Overhead cell phone conversations drive us nuts
Does hearing people blab away on their cell phones make you want to scream? You’re not alone—and now scientists know why. Hearing someone talk on his phone is, in fact, more annoying than overhearing a conversation, according to new study published in Psychological Science. Turns out our brains can’t stand hearing just half the dialogue—hence the feelings of oh-so-blinding rage.
Researchers at Cornell found that overhearing half a dialogue, or “halfalogue,” resulted in decreased performance on cognitive tasks, whereas overhearing both sides of the conversation does not. This may be because the content of a halfalogue is harder for our brains to predict. In short, we get so riled up because cell talkers distract us when we’re trying to get stuff done.
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Holte Ender
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It is intensely annoying when someone is speaking full volume on their phone at the check out line at the grocery store. It makes you want to take the phone away from the offending being, turn it off for them and politely hand it back to them, and point out to them that nobody wants to hear that much about their personal lives–that hearing half of it is way too much.
You know when we hear two people talking, even if it’s annoying we can sometimes block it out cause we know they are talking to someone else.
Maybe with the cell phones, even though we know it’s not intended for us maybe subconsciously our minds process it as somebody talking to us?
Could be decreased hearing ability as we age is the body’s way of helping to block overheard cell phone calls?