·      Limited capacity for processing information

·      Follow information processing model: select response out of multiple responses, process response, output

·      Need sufficient attentional space to attend to Tasks A, B, and C, but there is not enough to attend to Tasks A, B, C, and D

·      Attention: cognitive or mental effort

·      Resources needed to carry out specific activities

·      Cognitive effort comes from central pool of resources (flexible; capacity can increase or decrease)

·      Allocation policy: depends on how much attention is divided between each task

Enduring dispositions: capturing attention, novelty of a situation

Visual, ex: driving down a street and see flashing lights in rearview mirror; some attention capacity is taking away from driving the car and is put towards responding to the flashing lights

Auditory, ex: paying attention to the slideshow while someone drops a water bottle behind you

Momentary intentions: guided by external instruction

 Ex: coach directs your attention to someone on the opposing team

 Affects amount of resources you put towards your first task

Multiple-Resources Theories

Propose several source of attention and each source has a limited capacity of resources. they   Do not compete against one another for resources

Multiple sources that provide resources necessary for processing information

1. Input and output modalities

Processing incoming information (visual and auditory)

Output of manual, spatial, verbal, visual information

2.     Stages of information processing

 Perception, cognitive, responding, coding information

3.     Codes of processing information

Code verbal and spatial information

·      More competition for attention = more tasks = less attention available to be allocated to each task = lower performance of individual tasks

Procedures for Assessing Attention Demands

Dual-task procedures:

o   Ex: driving could be a primary task, while texting is a secondary task

·      Two dimensions of attention:

1. Width of Focus

2. Direction of focus

focus on environmental information and mental activities

Broad: wide range of environmental information,

ex: hockey player scanning the ice for an open player, basketball player scanning players and determining where to pass the ball

Narrow: small range of environmental information,

ex: archer focusing on a single target, basketball player focusing on the single player he wants to pass to

focus on cues in environmental or internal thoughts, plans, or problem-solving activities

External: ex: baseball player looking around the pitch (environment)

 Internal: ex: high jumper mentally planning consequent movements (to get themselves over the bar)