The perceived rudeness of public cell phone behaviour

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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.