Effects of Different Distractions on High School Students

1. Effects of Different Distractions on High School Students Juliana Lamond

2. Problem/ Question Driving distractions recently joined alcohol and speeding as one of the leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes. How will a high school students reaction time be affected with different driving distractions such as a conversation, texting, and visual distractions?

3. Background Information • Longer reaction time is the outcome of the brain switching focus, or multitasking • It is not possible for people to perform 2 tasks will full concentration and effectiveness concurrently • There is a capacity limit to the brain • Driving distractions are usually the cause of driving mistakes

4. Why was I interested? • I have my driver’s permit • Hopefully getting license soon • To protect my family, friends, others, and myself

5. Hypothesis A high school student’s reaction time will be effected by various distractions such as having a conversation, texting, or having a visual distraction. The most distracting would likely involve different areas of the brain than the reaction test: texting, followed by having a conversation, and finally, visual distractions.

6. Online Reaction Time Test Used http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime/index.php

7. Procedure • Quiet room with a computer was found • 28 high school girls were randomly placed in 4 groups of 7 (girls were tested singularly) • Control Group a) Standard instructions were given about the online reaction time test and subject was told to begin b) Result was recorded

8. Procedure Continued • Conversation Distraction Group a) Standard instructions b) Subject was told she would be asked simple consecutive math problems concurrently with the time test (same math problems were used for each subject) c) Subject was told to begin the reaction test d) Result was recorded

9. Procedure Continued • Visual Distraction Group a) Standard instructions b) Subject was told she would have to study a picture that the researcher would put on the wall concurrently with the test c) Subject was told to begin the reaction test d) Result was taken

10. Procedure Continued • Texting Distraction Group a) Standard instructions b) Subject was told to memorize the sentence, ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’ c) Paper with the sentence on it was placed next to them in case they forgot d) Subject was told to take out their cell phone and text the sentence as fast as they could while taking the test e) Subject was told to begin f) Result was recorded

12. T-Test

13. Variables • Constants • Room • Computer • Website • Standard directions • Independent • Type of distraction • Additional instructions for each distraction • Dependent • Reaction times

14. Uncontrollable Variables • Inability to gather subjects, so the subject pool was reduced • Confusion to directions • All girls- might have been a difference if boys were included • Natural variation in reaction times Further Studies • Include high school boys • Larger sample sizes • More distractions tested

15. Conclusion • Texting is most distracting, followed by visual distractions and conversations, and finally no distractions • Error bars based on standard deviation and the T-Test reveal that conversations and visual distractions are not scientifically significant from each other • Therefore, the hypothesis was partially supported

16. Conclusion Continued • The results reveal that texting on a cell phone while driving is most distracting, followed by visual distractions and conversations having no shown scientific distinction between each other, and then no distractions • Best thing to do while driving is to have as least distractions as possible • Possible to save yourself and others from car crashes by focusing on just driving

17. Works Cited • California Department of Motor Vehicles (2008). Driver Distractions. Retrieved from http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl28.htm • National Safety Council (2010). Understanding the Distracted Brain. Retrieved from http://www.fnal.gov/pub/traffic_safety/files/NSC%20White%20Paper%20-%20Distracted%20Driving%203-10.pdf • Dux, Ivanoff, Asplund, and Marios (2006). Isolation of a Central Bottleneck of Information Processing with Time-Resolved fMRI. Retrieved from http://www.psy.vanderbilt.edu/faculty/marois/Publications/Dux_et_al-2006.pdf