Controlling attention in the face of threat: A method for quantifying endogenous attentional control

Abstract

It is well established that anxiety causes attentional narrowing and increases distractibility, yet metrics are lacking for measuring these phenomena during performance. Attention Control Theory (ACT) postulates that anxiety consumes limited executive resources that are necessary for maintaining goal-oriented, "top-down" attentional control and for suppressing stimulus-driven, "bottom-up" distraction. While previous work has quantified the effect of anxious states and traits on bottom-up distraction, it is far more difficult to measure endogenous top-down attention. Here we briefly review theories and previous findings regarding anxiety's affect on attention control and discuss an ongoing study examining sustained attention under neutral and anxiogenic conditions. The study employs a combination of established Electroencephalographic (EEG) methods that together may offer a way to measure top-down sustained attention. If successful, the method could help build a more complete theoretical picture of attention control, and provide a way for HCI platforms to monitor user states in changing contexts. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.