Feedback – Key to the Endurance of the Attention

Goal-setting is key to sustaining attention over a task of a longer period. However, feedback seems to produce a much stronger effect on the endurance of attention.

Goal-setting is key to sustaining attention over a task of a longer period. However, feedback seems to produce a much stronger effect in the endurance of the attention as per a study “Examining the effects of goal-setting, feedback, and incentives on sustained attention,” at The University of Texas at Arlington, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.

“Sustaining one’s attention is notoriously difficult. The longer that an individual performs a task, the worse their performance tends to be. If you want to encourage people to maintain focus on a task, whether it be learning or job-related, or if you are designing something that you want people to engage with, giving feedback about their performance is a very powerful motivator,” says Matthew Robison, UT Arlington assistant professor of psychology and first author of the study.

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‘Goal-setting is key to sustaining attention over a task of a longer period. However, feedback seems to produce a much stronger effect on the endurance of attention.’

Attention and Feedback

The study team conducted four experiments where the individuals were given a simple but attentionally demanding task and were asked to perform it for 30 minutes. The effectiveness of goal-setting, feedback, and incentive manipulations on participants’ ability to sustain their attention was then measured.

It was found that setting a specific goal improved sustained attention but produced no effect on task engagement (higher motivation and fewer task-unrelated thoughts) in first experiment.

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In the second experiment, the performance time was split into blocks and provided feedback at the end of each. Combining a specific goal with feedback showed improved attention and motivation.

Moreover, the participants reported a decline in performance over time when they felt less motivation, more fatigue, and increased mind wandering. This shows that feedback, on its own, was an impressive regulator of task-unrelated thoughts.

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“We need to be cognizant of the level of difficulty involved in sustaining attention when we ask others to perform tasks where they must be attentive for long periods of time. It is possible that we put ourselves in harm’s way by relying too much on the human attentional system to accomplish feats that may not be achievable,” says Robison.

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