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Don't answer that phone

Multitasking is not always the smart thing to do

For all those who believed that they could drive and speak on the cell phone at the same time, well here's news - they don't go together, and that's the opinion of an expert who carried out studies on multi-tasking.

Mei Ching Lien, an assistant professor of psychology at Oregon State University, who conducted the study, said some complex tasks like driving and talking on the cell phone do not go together hand in hand.

The study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology has said that people in general have a fundamental inability to switch from one task to another, and it is not something to do with laziness, but with the ability to respond within a fraction of time.

For their study, researchers asked volunteers to respond to a variety of auditory and visual cues then measured the responses.

Findings revealed that when volunteers were prepared for one task, such as responding to the colour red, their responses were swift and accurate, but when a second element like, the recognition of shapes as well as colour was added to it, the task switch considerably delayed the responses.

This, even while volunteers were prepared for it. "People are surprised that there is such a delay. Practice can help a person reduce the `cost' of switching tasks, but it cannot eliminate that cost," she said.

"A lot of people think talking on the cell phone while driving is like taking on a new task. It's quite different than listening to the radio.

"And it's also different from talking to a passenger in the vehicle. In most cases, a passenger can observe when there is a dangerous traffic situation and keep quiet. But someone calling you on a cell phone won't have a clue," she added.

ANI

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