A study conducted by Laura L. Bowman, a psychology professor at Central Connecticut State University, has found that students who engage in instant messaging while completing a reading assignment take longer to finish the task. However, despite the extra time taken, these students still manage to comprehend the material they are reading. This study is one of the first to explore the impact of multitasking on academic learning.
The research was conducted on 59 college students who read a selection from a psychology textbook on a computer screen while receiving instant messages. The participants were divided into three groups: one group read without interruptions, the second group answered instant messages before reading, and the third group multitasked by answering messages while reading.
The instant messages the students received were designed to mimic the type and frequency of messages they would normally encounter on their computers. Even after accounting for the time spent on instant messaging, the researchers discovered that the third group took approximately 15 minutes longer than the other two groups to complete the reading, which is about 50% more time. However, all three groups performed similarly on a subsequent test assessing their understanding of the material.
These findings contradict previous studies that suggest students’ academic performance is negatively affected by electronic media distractions, such as having a television playing in the background. In a previous study conducted by the same authors, it was found that students who reported high use of electronic media were more prone to distractions while reading compared to avid book readers.
One possible explanation for the longer time taken by the multitasking group is that they paused to reread passages after responding to instant messages. Laura E. Levine, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of psychology at Central Connecticut, suggests that these findings are likely applicable to younger students as well, as many of them also frequently use instant messaging on their home computers.
This study is part of a larger body of research on the impact of electronic technology on learning, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Other studies at the meeting will focus on the effects of video games on learning and children’s inclination towards violent activities.
