of their conversation.
Emberson and his colleagues wanted to test the theory of one side phone calls where more distracting then the whole conversation or silence. They first set up the experiment by recording a conversation that they could manipulate to have the whole conversation or just have one half of the conversation. After they made this track they took of volunteers that had to do different computer tasks while listening to either the whole conversation, half of it or silence. Volunteers scored the same with the whole conversation compared to silence but scores for during the test during the half of the conversation dropped. A reason for this drop because of the unpredictability of the whole conversation, the subjects do not what the other person is saying and they don’t know what the person they can hear is going to say or when they are going to say it. They said even if you are not trying to listen to any conversation your brain is still listening. And when you are only hearing part of the conversation your brain is trying to figure out all the factors that are missing from the conversation and piece them together. This is pretty prevalent in my life because one of the things I do for fun when people are talking on the phone I try my hardest to find out who they are talking to and what the conversation is about. Now clearly I am not successful nor do I try to do it with random stranger in the muc but with people I do know I drop everything and listen in.
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about how listening to one side of a conversation is much more distracting than listening to an entire conversation, or just silence. It says that listening to only one side of a conversation is distracting because we try to make sense of the unpredictableness that is happening. These conversations are unpredictable because we can’t hear what the other person is saying so we don’t know when the person we are hearing will start and stop talking and we try to think of what the other person could be saying so we know what is happening in the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this in my life. I share a bedroom with two other people and many times when I’m doing homework one of them will be on the phone with a family member or friend. This distracts me because I want to know who they are talking to and why they are in such a good or bad mood. I definitely buy into the idea that the author’s suggest. I think one sided conversations are much more distracting than whole conversations.
This article discusses attention impairment due to one-sided conversations. They performed a study on the distraction of cell phone conversations to surrounding people. They brought in subjects and had them take a attention test by assigning them a random set of four letters and having them push a button when they saw them. If they missed the four letters or pushed the button for the wrong four letters they were deducted points. They found that when a person was talking on their cell phone, they had a more difficult time on the test then when it was quiet. They stated it was because the conversation was not predictable. Our brain tries to make sense of the missing information, which takes our mind off of the task at hand. I have experienced this when studying in the MUC hallway thing at night, two people would walk by talking and it would never distract me as apposed to a person walking down the same hallway talking on their cell phone, which distracted me badly. I do buy into the ideas of the author.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses an experiment that was conducted to determine if listening to a one-sided phone conversation is more distracting than listening to both sides of the conversation. The results of the study suggest it is more distracting to listen to a one-sided phone conversation. This may be because it is less predictable. An individual listening never knows when the person on the phone will start speaking again. Additionally, it may stimulate the brain to decipher the other end of the phone conversation to make sense of what they are hearing thus providing a more distracting scenario. I have heard a lot of one-sided phone conversations. While I think they may be distracting, it depends on the circumstances. If I am in a serious study mode, I will block out everything, so a one-sided or two-sided conversation is not going to phase me. However, if I am not in the zone, I think the unpredictability of a one-sided conversation makes it more distracting than a typical two-sided conversation.
ReplyDeleteSince our world has become more technological, cell phones have become more seen and heard by the public eye. A by-standard hearing another person’s one-way cell phone conversation is said to be distracting. For a listener, a one-way conversation can be distracting because of the unexpected reply by the caller and the inability to hear the other side of the conversation. Without hearing the other side of the conversation, our brain predicts the missing half of the conversation. Emberson and her colleagues from Cornell University did a study on the effect of a one-sided cell phone conversation. Volunteers listened to three types of conversations, full conversations, half-conversations, or silence. The full conversations did not affect the volunteers’ attention, whereas the one-sided conversation did. The volunteers found that the one-sided conversation distracting.
ReplyDeleteI find one-sided conversations distracting because the person you are with has their full attention toward their phone conversation. Since their attention is on their phone conversation, then you find yourself being involved as well. As the article says, I also believe that we try to fill in the other side of the phone conversation. We like to listen to the reaction of the one-sided conversation, so that we can understand what’s going on.
I have experienced one-sided conversations a lot within my house. I have four roommates that used their cell phones a lot. Most of the time it is over text, but once in a while I encounter a one-sided phone call. By listening to their conversations, I try to figure out who they are talking to, what they are talking about, and if it relates to me. When typing down what I do while listening to my roommates conversations makes me sound nosey, but as a human instinct I don’t think I am the only that does this. I agree with Emberson’s study, because one-way conversations can be distracting as compared to a two-way conversation.
