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Joanne Cantor Ph.D

About

Joanne Cantor, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized expert on the psychology of media and communications. She is Director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was a professor for 26 years. Through her consulting firm, Your Mind on Media, she gives presentations to businesses and professional organizations on productivity, creativity, and stress reduction.

Her latest book is Conquer CyberOverload: Get More Done, Boost Your Creativity, and Reduce Stress. She has also written a parenting book, Mommy, I'm Scared, and Teddy's TV Troubles, a book for children, and she has published more than 90 scholarly articles and chapters. She is frequently quoted in the national press and has been a guest on numerous radio and television shows including Oprah, Good Morning America, and several NPR programs. She has testified on numerous occasions before US Congressional committees as well as the Federal Communications Commission.

She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the International Communication Association, the Authors Guild, and the National Speakers Association.

Books by Joanne Cantor Ph.D
Recent Posts
Is Background Music a Boost or a Bummer?
How music affects your productivity depends on the nature of the task and the demands of your work. It can distract you, but it also can affect your mood and arousal levels in ways that can help.
Interrupt Me for Five Seconds? — Fuhgeddaboudit!
Interruptions are a constant in daily life and especially at work. But a recent study reports that even a five-second interruption can dramatically increase our errors when we return to what we were doing. And the study doesn’t just apply to aging boomers who are known for a declining working memory capacity. It was conducted with college students!
Handcuffed to your computer?
Is the Internet a Drug or Just an Attractive Nuisance?
Whether or not people are “addicted” and whether or not what they do is harmful, many people find themselves spending increasing amounts of time online, often at the expense of other activities, like getting things done at work. Businesses need to find ways to reduce productivity loss without facing a backlash from employees.
How to Succeed Without Really Trying
You don’t have to sleep on the job to enhance your memory. And you don't have to be a workaholic either. Brief wakeful resting enhances your memory for what you've just done. And I’m talking about just 10 minutes of rest and memories that last a week or more.
Five Reasons We Can't Stop Distracting Ourselves

You’ve got an imminent deadline for that creative project. And yet, you can’t stop checking your email or Facebook, playing your favorite Zynga game, or seeing what’s happening in sports, entertainment, or the news online. Why are these temptations so irresistible even when you’re up against the clock? And how can you arrange to resist these time-wasting demons?

You’ve got an imminent deadline for that creative project. And yet, you can’t stop checking your email or Facebook, playing your favorite Zynga game, or seeing what’s happening in sports, entertainment, or the news online. Why are these temptations so irresistible even when you’re up against the clock? And how can you arrange to resist these time-wasting demons?

Is it Alzheimer’s? Normal Aging? Or Simply Cyber Overload?

Do you sometimes wonder if that thing you forgot or that name you can’t remember is the beginning of Alzheimer’s? If so, you’re not alone, judging by the turnout at a recent UW Hospital public health symposium.

Do you sometimes wonder if that thing you forgot or that name you can’t remember is the beginning of Alzheimer’s? If so, you’re not alone, judging by the turnout at a recent UW Hospital public health symposium.

Mindus Interruptus: Distractions are Costlier than You Think!

Let's face it. We hardly ever have the luxury of focusing on one thing anymore. No matter where we are, our gadgets are there, too, ready to beep, ping, display an alert, or serenade us with our chosen ring-tone.

Let's face it. We hardly ever have the luxury of focusing on one thing anymore. No matter where we are, our gadgets are there, too, ready to beep, ping, display an alert, or serenade us with our chosen ring-tone.

Don’t Speak 'Til You See the Whites of Their Eyes

"What can I help you with?" asked the Apple Store clerk as he kept his eyes focused on what he was entering into his iPhone.

"I'll wait ‘til you're finished," said I.

"No, go ahead," said he. "I can multitask."

"No, you can't!" said I, which finally got him to look at me and listen.

"What can I help you with?" asked the Apple Store clerk as he kept his eyes focused on what he was entering into his iPhone.

"I'll wait ‘til you're finished," said I.

"No, go ahead," said he. "I can multitask."

"No, you can't!" said I, which finally got him to look at me and listen.

Where Did I See That? When Paper Beats Pixels

OK, I agree. I could never give up my Kindle. E-books are taking up a greater and greater percentage of titles sold, and for good reasons. But there are at least three ways in which print on paper is superior to words on a screen.

OK, I agree. I could never give up my Kindle. E-books are taking up a greater and greater percentage of titles sold, and for good reasons. But there are at least three ways in which print on paper is superior to words on a screen.

Mining Your Brain to Jump-Start Your Creativity

It's easy to spend lots of time working, but hard to come up with something new. Creativity may be necessary in a wide variety of realms—but where does that aha! moment come from? In a recent episode of "The Writer's Almanac," Garrison Keillor quoted an interview with J.K. Rowling on how she got the idea to write a novel about Harry Potter.

It's easy to spend lots of time working, but hard to come up with something new. Creativity may be necessary in a wide variety of realms—but where does that aha! moment come from? In a recent episode of "The Writer's Almanac," Garrison Keillor quoted an interview with J.K. Rowling on how she got the idea to write a novel about Harry Potter.