Abstract
Previously no significant effects of distraction on standardized test performance by adults have been reported. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether self-ratings of distractibility predicted differences in test performance in two environmental settings, the student union during rush hours and an individual study room inside the library. On the basis of self-ratings, 72 subjects (36 males and 36 females) were selected from 815 college students to form distractible groups, low, medium and high. Only the highly distractible group performed significantly better in the library than in the union. When individual differences in distractibility are considered, test conditions may affect performance.
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