Cell Phone Ringtones Can Be Harmful to Memory, Study Finds
According to the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology claims that ringtones can have a damaging effect for memory retention, especially in the classroom. Apparently, distractions, such as ringtones, can have the most impact on the memory during times when the mind is absorbing new information (during a class, business meeting, or while studying, for example). The study, conducted in part by WUSTL postdoctoral psychology fellow Jill Shelton during her time at LSU, is titled: 'The distracting effects of a ringing cell phone: An investigation of the laboratory and the classroom setting.' No longer just an everyday nuisance, ringtones are apparently now memory blockers, too.
One of the experiments included having a cell phone ring loudly for 30 seconds in a classroom while a group of students listened to a lecture. Later tested on the material, that group of students scored 25-percent worse than another, non-distracted group that had listend to the same lecture. The case also observes that certain auditory distractions are worse than others. Shelton told WUSTL, "Depending on how familiar people are with these songs, it could lead to an even worse impairment in their cognitive performance." In other words, the more you know a song, the more distracted you will be.
Maybe it's just that a blaring polyphonic version of 'Single Ladies' reminds students of better times gone by. [From: Washington University, via Textually]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Oleg Prosalov said 4:46PM on 5-30-2009
This is stupid. It doesn't have to do with memory, it's concentration. Melodies easily get remembered, especially if they're familiar. You'll be singing it in your head instead of concentrating on the lecture, and that's why you do worse on the test. Because you listened less.
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Donovan said 1:13AM on 5-31-2009
What? No doubt these people got Government grant money to do a study. And they decided to do a study on ring tones. And these are the results. O please, memory loss? Thats the best they could come up with. I could accept ear aches, impaired hearing, ear drum damage, head aches, mental distress/aggravation/anger. But loss of memory? All I can say is, I can hope and pray none of these people who took part in this research, and concluded this study, get a job with NASA.
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Ike said 1:47PM on 5-31-2009
In my opinion, it's not memory damage- it's the massive annoyance of hearing a sound that someone else thinks is cute, invading any nearby listener's personal space. Learn where the 'manner mode' or 'vibrate' setting is on your phone. Believe it or not, the rest of the classroom isn't into hearing sounds resembling an orchestra of mosquitos playing Xavier Cugat arrangements.
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