IU Health & Wellness
Research and insights from Indiana University
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 20, 2010
IU Health and Wellness for September discusses the following topics:
Multitasking: doing less with less
Why women wear provocative Halloween costumes
Getting involved on campus can help students graduate
Time management v. multitasking
Multitasking: doing less with less. Impressed with your classmate who texts friends during psychology lectures while working on her calculus homework, too? You shouldn't be. Multitasking handicaps learning and steals a little bit from each task being performed. "Why is multitasking, texting a problem? It has an impact on students' ability to understand and absorb, code, store and process information -- and learn," said David Pisoni, Chancellor's Professor of psychology at Indiana University. "Memory and attention are limited. Students don't realize that when they study and engage in other activities, that multitasking comes at a price." The negative influence of technology -- including cell phones, e-mail, texting, the Internet -- when it leads to multitasking is a hot topic, with mainstream books and scientific studies drawing attention to the performance-sucking potential, said Pisoni, who teaches a popular course each year about human memory. In his course, he wants students to understand the workings and limits of memory and the brain's ability to process information (very limited) so they can apply what they've learned to, well, how they learn. Cramming, memorizing and rote learning is not the way to go. "Elaboration and understanding is what you want," Pisoni said. "You can't do this if you have other activities going on simultaneously that are competing for resources."
Below are several suggestions that Pisoni says can help students learn and perform better in class.
- Students need to develop good study habit early on. It is important, says Pisoni, for students to reduce the number of multitasking activities they engage in while studying.
- Focus on understanding class material and principles in one's field rather than just memorizing material. "If you understand it, rather than rote learning, you get the rest for free," Pisoni said.
- When studying, think quality, not quantity. "It's not how long you study, the number of hours you spend studying, it's what you do while you study," Pisoni said. "You'd be a lot better off studying 1-2 hours in an intelligent way than studying 10 hours rote memorization."
- Cramming leaves students poorly prepared for exams.
- Put the texting, social-networking and other distractions aside during class.
Students in Pisoni's human memory class conduct a variety of experiments and discuss the data. A recent experiment involved designing a questionnaire to quantify the 46 classmates' technology-inspired multitasking during such activities as doing homework, driving and sitting in lectures. Thirty-five percent of the student indicated that they texted while driving, for example, and 63 percent reported texting while doing homework. Forty percent reported texting during face-to-face conversations. Pisoni said they found a correlation between the number of multitasking activities students engaged in and the number of weekly "think sheets" students turned in. "Think sheets" contain seven questions about the most recent lectures. More "think sheets" generally lead to better grades, Pisoni said. They found, however, that the number of "think sheets" students turned in on average declined as their number of multitasking activities increased. Pisoni said the class' experiment will be expanded into a larger research project.
Pisoni can be reached at 812-855-1155 and Pisoni@indiana.edu. Top
Why do young women dress provocatively on Halloween? The Playboy bunny. The French maid. The genie. Young American women wear Halloween costumes that seem to have lower necklines and higher slits each year. Brenda Weber, director of undergraduate studies in Indiana University's gender studies department, said Halloween and other holidays that mark a break from the "normal" allow participants to reach intermediary currency -- an act that allows someone to get a bit closer to a goal they might not otherwise be able to achieve. In the case of Halloween, the costume wearer wants to possess sex appeal. "What is in the fantasy of 'sexiness' that appeals to women and girls such that an opportunity for costuming is also an opportunity to achieve something else more profoundly desired: perhaps admiration, desire, attention or the expression of one's more overt sexuality," Weber said. "Arguably, a wedding or a prom is the same sort of costuming event, you just choose different outfits to achieve the desired outcome." Weber also said that these female fantasies are cultivated and shaped by collective narratives (things we say and tell each other), media, advertising and consumerism -- the kinds of costumes that are available. "All of these forces work together in subtle ways to shape what people, not just women, collectively desire," Weber said. "So in this case there is a tacit and multi-level set of stimuli that suggest a certain sort of over-sexed look is desirable."
Weber can be reached at breweber@indiana.edu. Top
Not a joiner? Maybe not a graduate, either. Drop-out rates at colleges and universities nationwide can soar above 50 percent. A lack of connectedness, where students feel little connection or tie to their colleges, is the key culprit, says Bernardo J. Carducci, psychology professor at Indiana University Southeast and director of its Shyness Research Institute. When students join clubs and other extracurriculars, such as volunteer activities, they not only make friends and have fun, he says, but they increase their chances of graduating from that institution. There are plenty of steps students can take. Carducci says universities need to do more to help students fit in. Colleges and universities might be great at organizing mixers, concerts and student orientations, but they usually fall short in helping students actually meet each other and feel comfortable on campus. Carducci said universities can hire students to 'facilitate,' help students meet each other at events. They should give awards for facilitating, just like they have awards for teaching and research. Faculty should be encouraged to facilitate. Greek organizations on campuses and the military understand this need to help people meet each other, Carducci said. "It's called boot camp," he said. "It's not so much designed to get you into shape. It's designed to build teams, build 'esprit de corps.' If you feel connected, you won't want to let your pals down." And just as parents don't stick around for boot camp, schools should be wary of integrating parents too much into orientation and students' school experiences. "If you integrate the parents too much into the process, when the students have problems they turn to their parents instead of the school or peers," Carducci said. "This weakens the bond with the university."
Carducci said the following tips apply to commuter students as well as students who live on campus. His first tip -- students need to realize they are not alone, that the students around them probably feel the same way:
- Get to know your instructor. "If instructors don't want that, they should be fired," Carducci said. He suggested taking advantage of office hours, staying after class or getting to class early. Getting to know graduate assistants who help with large lectures can also be helpful. "When you get to know this individual, whether it's the G.A. or instructor, what will begin to happen is you'll feel more comfortable talking to them," Carducci said.
