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divided attention

attention to two or more channels of information at the same time, so that two or more tasks may be performed concurrently. It may involve the use of just one sense (e.g., hearing) or two or more senses (e.g., hearing and vision).

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Psychology term of the day

February 1st 2025

attentional narrowing

attentional narrowing

the restricting of attention in high-stress situations to a small set of information sources, with the potential omission of critical, task-relevant information. For example, when driving to the hospital for a medical emergency, the driver may focus attention only on the road ahead and not notice events at the side of the road, such as a pedestrian entering a crosswalk.