Don ’t multitask while you read this

“In a world of computers and iPhones, it’s rare that we’re fully focused,” said Alan Castel, a UCLA professor of psychology.But how much do all of those distractions diminish our ability to remember? A new study led by Castel and Catherine Middlebrooks, a UCLA graduate student, found that while divided attention does impair memory, people can still selectively focus on what is most important — even while they’re multitasking.In one experiment, the researchers showed 192 students 120 words, divided into six groups of 20 words each.  Each word was visible on a computer screen for three seconds, and each was paired with a number from 1 to 10. Researchers explained to the students that they would receive scores based on the point value of each word they remembered, making the words with high point values “more important” tha n the others.The participants, all UCLA students, were assigned to one of four groups: One group gave the task their undivided attention. For the second group, researchers played audio of a voice reading numbers from one to 9 while students were viewing the words and their numeric values; students were told to press the space bar on their computer keyboard every time they heard three consecutive odd numbers.(Having to juggle those two tasks proved very distracting: Each participant heard eight sequences of three odd numbers, but on average, they identified only 1.87 of the eight.)A third group of participants heard familiar pop songs by Katy ...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news