BEYOND PARKINSONS LAW .3. EFFECT OF PROTRACTIVE AND CONTRACTIVE DISTRACTIONS ON WASTING OF TIME ON SUBSEQUENT TASKS

Replicates an excess time effect with the amount of time Ss (42 male undergraduates) spend working on the initial task being manipulated by means of a distracting confederate. During performance of the initial task, a confederate imposed on 1/2 of Ss a contractive distraction (one relatively decreasing work time) and on 1/2 of Ss a protractive distraction (one relatively increasing work time). In a subsequent work situation, Ss performed a similar task in the absence of the confederate and were allowed to work as long as they chose. Protractive distraction Ss spent significantly more time working on the initial task and significantly more time on the 2nd task than did contractive distraction Ss. This not only demonstrates mediation of the excess time effect by distraction, but also eliminates a possible artifact in the previous experiments that E's instructions conveyed differential time norms to Ss and were thus responsible for the effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.