Visitor Attention

In their recently published textbook on cognitive psychology, Ashcraft and Radvansky (2010) described attention as “one of cognitive psychology’s most important topics and one of our oldest puzzles.” Whether we examine human attention in the context of driving an automobile, completing a workplace task, or engaging in educational and recreational activities, the importance of attention processes should not be understated. Talking on a cellular phone or texting while driving an automobile can have a disastrous impact on safe driving. Workplace accidents and errors are often attributed to a lack of focused attention on the task. Failing to pay attention to a lecturer in a school classroom may result in a failing grade. And, in museums, distractions that prevent attending to relevant materials leave the visitor unsatisfied and the goals of the museum unfulfilled.