Chapter 3: Attention & Performance

Attention

A resource (or pool of resources) available for various purposes.

Attentional Resources

Resources that can be allocated for different purposes and tasks.

Attentional Overload

Having too much relevant and irrelevant information to process.

Parallel Processing

Processing some sensory information simultaneously without much interference or attention.

Cocktail Party Effect

Processing relevant sensory information, such as hearing your name, without consciously focusing on it.

Stroop Effect

Interference caused by different aspects of a visual display competing for attention.

Inattentional Blindness

Missing seemingly obvious features in the environment while focused on an attentive visual search.

Sustained Attention

Maintaining concentration on a single target for an extended period of time.

Vigilance

The ability to maintain attention over time; affected by motivation, arousal, fatigue, and environmental factors.

Controlled Processing

Slow, attention-demanding, serial, and largely conscious information processing.

Automatic Processing

Fast, involuntary, parallel processing that requires little attention.

Automaticity

The development of automatic processing through extensive practice.

Double Stimulation Paradigm

Responding separately to each of two stimuli presented very close together in time.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

A delay in the second response when the second stimulus occurs while the system is still processing the first stimulus and response.

Probe-Task Technique

A technique where a secondary task is used to measure the attention demanded by a primary task.

Internal Focus of Attention

Focusing attention on the movements themselves or monitoring an ongoing movement.

External Focus of Attention

Focusing attention on a target or the intended effect of an action on the environment.

Selective Attention

Selecting relevant performance-related environmental cues to focus on.

Arousal

The level of excitement produced under stress.

Inverted-U Principle

The idea that increasing arousal generally improves performance, but only up to a certain point.

Perceptual Narrowing

The tendency for the perceptual field to shrink under stress and high arousal.

Choking Under Pressure

Failed performance that occurs when performers change their normal routine or fail to adapt to a changing situation.

Attentional Control Theory

A theory explaining how changes in attentional focus can affect performance, particularly under stress.