Discuss whether you think it is possible to pay attention to more than one task at a time, using the information from this week’s Reading to support your answer.
Discussions are fundamental to shared learning, so please be sure to participate early and often!
After you have completed the Reading, and without reviewing your classmate’s responses, post your initial response to the following Discussion. Your post should be at least 200-250 words in length and should extend the discussion of the group supported by your course materials and/or other appropriate resources.
After you have submitted your initial post, take time to review your classmates’ responses and to respond specifically and substantially to at least two of them. Refer to the Discussion Rubric in Course Resources for specific grading explanation.
Attention
In this week’s Reading you learned about the topic of divided attention — when you try to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. This is something you do all the time, however the psychological research suggests you may not be as good at this as you think you are.
For this Discussion, describe an example of an everyday situation where you might engage in divided attention. Discuss whether you think it is possible to pay attention to more than one task at a time, using the information from this week’s Reading to support your answer.
Between work, school, kids, and life overall, I feel as if my senses are overloaded with excess amounts of stimuli. I have a difficult time concentrating, and performing well at my tasks at hand. For example, mornings consist of getting myself ready, in addition to my two children. Often, I’m trying to multitask by packing lunches, making breakfast, feeding the animals, and answering messages or emails off my phone. I learned from our unit reading, research does not support multitasking; typically performing one task at a time is a more effective and accurate way to focus one’s attention. (Matlin, M. W., Farmer, T. A. (2016). Which leads me to mention selective-attention, this is when a person pays attention to certain kinds of information, while ignoring other ongoing information. As my son is talking to me about Minecraft mods and creepers, my daughter is adding to the conversation by telling me about a bizarre dream she had! I navigate and decipher what’s most important, respond and act accordingly, all while continuing our morning routine. I find myself facing divided attention tasks frequently, and try to respond appropriately to each message. Although my attention is not capable of handling these challenging tasks. I try to remember the importance of tackling life one day, and one task at a time. As a single, working mother I feel the weight of responsibility. Like many other parents, we are pulled in 500 directions and attempt to concur the world. We must remember to take it slow, and focus on what’s most important.