How do distractions affect reaction time?

Answer 1

Assuming you are talking about driving. Specifics are really unknown but a good educated guess would say our brains are hardwired to do two kinds of thinking 1. latent thinking and 2. active thinking. The active focuses on what you are aware of the most, like talking to your friends on the phone. The latent thinking does the driving, thus in the event of an accident, your brain must shift the active part of itself from talking on the phone to driving, and all this in, potentially, a fraction of a second.

Answer 2

Distractions can increase reaction time by dividing attention and causing delays in processing information. When the brain is focused on something other than the task at hand, it may take longer to recognize and respond to stimuli effectively.

Answer 3

Yes, it affects reaction time considerably. Some research even states talking on a cell phone while driving is worse than driving drunk.

Answer 4

Talking on a cell phone or listening to music is a distraction. It causes a person to not pay as much attention to what's going on around them, making their reaction time slower.