Divided attention occurs when mental focus is on multiple tasks or ideas at once. Also known as multitasking, individuals do this all the time. Examples are singing along to a song while driving, having a conversation while walking, or listening to music while grocery shopping. Divided attention does decrease the amount of attention being placed on any one task or idea if there are multiple focuses going on at once. For example, if you answer a friend's question while you are reading a book your concentration on the book wanes as you focus on responding to your friend.

If you are doing several different things at once, then you may be what researchers refer to as a "heavy multitasker." And you probably think that you are fairly good at this balancing act. According to a number of different studies, however, you are probably not as effective at multitasking as you think you are.

A new study says so-called "heavy multitaskers" have trouble tuning out distractions and switching tasks compared with those who multitask less. And there's evidence that multitasking may weaken cognitive ability. Stanford University professor Clifford Nass explains the work.

Several large-scale, naturalistic driving studies -- using sophisticated cameras and instrumentation in participants' personal vehicles -- conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, provide a clear picture of driver distraction and cell phone use under real-world driving conditions, according to the institute.

Multitasking is a word that gets thrown around a lot these days. But it’s important to understand what it is and why it doesn’t work.

Psychologists who study what happens to cognition (mental processes) when people try to perform more than one task at a time have found that the mind and brain were not designed for heavy-duty multitasking. Psychologists tend to liken the job to choreography or air-traffic control, noting that in these operations, as in others, mental overload can result in catastrophe.

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that working memory was the most important predictor in addition to attention and fluid intelligence. The latter two constructs contributed significantly to the explained variance, but to a lesser extent.

Changes in attention allocation with complex task learning reflect processing automatization and more efficient control. We studied these changes using ERP and EEG spectral analyses in subjects playing Space Fortress, a complex video game comprising standard cognitive task components. We hypothesized that training would free up attentional resources for a secondary auditory oddball task.

Task switching requires the ability to flexibly switch between task rules and responses, and is sensitive to developmental change. We tested the hypothesis that developmental changes in task switch performance are associated with changes in the facilitating or interfering effect of the previously retrieved stimulus–response (S–R) association.

Conversing on cell phones while driving an automobile is a common practice. We examine the interference of the cognitive load of conversational dialog with driving tasks, with the goal of identifying better and worse times for conversations during driving.