Attention Allocation, Distraction, and the Type A/Type B Behavior Pattern

摘要

This thesis sought to determine whether individuals identified as having a Type A or Type B behavior pattern allocate attention differently in the presence of a distractor. Thirty-seven university students, grouped by type through use of the Jenkins Activity survey, and further divided into distractor and control groups, performed two discrete tasks for eight blocks under single- then dual-task conditions. The distractor was presented during the dual-task condition on Blocks 6 and 7. While the results did not support the hypothesized relation, this study did support previous findings of a differential effect of noise on multiple-task performance: Both quiet groups' performance improved on both tasks, whereas both noise groups' performance improved on the primary task but leveled off on the secondary task during and after the distractor. Further research is required.