What is divided attention?

Divided attention refers to the ability to engage with and respond to multiple tasks or stimuli simultaneously. This cognitive skill allows individuals to distribute their attention across different activities, enabling them to manage more than one thing at once. For instance, a person might be able to listen to music while studying or write emails while participating in a video call.

This capacity contrasts with focusing solely on one task, as outlined in the other options. While some situations require sustained attention on a single activity, divided attention emphasizes the skill of multitasking, which is increasingly important in today’s fast-paced environments.