Focused Attention in the Context of Irrelevant Speech

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in focused attention and the influence of these differences on verbal task performance under conditions in which irrelevant speech was present. Subjective workload was also examined (using the NASA TLX, Hart and Staveland, 1984). Fifty-four participants performed three editing task trials under quiet, discontinuous, and continuous speech conditions. The Task Absorption subscale of the Expanded Tellegen Absorption Scale (Jackson, Klein, Reeth, and Waters, 1997) was also administered. Significant differences were found within conditions between High and Low Task Absorbers. The importance of focused attention in the open-plan office is discussed.

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