The article discussed how confusing and distracting one sided conversations can be. There was an experiment done on one-sided phone conversations. The results were that we do tend to be more distracted by them .This is because our brains work so hard to process it and try to decipher it. I experience this frequently when I go to the MUC to study. Ill constantly find myself listening to the guy next to me talk to his mom about dinner plans or his girl friend. Its very distracting. However, I'm not sure if I find more distracting than regular conversations.
ReplyDeleteThe article, "One-Sided Conversation," discusses about conversations and how hearing one or both sides of the conversation distracts people at different levels. They did an experiment on one-sided phone conversation and having both sides of the conversation. It showed that people are more distracted when they hear a one sided conversation versus hearing both sides. In the article in says people try to make up for the missing information when they hear a one-sided conversation.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this in the library and in my dorm hall. In the library it is hard not to when it is suppose to be quiet and here some person is talking about going out later or to family. Might wonder where they are going or who with? I think it depends on the situation on whether or not I find one-sided conversations more distracting or not.
The article discusses a study that has been performed to determine the distraction effect of one-sided conversations, two-sided conversations, silence, and one-sided conversations that have been distorted. All of these were performed as if on a cell phone, and the individual listening to the conversations were asked to perform simple tasks that didn’t require an overt amount of brain energy.
ReplyDeleteOne-sided conversations were found to be more distracting then full conversations or silence due to the fact that the brain of the individual immediately wants to complete the conversation and make sense of it. Another way they were distracting, which I agree with and found interesting that it was such a big part, was that the individual had no idea when the talking was going to stop and start again, nor how long the one-sided conversation would speak for.
I have experienced this, although I can’t say that I’ve become extremely distracted by it. At a young age I became fairly good at tuning out anything that didn’t expressly interest or involve me. That being said however, I think the article does hold a lot of weight, I’d be interested to see what demographic the study was performed on, perhaps people of older generations are more easily distracted than those of younger, modern generations who grew up with such distractions on a daily basis.
This article discussed the distracting nature of one-sided conversations to those standing nearby. Emberson et al. tested the distraction of one-sided conversations. First, the cell phone conversations of students were recorded. Subjects were brought in to perform different computerized simulation tasks that required differing types of attention. These tasks were performed while listening to either the full cell phone conversation, half (one-side) of the conversation, or silence. Surprisingly, the subjects scored much lower when listening to half the conversation than when listening to all of the conversation (which was the same as listening to nothing at all). Studies suggest that half conversations may be more distracting because we cannot predict what will be said next. One-sided conversations are unpredictable both in the fact that you don’t know when the individual will talk and that you have no idea what they are talking about. The unpredictability of the conversation was determined as the culprit of distraction when the conversation was made to be completely unintelligible. Only then did the distraction cease as the task was done as well as with silence. This study shows that eavesdropping occurs even when we aren't aware of it, as our brains attempt to make sense of the unpredictable stimulus.
ReplyDeleteAs said previously, the one-sided conversations are more distracting because they provide unpredictable stimuli.
I completely agree with this research. I find myself very distracted by people talking on the phone, much more so than by typical in-person communication. I find this most common when I am working out. I hate it when the person next to me is on the phone, I feel like I can’t even think straight, and they always seem so much louder than the normal conversations happening around me.
This article is about how a one-sided conversation seems to be much more distracting than a full conversation. They tested this idea by bringing volunteers in and having them do tasks while different conversations were playing in the background. It talks about the reasoning behind why this is actually true. They then did another experiment with just the one-sided conversation to see if what we really care about is the information being talked about or just the sound it is making. They found out that it is the information being talked about. The sound did not make a difference in concentration levels.
ReplyDeleteOne-sided conversations are so distracting because our brains try to make sense of the missing information, even if we do not really care. We are distracted by unpredictable stimuli rather than predictable ones. The one-sided conversation was unpredictable in two ways. The first would be that we never know when the speaker would stop talking and then start again. The second one is that we are missing half the conversation which makes what they are saying unpredictable as well.
I have had this happen quite a few times before. I like to study in my room over the library because of this reason. I get too easily distracted with people around me.
