Goal Shielding as an Attention Aid: How Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals Compare in Their Ability to Increase Focus
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Ebony Glover
Department
RCHSS – Psychological Science
Abstract
The increasing presence of electronic devices – and their associated notifications – poses a persistent challenge to maintaining focus. Many individuals struggle to stay attentive without fully removing devices from their workspace, which is often impractical. This study explores a potential middle ground by testing goal shielding as a focus-enhancing strategy. It is predicted that setting a personal goal before completing a task will reduce distraction and improve task accuracy compared to having no goal, with intrinsic goals being more effective than extrinsic ones. In a within-subjects design, participants (proposed N=34) will complete a memory task under three conditions: intrinsic goal, extrinsic goal, and no goal. Participants will complete a memory task while receiving periodic notifications while their skin conductance and task performance are measured. Informed consent and minimal risk protocols will be followed, and data will be anonymized. It is expected that participants will show reduced distractibility and improved task performance in the intrinsic goal condition compared to the extrinsic and control conditions as tested by a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. These findings would support the role of goal shielding in mitigating distraction and suggest that motivational source of a goal moderates its effectiveness. Broadly, this research contributes to theories of interference control and offers practical insights for improving attention and performance in technology-rich environments.
Disciplines
Cognitive Psychology
Goal Shielding as an Attention Aid: How Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals Compare in Their Ability to Increase Focus
The increasing presence of electronic devices – and their associated notifications – poses a persistent challenge to maintaining focus. Many individuals struggle to stay attentive without fully removing devices from their workspace, which is often impractical. This study explores a potential middle ground by testing goal shielding as a focus-enhancing strategy. It is predicted that setting a personal goal before completing a task will reduce distraction and improve task accuracy compared to having no goal, with intrinsic goals being more effective than extrinsic ones. In a within-subjects design, participants (proposed N=34) will complete a memory task under three conditions: intrinsic goal, extrinsic goal, and no goal. Participants will complete a memory task while receiving periodic notifications while their skin conductance and task performance are measured. Informed consent and minimal risk protocols will be followed, and data will be anonymized. It is expected that participants will show reduced distractibility and improved task performance in the intrinsic goal condition compared to the extrinsic and control conditions as tested by a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. These findings would support the role of goal shielding in mitigating distraction and suggest that motivational source of a goal moderates its effectiveness. Broadly, this research contributes to theories of interference control and offers practical insights for improving attention and performance in technology-rich environments.