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Attention and distraction during cognitive process

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Need help with these two questions. What prevents an individual from allocating attention the way in which they intend?
What strategies may be used to avoid distraction?
Ensure its referenced and cited and at least 200 words each question.

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This solution discusses what helps or prevents attention and distraction during cognitive processing. The solution contains 775 words and references.

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We know that deliberate allocation of attention requires a process where the individual makes specific choices as to what he/she will "pay attention to". Having said this; when looking at what might prevent an individual from "allocating their attention in the way in which they intend, we need to look at limitations of attention which involve a conscious selection process. We can use Daniel Kahneman's 1973 model of the capacity of attention to help us understand how we control and allocate our own mental capacity. Humans are very capable of carrying on multiple tasks at one time. As we add more complex tasks, our abilities to perform them successfully become jeopardized, which in turn diminishes our comfort level in performing these tasks. Alertness also plays a role, since if we are tired it can make it much more difficult to carry out certain tasks, many accidents happen because of the "tiredness" factor, but being in a "close" accident can suddenly increase our alertness at the same time. Often times we will ask individuals that accompany us to talk to us in an effort to keep us alert and attentive to our task, or we might put our attention on ...

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