This article describes a study done to compare the effects of listening to a one-sided conversation versus a two-sided conversation. The results showed that while doing a task and listening to one of these conversations, the ones who were listening to the one-sided conversation did worse on the task. Researchers think that this is because when we hear only a partial conversation, we try to figure out what the other half of the conversation is, thus, making a one-sided conversation more distracting than listening to a two-sided conversation. I never thought about it before, but whenever I hear someone’s conversation on the phone, I am usually distracted by it because I am curious as to what the person on the other line is saying. I am not saying that I am a huge eavesdropper, but I do pay more attention to conversations that are one-sided versus a couple having a conversation a few tables down from me.
ReplyDeleteWhen we hear a one-sided conversation, our brains automatically try to figure out what is going on. The study tested the difference between full conversation, half-conversation, or silence. The findings indicated that a person listening to a half-conversation had a more difficult time concentrating, because our brains are trying to concentrate on multiple things.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely experienced this but do not find it as distracting as the article suggests. If I know the person, I am a little more curious as to what he or she is talking about; however, if I don’t know the person, I don’t seem to care too much. I am mostly curious if I know the person and often try to fill in the blanks. I always think it is comical when someone is talking in the bathroom, because you aren’t sure who they are talking to or if they are talking to themselves. It is really funny if the person is on the phone and someone responds to one of the person’s questions. I often wonder what could be so important that they need to talk while in the bathroom. This is another time when I am curious.
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ReplyDeleteThis article is about how half-conversations are more distracting that full ones. They tested this by recording college students’ conversations and manipulating them; then had volunteers do different computer activities while listening to either a full conversation, a half-conversation, or silence. Results showed that the full conversation and silence showed no difference, but the half-conversation was rather distracting. According to the article, half-conversations are more distracting because our brain tries to make sense of the missing information and these conversations are said to be unpredictable between sound and silence, whereas with a full conversation we hear everything that is being said. Thinking back to a specific time where this has happened to me, I honestly cannot remember one, but I am a person who can easily be distracted by half and full conversations. I believe that what the article says is true, but maybe not for all people.
ReplyDeleteThe article starts with an excerpt from the radio program Science Update. It says that being able to only hear half a conversation is more distracting than hearing the whole conversation. In fact, hearing the whole conversation isn't very distracting at all. They say that this happens because unpredictable patterns are more distracting than predictable patterns. We never know when the one sided speaker will stop talking or start up again. Also, when we hear only half a conversation, we are tempted to try and make sense of the whole conversation. This only happens when the person speaking on the phone can be fully understood, if the speaker is inaudible, it is not very distracting. I experience this all the time. When strangers or even friends are speaking on the phone I can’t help but listen to everything they say. I feel as though I am just nosy or eavesdropping, but it is interesting find out that, subconsciously, I am compelled to listen in. I think it makes sense. Our brains are programmed to solve puzzles, being teased with only half the puzzle peaks our interest.
ReplyDeleteThe article talks about how and what types of conversations are most distracting to people when performing a task whie different types of conversations were being held in the background. Some included two sided cell phone conversations, one-sided cell phone conversations, and complete silence. The researchers discovered that half-conversations were most distracting because people could not predict how the conversation would go and our brains are wired to fill in the part of the conversation that we do not hear and the same occurs while we are performing a tasks. We might not care about what the conversation is about or who it is about the matter of fact that we do not know what the conversation is about and that we as humans have limited attention spans make it really tough for us to be able to focus on the tasks that we have at hand.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this phenomenom a couple of times especially in the library whenever I am studying because it throws off my focus every single time and sometimes I have to go to a private room to study.
The article One Sided Conversations was very interesting and made a lot of sense. The article talks about how people tend to be more distracted by one-sided conversations such as people talking on the phone compared to two-sided conversations such as face to face conversations. According to the article, we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli than predictable stimuli. The article talks about how we are more distracted because our brains try to put together the missing part of the conversations or put together our own idea of the information that we are missing. The article also describes how our attention is limited so we sometimes don’t get to hear all of the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that I have experienced this. The library is definitely a place that I can personally connect with the information in this article. Sometimes it is even more distracting in the library because most of the time the people who are on their phones in the library are whispering so sometimes even if I don’t mean to I try to listen even more closely because it is hard to hear. Also, often times I am surrounded by people in the library that I know or that are who my friends. Because of this, I am even more curious as to who is on the other side of that phone conversation or what they could possibly be talking about. However, I sometimes think that I find the face to face conversations more interesting. Sometimes I try to block out what is around me. The muc is like a madhouse of conversations. There is almost too much going on to be distracted by just one conversation.
