Distraction-conflict

An attentional conflict occurs between multiple stimuli when the subject is interested in paying attention to each stimulus. The task that is unrelated to the subject's primary goal is referred to as the distraction. This conflict only occurs when the pressure to attend to each input is equal and the individual's cognitive capacities to do so are inadequate.

It has been argued that the distraction-attention theory suggests that "distraction during a simple task will improve performance if it triggers attentional conflict". As with Zajonc's theory of social facilitation, the distraction-conflict theory observes that an individual's performance on simple tasks is facilitated by arousal, whereas an individual's performance on complex tasks is hindered by this same arousal. For this to occur, the level of distraction must be related to performance so that benefits of increased drive outweigh the costs of disruption. Distraction-conflict, as well as social uncertainty and self-attention, may "provoke resource overload because they absorb attentional capacity".

This model more broadly predicts that any attentional conflict will produce drive. Distraction-conflict has been supported by several studies which have produced results showing that "distractions, such as noise or flashing lights, have the same drivelike effects on task performance that audiences do". This is because "our attention is divided between the task at hand and observing the reactions of the people in the audience" in much the same way how one is distracted from the task at hand by sounds or flashing lights. The effects of distraction-conflict are also shown to be the strongest when there is a sense of urgency.

Major empirical findings

In their initial research in 1978, Sanders, Baron, and Moore hypothesized that subjects would be more distracted when performing a task with a coactor or an audience than when working alone. The researchers hoped to demonstrate this through a paired-word task.

In this study, subjects first had anticipation trials on a practice list, where the lead word in a pair was presented and subject attempted to guess the attached response word. Subjects were assigned a competitional list (a complex list where the lead words were associated) or a noncompetitional list (a simple list where the pairs of words were related). An audience was introduced between the practice and subsequent test trials.

The measure of performance was the total errors divided by the word pairs on the list. The distraction experienced by the subject was measured by a self-report of task attention and the recall errors. The researchers found that the presence of audiences impaired performance on the complex list and assisted performance on the simpler task. Sanders, Baron, and Moore asserted that this data indicated increased distraction in the presence of an audience. The researchers concluded that the subject's arousal and the accompanying effects were due in part to distraction.

Others as distractors

One question surrounding this theory was what the actual source of distraction was when in the presence of another person. In 1978, Sanders, Baron, and Moore argued that distraction could occur if "subjects wanted to get social comparison information from the other person. In an experiment, they set up a copying task in three different conditions: alone, with someone else doing the same task, and with someone else doing a different task, and hypothesized that only in the case where the other person present was doing the same task would social comparison, and therefore distraction, be occurring. The researchers hypothesized people are distracting because of the pressure to engage in social comparison, and this pressure enhances social facilitation effects.

Participants performed a copying task in two conditions. Some participants were told the study was about their impressions of the task, so that the subject experienced little comparison pressure. The other participants were told the study was about the ability to defer gratification, thus making it likely students would compare their performances with a coactor.

Sanders, Baron, and Moore found that subjects were motivated to compare their performances with coactors, causing distraction. They observed that social facilitation effects were connected to this distraction.