Attention is a way by which one can process a small amount of information from a wide range of information available at a time through stored memory, sensations (Sternberg & Mio, 2006). The divided and selective attention are the two ends of the continuum. The ability to select one thing to pay attention to is known as selective attention and divided attention is when two or more things are being attended at the same time (i.e. walking and talking). We have very limited capacity available, for this reason often we have to move from one attention to another. Other psychological factors that can influence selective and divided attention include task difficulty, the effects of practise and individual differences.
According to Broadbent’s “bottle neck” theory (1958), cognitive processes have a very limited capacity to process information (Driver, 2001). So Broadbent (1958) suggested that selective filter “pushes out” irrelevant information and the selected source is brought forward for it to be processed semantically (Lachter, Forster & Ruthruff, 2004). So, according to this, we select things we want to pay attention to because of the selective filter and it takes up all of our capacity. However, further research have shown that we are able to do a few things at the same time because of the divided attention (Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977). Nonetheless, Sullivan (1976) also carried out a few studies to find a link between task difficulty and attention. Sullivan (1976) used a shadowing method (recall out loud) for task difficulty task and concluded that easy tasks (participants had to recall sentences) take up less of attentional load and for this reason people divide their attention between multiple sources (Washburn & Putney, 1998). Also for difficult tasks (participants had to shadow random words) people tend to use selective attention (Washburn & Putney, 1998). Broadbent (1958) and Sullivan (1970) tested selective and divided attention in different ways but the findings were essentially the same for easy and difficult tasks.
Forster and Lavie (2008) established the idea that perceptional load plays and important role in attention and rejected the concept of filters (Forster & Lavie, 2009). They found that during easy tasks participants used divided attention, therefore had spare attention to get distracted (low perceptional load). Whereas during difficult tasks participants were not distracted due to selective attention, as they did not have spare capacity to notice other sources (Forster & Lavie, 2009). So according to this, when the task is challenging we tend to ignore other stimuli around us and devote our attention to just one source.
The effects of practice is another psychological factor that can explain attention. Shiffrin and Schneider (1977) and Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) found that with practice the tasks become automatic (Moors & De Houwer, 2006). Additionally, automatic processes are not subjected to limited capacity and also we can do few tasks at the same time due to the parallel processing (Moors & De Houwer, 2006). According to Shiffrin and Schneider (1977), participants during the experiment found the task very difficult, so they had to use their selective attention. However, after they have completed 2100 trials, participants became faster (after 1000 trials) because the process became automatic and they were able to process a few things at the same time due to the divided attention (Shiffrin & Schneider, 1977). So, automatic processes take less capacity and it requires a lot of practice for the task to be fast and easy. However, there are individual differences that are linked with task difficulty. Neider et.al (2011) did a dual task study (where older and younger people had to cross the street whilst listening to the music or talking on the phone) and found that older people have less capacity, so they used their selective attention more during easier and difficult tasks, whereas younger participants had more capacity during difficult tasks, so there were able to divide the attention between the tasks (Neider et al., 2011). This shows that cognitive abilities decline with age and people have to find particular ways of completing daily tasks.
In conclusion, it is due to the task that we decide whether we are going to divide or select our attention to. We can move from one attention to the other because of the capacity that we have. Dual tasks used in previous research are particularly difficult and demanding, therefore this might have overwhelmed the performance of many participants. However, there is a need for more research on the area of attention and the factors that can influence it.
Problem solving is a cognitive process that requires mental representation of the problem, the strategies to solve it and know the solution. Problems in everyday life might have one or more correct answers. Psychologists have used a variety of methods in their studies that required specific approaches or panning to solve the problems. For this reason they were able to the problem and the possible solutions. Insight is believed to be important as it is ones comprehension of how to solve a problem.
Insight is highly subjective and differs from analytic problem solving (Bowden et.al, 2005). It is the method used to solve a problem that is central than an insight itself. Some of the Gestalt psychologists believed that problems can be solved through insight. Insight is believed to be an AHA! Experience when a solution seems obvious or when one is unable to report the processes that led to the solution (Bowden et.al, 2005). Psychologists carried out various studies to investigate the role of insight in problem solving.
One of the Gestalt psychologists Duncker (1945) believed that once an individual has all the necessary material for the problem to be solved, then that person has “insight” (Isen, Daubman & Nowicki, 1987). He carried out a study that required creativity in problem solving which is also known as “functional fixedness” (Isen, Daubman & Nowicki, 1987). His participants were slow in finding a solution because functional fixedness requires a person to find a solution traditional way and restricts from looking for other possible solutions when solving a problem. Therefore, functional fixedness makes problem solving more challenging. German and Defeyter (2000) carried out a similar study with 5-7 year old children and found that functional fixedness did not have an impact on the younger children, whilst older children took longer to find a solution (German & Defeyter, 2000). This suggests that previous knowledge about the object’s function can make the task completion easier and quicker.
Metcalfe and Wiebe (1987) believed that some problems require an insight in order to come to a solution and some problems don’t, however other psychologists argued that (Bowden & Jung-Beeman, 2003). Metcalfe and Wiebe (1987) found that during the problem solving tasks participants became “warmer” when they got closer to the solution. However, the tasks that required insight, participants did not show “warmth” as much up until they got to the solution (Metcalfe & Wiebe, 1987). This shows that insight is included in problem solving processes. In addition, Bowden et al. (2005) also believed that one can come to a solution through insight or analytic method and that insight is what people do, it is not an aspect of a problem (Bowden et.al, 2005). They also found that participants showed clear behavioral and neural signs that indicate the use of insight during the “compound remote associate” (particular kind of problem) problems solving tasks (Bowden et.al, 2005). They also concluded that left hemisphere of the brain is linked with insight solutions, whilst right hemisphere with analytic solutions.
Wegbreit et.al (2014) used experimental manipulation of attentional resources by using narrow or broad approach and found that participants used an analytic method and not insight to solve a problem and during the visual recognition task they were using insight more than analytic method (Wegbreit et.al, 2014). This supports the idea that attentional focus being a cause for using insight or analytic method to solve a problem and that this can be temporarily changed. Also analytic problem solving method requires time and planning, whilst problem solving through insight is very quick. Further research found that mood is evident in problem solving along with an insight (Wegbreit et.al, 2014). For instance, research suggests that positive mood is linked with insight in problem solving tasks (Kounios & Beeman, 2009). Negative mood (i.e. anxiety) would have a significant impact on problem solving that requires insight (Subramaniam et al., 2009). This suggests that mood is important in the way we process information.
In conclusion, further research is needed because it is still difficult to establish clear patterns of insight in problem solving. Individual differences are also linked with insight. For instance, analytic thinkers might do better at problem solving tasks and some do better at problem solving that requires insight. Also analytic thinkers are able to focus and ignore any distractions.