This article is about the distraction of one sided phone calls as compared to complete calls, and how performance suffers when exposed to the calls. Results showed that while listening to the full conversation, there was no adverse results. However, while listening to only half the conversation, the listener's level of distraction rose. Researchers say this is because we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli, like one side of a conversation as compared to predictable stimuli, like a full conversation. Usually I am not distracted by one sided conversations and can basically ignore them, but every now and again I hear someone say something ridiculous or outrageous and cannot help myself to be distracted by it.
ReplyDeleteThis article describes a study done by Lauren Emberson on proving why one sided conversations are distracting. The psychologist recorded two college students’ conversation. Then they brought in volunteers to take two different computerized tasked while listening to a conversation, a one sided conversation, or nothing at all. The study proves that people who listened to one sided conversations did poorly on their task. The authors say that one sided conversations are more distracting because we are unaware of when the person will stop talking and start again and, as humans, we try to make sense of the information missing. I have definitely experienced this. I am one of those people who try to figure out what the person I can’t hear is saying. I like to make up what they are saying sometimes and I get sidetracked. I also feel that ‘not knowing’ when the person will stop talking and start again is distracting. I experience that in the library quite often. I definitely agree that one-sided conversations are more distracting.
ReplyDeleteResearchers have found that yes indeed we are more distracted by one sided conversations. This is because we are always more interested when details are left out to our own knowledge. Our brain will want to fill them in and make up our own interesting story. We also have a better sense of when the person starts and stops talking versus a two sided conversation. We are made to want to know the full story which leads us to want to fill in the blanks. I have definitely experienced this, especially in the MUC. I have a hard time staying focused and on task in the first place. While being around so many people, I naturally want to know what is going on in my surroundings. Not knowing what the one sided conversations are fully about seems to distract me.
ReplyDeleteThis article was about one-sided conversations distract people. They did a study where the participants have to do a task comparable to driving on a highway or a task comparable to driving in traffic. They found out that when people only hear one side of the conversation they do not do as well on the task as when they hear both sides of the conversation or no noise at all. They also found out that this is because our brains are trying to figure out the missing information which causes us to be distracted from tasks. When we hear the full conversations our brain can easily make it background noise, because our brain is not trying to figure out the other half of the conversation. I can say that I have been distracted when I hear someone talking on the phone. This happens to me when I am driving and my friend gets a phone call and I try to figure out who she is talking to. This would show that the article was correct. At the same time though I believe that hearing a full conversation can be just as distracting especially, when you hear something in the conversation that grabs your attention such as a name. I believe that no matter what kind of conversation it is, it can be distracting.
ReplyDeleteI will be the first one to admit that hearing people talk on the phone is one of the most annoying things to ever encounter. I agree with the authors in the fact that one-sided conversations are annoying because the whole situation is unpredictable. It is unknown if the person you can hear is done talking or if she is waiting for the other person to finish talking. My mom actually was listening to my one-sided conversation for 40 minutes last night and she said she was about ready to hang the phone up for me! I was listening to my friend tell me a super long story so I only said a few words every couple of minutes. So my mom really had no idea if the phone call was over or if I was still waiting for a break in her story to talk.
ReplyDeleteThis article discusses a study performed on one and two-sided conversations to determine which was more distracting. This was done by recorded conversations, one-sided, two-sided, or silence being listened to while volunteers performed tasks. Researchers found that volunteers listening to one-sided conversations were the most distracted. This can be attributed to the fact that people don’t operate as efficiently with unknown variables, which is why one-sided conversations are more distracting.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced this while on a walk with a friend who was on the phone. I couldn’t help but lock in to her conversation, though I really didn’t care to. I found it very distracting because I was curious as to what was being said on the other end of the line.
