Overheard cell phone conversations are distracting and annoying, a new study has found. Source: Herald Sun
A NEW study that has found the alarming level of distraction caused when people overhear one side of a mobile phone call could have implications for road safety rules.
The study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, the world's largest scientific journal, found that listening to just one side of a phone conversation was "much more distracting" than overhearing two people have the same conversation.
In the study, led by psychology professor Veronica Galvan of the University of San Diego, participants were given the task of solving word puzzles while members of the research team carried out everyday conversations in the background.
The study split the participants into two groups. One group heard two people carrying out the conversation and the other group could only hear one person carrying out half of the same conversation on the phone.
The researchers said this new study builds on the many previous studies that have looked at how using a mobile phone distracts people, whether they are driving or just walking down the street.
One previous study found that pedestrians talking on their mobile phone were so distracted that most of them did not notice a clown go past them on a unicycle.
Dr Galvan said this was the first study to use a realistic situation to examine the way overheard conversations intrude on other people.
''Future studies should determine whether drivers are affected by cell phone conversations they overhear in the car," she said.
"Overheard cell phone conversations are distracting and annoying and capture some attention; it would be important to establish whether there are any 'bystander effects' on drivers.
"If there are any impairments, I don't expect that they would be as great as those experienced by drivers who are actually using cell phones while driving. However, it might be prudent to limit the number of distractions in the car, especially for new drivers who may be more sensitive to any kind of distraction."
The research team said the study showed that unintentional eavesdropping unconsciously made bystanders pay more attention as they tried to decode the meaning and guess what the other party was saying.
Professor Mark Stevenson, director of the Accident Research Centre at the Monash Injury Research Institute, said the study was one of a body of research showing varying associations between mobile phone conversations and distraction.
Professor Stevenson said studies like this should not be dismissed in their implications for road safety but more specific research needed to be done.
"This study is a prime example in which it would provide more insight into the role it may play as a distraction if it were to be implemented in a driving simulator," he said.
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