Attention and Short-Term Memory
There is a situation in which we suddenly hear our name from across the room, and we say it catches our attention. This refocus of attention when you hear your name is known as the cocktail party effect.
Watch a video of two basketball teams, with one team dressed in white T-shirts and the other in black shirts. Watch the clip by clicking here. Did you see anything other than a team in white T-shirts and a team in black T-shirts?
Failure to notice unexpected objects/persons in our surroundings is referred to as inattentional blindness. The perceptual load model states that we do not notice potential distracters when a task consumes all of our attention capacity. Sustained attention describes the ability to maintain focused awareness on a particular target.
There has been a lot of discussion in recent years about cell phone use while driving. From media coverage, we all know the potential danger of cell phone use while driving. Recent research found that using a cell phone while driving, even with hands-free devices, is comparable to driving drunk. These drivers tend to follow other cars too closely, have more accidents than others, and slower braking reactions than others in the general population.
