The perceived rudeness of public cell phone behaviour

Abstract

We report two studies comparing cell phone conversations with face-to-face conversations. The first (N = 60) measured the volume of cell phone conversations with face-to-face conversations in the same location and found that, controlling for gender, cell phone conversations are slightly (1.90 dB) louder. We then replicated (N = 160) a study that compared rudeness ratings that observers gave cell phone conversations with ratings of face-to-face conversations in which either one or both speakers were audible. We found that, controlling for volume, cell phone conversations were rated significantly ruder than conversations between two audible speakers. But face-to-face conversations in which only one speaker was audible were, controlling for volume, rated as ruder than cell phone conversations. Several observer characteristics (age, gender and amount of cell phone use) had no significant relationship to the observer's rating of the rudeness of the conversation.

Keywords:

• mobile telephony
• hand-held device
• text messaging

Acknowledgements

This is based on an MA thesis by the first author under the direction of the second author. The authors thank Maryhelen D. MacInnes, Zhenmei Zhang and Toby Ten Eyck for valuable suggestions and comments and Marla Winkler and Angelina Castanza for being actors in Study 2.