Distraction Is No Longer A Barrier For Learning

Gizmodo: 

Does your kid complain that he is unable to focus on his study because he is being distracted by things around him? If next time he says so, don’t believe him. A new study, published in the journal Psychological Science, reveals that distraction doesn’t affect learning process.

“As long as our attention is as divided when we have to recall a motor skill as it was when we learned it, we’ll do just fine,” says the team of researchers at Brown University, US.

For those of you who are not aware what motor skill means, here is a simple definition: it is a function, which involves the precise movement of muscles with the intent to perform a specific act. Most learned motor tasks take place simultaneously with other things. For instance: playing sports, driving, music, and even walking again after injury.

Lead researcher Joo-Hyun Song, assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, said, “Given the messiness of our existence, the brain may be able to integrate the division of attention during learning as a cue that allows for better recall when a similar cue is present.”

Read the whole story: Gizmodo