The article describes a study done to see how people react to computerized tests while they listened to 1. A two-sided conversation 2. A one-sided conversation 3. And Silence. When they listened to the two-sided conversation recording they scored the same as with silence. But when they listened to the one-sided conversation they scored lower. But the researchers also tested it with the one-sided conversation filtered so that it was impossible to understand. When they did this the scores were those similar or the same as with the silence and two-sided conversations. This suggests that our brains try to make sense of the one-sided conversations which in turn makes us more distracted and our brains are fighting with trying to figure out the conversation with the other activity that we are doing at the time. I can see how this would be true. I can remember being distracted by what I was doing to try and figure out what someone is trying to talk about in a conversation where I can only hear one side or partial parts of both sides.
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about a study that was done in regards to both one and two-sided conversations to determine which one is more distracting. The study showed that people do not preform as well when they only hear a single side of a conversation. That in fact that do much better when they hear both sides of the conversation. Only hearing one side of the conversation was much more work and distracting because our brains try to figure out what's next.
ReplyDeleteI have this happen to be quite regularly. I am very easily distracted by conversations happen around me. I find myself trying to figure out who somebody is taking to on the other end of the phone, or what they are talking about. I guess curiosity usually gets the best of me.
The article talks about a study that was done to see if a one-sided conversation or a full conservation are more distracting. The study had two groups, one group had to follow dots on the computer and the other group had to remember 4 letters all while listening to a one-sided conversation or full conversation. The study showed that both groups did worse when they were listening to the one-sided conversations.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the study we find that one-sided conversations are more distracting because our brains automatically try to make sense of the missing information, even if we don't really care what is being talked about. And I have to agree with the study that one-sided conversation are distracting because I find that when I'm in the library and someone answers their phone I find myself trying to figure out what they are talking about. And to be honest I have no interest to what they are talking about but I think sometimes I would rather guess at the conversation then actually have to study or do my homework. But when you think about yourself trying to figure out other's conversation, it makes you think what do people think about your conversations when they only hear part of it.
This article explains the research behind cell phone “half-alogues”, and why hearing just one side of the conversation is so much more distracting that listening to two people talking to each other. In this study, a group of psychologists from Cornell University played different versions of a cell-phone call in the same room as people taking a computerized attention test. The research showed that hearing both people in the conversation and listening to a one sided conversation that wasn’t clear didn’t impact their performance at all, while listening to a clear, one-sided call caused the group to do worse on their test. The study showed that we are more distracted by unpredictable stimuli because both the actual content and the sound itself were unpredictable. This research actually made a lot of sense to me, and thinking about times when I have had to listen to a one sided conversation I realized that it is very distracting. You start to wonder what the person on the other end of the phone is saying, and what the person that you hear is going to say next. I have experienced this far too many times in the library, and it’s the absolute worst.
ReplyDeleteThe article discusses a study done by Lauren Emberson to determine whether one sided discussions are distracting. Two groups were set up in order to test the hypothesis. One group had to track a dot as it moved across a computer screen while the other group had to memorize four letters of the alphabet and push a button when it appeared on the screen. Both groups where stimulated with one sided conversation, two sided conversation, and silence ( the control). The results concluded that one sided conversations are more distracting that two sided conversations. Two sided conversations distracted the subjects very little while one sided conversations distracted the subjects significantly. The reason that one sided conversations are more distracting is because the brain is too busy trying to figure out the unknown variables , fill in the other half the conversations, that the brain can no longer fully concentrate on the task at hand, tracking the dot or memorizing the letters.
ReplyDeleteIf do experience this sometimes. If I'm sitting in the MUC and someone's on their phone I notice that I spend more time concentrating on what they're saying then on what I'm doing whether it's studying or watching something on my computer. Also, in my apartment the walls are pretty thin so if my roommate is on the phone I have to turn up my music or something in order to stay focused on what I am doing.
This article asked the question if one-sided conversations can be a distraction. Which when they conducted the study they found that yes, one-sided conversations can distract people from the tasks that they are trying to do. Their study had students do some simple tasks while listening to a full conversation, one-sided conversation, and then in silence. The participants scored relatively the same when listening to a full conversation and while listening to nothing. However, when listening to a one-sided conversation the participants' brains couldn't help but try to piece the full conversation together. Another reason is that when you listen to one side of a conversation you never know when the person will start talking again or end, which can throw a person off if they are trying to do a task while listening to a one-sided conversation.
ReplyDeleteEvery now and then I will experience this at my house when my roommates are on the phone or when I am with my family and they take a call. I completely agree with the idea set forth by the author of the article. One-sided conversations are very distracting because I never know what will come out of the person's mouth or when they will begin or end the conversation.