THE EFFECTS OF CELL PHONES ON REACTION TIME By: Heather Hess P. 3 Problem Does talking and texting on cell phones effect your reaction time? Research When you are multitasking, you can not concentrate fully on both of the tasks. Talking and texting is distracting, that is why you should not drive while doing them. “Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully.” - Travis Bradberry Hypothesis If I drop a meter stick and ask people to catch it, then their centimeters will lengthen, because they are trying to talk or text on the phone. Materials Needed Meter stick At least 5 people Cell phone Blindfold Notebook Pencil Procedure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Gather Materials Blindfold the subject. (They should be standing through the whole thing.) Place your thumb and index finger on the 100 centimeter mark on the meter stick. Place the subjects thumb on the 0 centimeter mark on the meter stick. Let go of the meter stick. The subject will attempt to catch it, by closing their fingers. Record where their fingers landed on the meter stick. (Record in centimeters.) Repeat steps 1-5, but have the subject talk to someone on the phone while doing this. Repeat steps 1-5, but have the subject text a sentence on the phone while doing this. Variables Constants- Blindfold, talking and texting on the phone, length of the meter stick Control- The first catch. (Without talking or texting on the phone.) Independent-Talking or texting Dependent- Length (Centimeters) CentImeters Observations 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Normal Texting Talking Conclusion My hypothesis was supported, because when I dropped the meter stick and asked the people to catch it, their centimeters lengthened, because they were trying to talk or text on the phone. And to answer my question, yes, talking and texting on cell phones effects your reaction time.
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