- Get to know other students in your classes. "You want a sense of social commitment to others," Carducci said. "If you have these friendships in class, you can turn to them when you have anxiety, uncertainty, when you want to share something with them. The point is, you want to have friends."
- Attend study sessions. They are helpful academically and socially. "You'll see these people again and again and again. It gives you something to talk about with other people.
- Join a group that involves something you enjoy. Because college is a new environment, students should choose groups that play to their strengths, what they already know.
- Volunteer. Volunteering is a great way for students to meet like-minded people and to play to their strengths. "What's great about being a volunteer, we don't particularly care about how good you are, we just want your time," Carducci said. "It's not judgmental or evaluative. It's the best thing for shy people to do."
- Avoid alcohol. It gives you something to do. "You start to think that that's the only thing to do -- if you want to socialize, you have to drink." Students have a drinking problem if they think they have to drink alcohol to have a good time. "We know that drinking on campus is a serious problem. But we kinda look the other way because it becomes such a big part of what goes on socially on campus. We have to stop that. The way to stop that is to provide the events where you have people who are facilitators. We introduce you to other people, we get you talking, and you come back."
- Join. If you live on campus, take advantage of movie night, game night and other activities in residential facilities designed to help residents get to know each other.
- Get a part-time job. Carducci said working 10-18 hours a week will not hurt students' grade point average, but it could help them meet other students or people.
Feeling connected can be even more difficult for commuter students. Carducci said he and his colleagues advise commuters to spend time on campus. Carducci put many of these tips into practice when he was a college student, often commuting to campus. A 'psychology rat,' he was heavily involved with the psychology club. He often ate lunch and studied on campus. He tutored students and also played intramural sports.
Carducci, author of The Pocket Guide to Making Successful Small Talk: How to Talk to Anyone Anytime Anywhere About Anything, can be reached at 812-941-2295 and bcarducc@ius.edu. Top
Time management v. multiasking: Drawing the line. Managing one's time effectively is critical for students of all ages but students face a formidable and flashy obstacle -- multitasking, often involving the Internet and social networking. "Multitasking is less than a good idea," said Charles Frederick, director of IU's Student Academic Center. "Research has shown that when you multitask you don't do things at a high level." Society, he said, makes multitasking seem efficient when in reality research has proven otherwise. "It's not possible," Frederick said. "You are not fully engaged." The way students multitask has changed in recent years. "It used to be that TV was the largest distraction, but now there is an increase in social networking," Frederick said. "I hear from students on a daily basis how many hours a day they spend on Facebook." Frederick advises that while students are doing school work on the computer they stay offline. "No matter what your distraction: the TV, the internet or the gym, make profitable choices," Frederick said. "A line has to be drawn for when you are using technology for relaxation and studying."
Frederick's suggestions for parents with kids in elementary school:
- Make bedrooms a TV- and computer-free zone. Frederick suggests that for parents with young children, they should be weary of putting a computer or TV in their child's room. "When children are young you have some control in your child's actions," Frederick said. "Starting at a young age children need to realize that choices have consequences. Children take their habits with them as they move to high school."
Frederick's suggestions for parents with kids in middle school and high school:
- Help kids learn balance. In middle school and high school, teenagers want to do it all -- extracurricular activities, school and sports -- but Frederick warns that it is not possible to do it all. "At that age, they have an impulsive response," Frederick said. "And it is difficult for parents because we want our children to be able to have a life smorgasbord and try things since you never know what you are good at if you don't try it. It is all about balance and compressing impulses. There are so many opportunities that we never had in elementary and high school, but if you do too much you will wear yourself down."
Frederick's suggestions for college students:
- Naps are for kids. Students who do their optimal best study between their classes and opt out of the usual nap. Frederick said it is better for students to break up their studying rather than doing it during one big block of time. "Students should talk to professors and faculty members because they were doing the same exact thing," Frederick said. "Ask them how to navigate college. Even a chemistry professor does not just want to talk about chemistry. If you ask faculty for advice it will make your college experience much more valuable."
Is time not always on your side? Frederick said that anyone can manage their time, but they need to decide what method works best for them. "Students cannot only manage time they must learn to manage themselves and that, at least in part, means learning to make choices that result in productive behaviors and positive outcomes," Frederick said. He offers the following suggestions:
- Plan ahead. Whether, you decide to use paper, cell phone, or a laptop, everyone should use some sort of planner, Frederick said. "We all fritter away time doing things that are inconsequential, but if you are forced to really account for how your time is allotted you may find that the most precious resource we have is often the one least well spent," Frederick said.
- Plan your study sessions. Do not approach your work haphazardly.
- Know your distracters. What keeps you from completing academic tasks? Identify those factors so you can avoid them.
- Don't let it ring. Turn off your cell phone.
- Stop tweeting. If you are working on your computer work offline.
- Get it together. Organize your workspace before you start to work.
- Split it up. If you are working in a group make certain that everyone is clear about their responsibilities.
- Learn to say no. No one person can do everything. You must make choices.
- Focus. There seems to be emerging evidence that multitasking is a less than optimal approach. To accomplish the difficult academic work demanded at IU students must focus.
- Slow down. Don't "run through" academic tasks. Apply yourself and concentrate.
- Prioritize. Again, you have to choose.
Frederick can be reached at 812-855-7313 and crfreder@indiana.edu. Top
For additional assistance with these media tips, contact Tracy James at 812-855-0084 and traljame@indiana.edu.
