The detrimental effects of a ringing phone on cognitive performance were investigated in four experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, the effects of different types of sounds (a standard cell phone ring, irrelevant tones and an instrumental song commonly encountered by participants) on performance were examined. In Experiment 1, slower responses were observed in all auditory groups relative to a silence condition, but participants in the ring and song conditions recovered more slowly. In Experiment 2, participants who were warned about the potential for distraction recovered more quickly, suggesting a benefit of this prior knowledge. This investigation continued in a college classroom setting (Experiments 3a and 3b); students were exposed to a ringing cell phone during the lecture. Performance on a surprise quiz revealed low accuracy rates on material presented while the phone was ringing. These findings offer insight into top-down cognitive processes that moderate involuntary orienting responses associated with a common stimulus encountered in the environment.

中文翻译：

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手机铃声的干扰效应：对实验室和教室环境的调查

在四个实验中研究了振铃电话对认知能力的不利影响。在实验 1 和 2 中，检查了不同类型的声音（标准的手机铃声、不相关的音调和参与者经常遇到的器乐歌曲）对表演的影响。在实验 1 中，相对于沉默条件，在所有听觉组中观察到较慢的反应，但在铃声和歌曲条件下的参与者恢复得更慢。在实验 2 中，被警告可能分心的参与者恢复得更快，这表明这种先验知识的好处。这项调查在大学课堂环境中继续进行（实验 3a 和 3b）；在讲座期间，学生们接触到了正在响铃的手机。意外测验的表现表明，当电话响起时，呈现的材料的准确率很低。这些发现提供了对自上而下的认知过程的洞察力，这些过程可以缓和与环境中遇到的常见刺激相关的非自愿定向反应。