A recent study released by the University of South Carolina reported that people are far more distracted during visual tasks while they are speaking than they are when just listening. This could help researchers better understand the effects of talking on a cell phone while driving.
The study, conducted by a university psychology researcher and featured in the journal, Experimental Psychology, was conducted using two different experiments that measured the subject's attention levels.
During these experiments, the subjects performed visual exercises while listening to, and then responding to, prerecorded narratives.
The study's lead author and associate university professor, Dr. Amit Almor, said the data showed "subjects were four times more distracted while preparing to speak or speaking than when they were listening."
Almor, however, found that listening to conversations had a much more limited effect on attentiveness than speaking.
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