Effects of varied meaningfulness on the load theory of attention

Abstract

The point at which selection of which stimuli in our environment to attend to is
made has plagued researchers for decades. The load theory was developed as a
compromise between the early and late selection theories. However, little research has
been done on the effects of varied meaningfulness on the load theory of attention. The
purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects that varied meaningfulness has on both
high and low attentional loads. Sixteen traditionally-aged college students were given a
selection task in either high or low attentional load while being presented with distractors
in the periphery. Mean reaction times between conditions of distractor and load were
analyzed. In line with the hypothesis and the load theory that state that participants will
attend to and process distractors presented in low attentional load, significant effects of
distractors were seen in low attentional load. However, contrary to the hypothesis, which
stated that participants would process a meaningful distractor under high attentional load,
effects of a meaningful distractor were not seen in high attentional load, suggesting that
participants did not attend to distractors in high load, regardless of their meaning. Results
are further discussed, along with implications, limitations, and further research directions.

Date of Award	2012
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	John B. Best (Supervisor)