Study: Distractions Impede Learning
Highlights:
True Innovation
“What’s new is that even if you can learn while distracted, it changes how you learn to make it less efficient and useful,” said Russell A. Poldrack, a psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. That could affect a lot of young people.
Music makes us happy.
That doesn’t mean he thinks a silent environment is essential ? music can help in learning because it can make the individual happier, he said.
Distraction = Bad
But in general, “distraction is almost always a bad thing.”
What?
“In my opinion, this article represents a significant step forward in understanding the interaction between the various memory systems possessed by healthy human adults and task demands,” commented Dr. Chris Mayhorn, who teaches psychology at North Carolina State University.
Sample was half the size of the JLF staff.
Mayhorn noted that the experiment was small, looking at 14 people from a limited age range.
