Attention and Perception of Intensity of Work

Abstract

The effect of attentional focus on the perception of intensity of physical work was examined. 15 untrained college women were given a set of arithmetic problems of varying difficulty, while simultaneously performing work at different loads on a bicycle ergometer. It was hypothesized that as attention was focused on the mental task, less processing of physical stimuli would occur, and the perception of intensity of work would be reduced with the exception of a heavy-work load condition in which physical stimuli would be too compelling to repress. While it was concluded that attention was manipulated during the physical task, analysis of the data showed no effect on the perception of work.