Increase Productivity/Performance

Haga studied the repercussions of labeling a lamp “environmentally friendly.”  He reports that “Built environments with objects that are labeled ‘environmentally friendly’ appear to change people’s behavior. For example, one study has shown that labeling a desktop lamp ‘environmentally friendly’ can enhance color discrimination, in comparison with when the lamp is labeled ‘conventional,’ even though there is no physical difference between the two lamps. This article explored . . .

New research confirms how disruptive nearby smart phones are, even when they’re not ringing, buzzing, vibrating, or otherwise alerting us to some sort of activity.  Data collected by Ward and colleagues indicate “that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. . . . our data suggest at least one simple solution: separation. . . .  We therefore suggest that defined and protected periods of separation . . .

Burkus reviews research in the peer-reviewed press related to workplace environments.  His findings are consistent with those often discussed in articles in Research Design Connections.  Burkus states that “some level of office banter in the background might actually benefit our ability to do creative tasks, provided we don’t get drawn into the conversation. Instead of total silence, the ideal work environment for creative work has a little bit of background noise. . . .

Research by Naylor and Sanchez has generated insights that should influence the size of screens on which information is presented; its further implications for the design of tools/etc. that people use to process information in the real world are intriguing. During the Naylor/Sanchez study  “Participants read a news article on either a small or a large smartphone display and rated their attitudes toward the material before and after reading. . . .