Murphy Gillian, Groeger John A, Greene Ciara M
School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Department of Psychology, University of Hull, Hull, UK.
Psychon Bull Rev. 2016 Oct;23(5):1316-1340. doi: 10.3758/s13423-015-0982-5.
Selective attention allows us to ignore what is task-irrelevant and focus on what is task-relevant. The cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie this process are key topics of investigation in cognitive psychology. One of the more prominent theories of attention is perceptual load theory, which suggests that the efficiency of selective attention is dependent on both perceptual and cognitive load. It is now more than 20 years since the proposal of load theory, and it is a good time to evaluate the evidence in support of this influential model. The present article supplements and extends previous reviews (Lavie, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 75-82. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.004 , 2005, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19, 143-148. doi: 10.1177/0963721410370295 , 2010) by examining more recent research in what appears to be a rapidly expanding area. The article comprises five parts, examining (1) evidence for the effects of perceptual load on attention, (2) cognitive load, (3) individual differences under load, (4) alternative theories and criticisms, and (5) the future of load theory. We argue that the key next step for load theory will be the application of the model to real-world tasks. The potential benefits of applied attention research are numerous, and there is tentative evidence that applied research would provide strong support for the theory itself, as well as real-world benefits related to activities in which attention is crucial, such as driving and education.
选择性注意使我们能够忽略与任务无关的信息，而专注于与任务相关的信息。构成这一过程基础的认知和神经机制是认知心理学研究的关键课题。其中一个较为突出的注意理论是知觉负载理论，该理论认为选择性注意的效率取决于知觉负载和认知负载。自负载理论提出至今已有20多年，现在是评估支持这一有影响力模型的证据的好时机。本文通过审视在一个似乎迅速扩展的领域中更新的研究，补充并扩展了之前的综述（拉维，《认知科学趋势》，第9卷，第75 - 82页。doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.004，2005年，《心理科学当前趋势》，第19卷，第143 - 148页。doi: 10.1177/0963721410370295，2010年）。本文由五个部分组成，分别审视了（1）知觉负载对注意影响的证据，（2）认知负载，（3）负载下的个体差异，（4）替代理论与批评，以及（5）负载理论的未来。我们认为负载理论的下一个关键步骤将是把该模型应用于现实世界的任务。应用注意研究的潜在益处众多，并且有初步证据表明应用研究将为该理论本身提供有力支持，同时也能带来与注意力至关重要的活动（如驾驶和教育）相关的现实世界益处。
