Month March 2018

Capilano Universe talk WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4 Burnaby Public Library, McGill Branch 7 – 8:45 p.m. 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby Why can’t they—and you—ever stop texting/facebooking/ youtubing/emailing/gaming? I reviewed current psychology research about when, where and why people are distracted by… Continue Reading →

And then there’s the related issue that our evening and night time use of screens to text, email, watch Netflicks, game, etc. affects our sleep. This is a major health issue, especially for students, and there is a urgent need… Continue Reading →

Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (don’t forget your towel) wrote in The Salmon of Doubt that “I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies: 1. Anything that is in the world… Continue Reading →

So say the Borg. What I’ve been noticing over the course of my research is that people often argue with me about the copious and consistent research findings that texting in class decreases their grades, that having a laptop on… Continue Reading →

Check out Irresistible: The rise of addictive technology and the business of keeping us hooked, by Adam Alter. (his Ted Talk can be accessed at https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_alter_why_our_screens_make_us_less_happy Alter (2017) does an excellent analysis of the psychological, situational and physiological factors and… Continue Reading →

McDaniel and Radesky (2018) and many other researchers have been studying the interference caused by use of mobile devices on interpersonal interactions and on relationships – not just student-instructor but also romantic relationships (McDaniel & Coyne, 2016),  parent-child interactions (McDaniel… Continue Reading →

Since we need cognitive control to deal with novel, difficult, abstract, challenging situations, like studying, risky situations with lots of change, and to help ourselves ignore distractions and interruptions, here’s some common sense advice to help you study (and drive… Continue Reading →