Digital Distractions

Before you read any further I want you to test your attention. Watch the video below to see how good your attention is.

There is no question that we are accustomed to having our personal devices at our fingertips, but if we want to make responsible decisions about how and when to use them we need to look at the research. When I have this conversation with my students I start by making this point: "If you cannot do something as simple as walking, how could you possibly do something so complicated as learning?" Then, for fun, I play this video:

We will explore the concept of "cognitive load" more in the next unit, but for now here's what you need to know: your brain can only process so much information at one time. The amount of information it is processing at any given moment is referred to as its cognitive load. When the load his high, meaning that it is busy working on something, it is harder for you think about other complex things, and even harder for you to create new memories. Thus, the higher the cognitive load, the less brain power available to do other things. More cognitive distractions = less learning.

Now let's look at some of the research that has been conducted on the effect using phones and laptops in classroom settings has on learning.

The OpenPSYC video above mentions the concern that a student with distracting content on a laptop screen might be interfering with the learning of others. Sana, Weston and Cepeda (2013) conducted a controlled experiment in which participants viewed a 45 minute presentation and took notes with a pencil and paper. Using random assignment, half of the participants were seated behind two students who were using laptops to take notes and, periodically, to check Facebook, email, and other websites. When given a test on what they had learned from the presentation, the participants who were not distracted scored an average of 73% on the quiz. Those sitting behind distracted peers, on the other hand, only scored a 56% on average. This study provides some evidence that the "cone of distraction" is in fact a real problem in our classrooms.

It is also important to note that a group of researchers tried to repeat Mueller and Oppenheimer's (2014) study comparing handwritten notes and typed ones and they did not get all of the same results (Morehead, Dunlosky, & Rawson, 2019). Regardless of HOW you take notes, what seems to matter more is how engaged you are. What both sets of researchers agree on is that having a laptop to takes notes on did not provide a benefit over handwritten notes for the students who participated in their studies, even when they were strickly using it to take notes.

Ultimately it is up to each individual instructor to establish his or her own classroom policies, and when devices are permitted it is up to each student to make responsible decisions.

Back to Unit 01 - Success in PSYC 100