Snack type matters; they’re not all equally distracting. Corbin Cunningham and Howard Egeth report in Psychonomic Bulletin and Review that “Sugary, fatty foods are a distraction – more so than low-calorie foods and everyday objects – even if you are busy with a task that isn’t remotely related to food, or are not even thinking about eating.” Designers can apply this information about snacks in their own break areas and also share it with clients who have hired them to design in wellness supports.
“Sidetracked By a Donut?” 2017. Press release, Springer, http://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/sidetracked-by-a-donut-/15165320
Sally Augustin, PhD, a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.