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multiple-resource model

a model that views attention as comprising many pools of resources, each pool being specific to one stimulus modality or type of response. Different tasks place varying demands on different resources, and performance suffers less if two tasks draw on different resource pools than if they draw on the same pool. For example, talking while riding a bicycle presents fewer problems than trying to have two conversations at once. See multiple-task performance. Compare unitary-resource model.

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Psychology term of the day

January 31st 2025

self-monitoring observation

self-monitoring observation

self-tracking of one’s behaviors, attitudes, or emotions over time. In research studies and clinical interventions focused on weight loss, for example, participants are encouraged to keep track of their eating patterns, their feelings related to their eating, and triggers for not maintaining their diet. This enables a clinician or researcher to review periods when the participant is outside the clinical setting or laboratory. Compare analogue observation; naturalistic observation.