In collaboration with Payame Noor University and Iranian Health Psychology

Document Type : research

Authors

1 Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Department of Psychology, Roozbeh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

5 Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: Capture of attention occurs when a goal-irrelevant salient stimulus appears in the field of attention. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be salient enough to capture a great proportion of one’s attention resources. The purpose of this study was to explore how the novelty of outbreak news affects attention in everyday life.
Methods: 162 participants were recruited using an online invitation and divided into two samples (early and late sections). The research variables were the salience of news, intrusive thoughts, endogenous attention, and knowledge of COVID-19, which were examined and compared between the two measurements using one-way MANOVA. Additionally, a correlation analysis was performed to reveal a model of relationships between variables.
Results: It was found that despite the increase in infected cases, intrusive thoughts and attentional capture decreased over time. To describe the relationship between the salience of news and attentional capture a conceptual model was presented.
Conclusion: In addition to the other physical properties of a stimulus, novelty also contributes to stimulus salience. In everyday life, novel situations can trigger intrusive thoughts and attentional capture. Nonetheless, it cannot be sustained after the novelty has worn off. The proposed model can be useful to understand further similar situations.

Keywords

Article Title [Persian]

اخبار مرتبط با شیوع بیماری، توجه در زندگی روزمره را تحت تاثیر قرار می‌دهد: یک مطالعه‌ی مقطعی

Authors [Persian]

  • محمدتقی خیرخواه 1
  • حمزه مؤذن 1
  • زهرا میرچی 2
  • عاطفه ناظم الاسلامی 3
  • مسلم کرد 1
  • مهران مکرمی 4
  • شهریار قریب زاده 1
  • مجید صفارنیا 5

1 Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Education and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

3 Department of Psychology, Roozbeh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

5 Department of Psychology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract [Persian]

هدف: تصرف توجه زمانی رخ می‌دهد که یک محرک برجسته‌ی غیروابسته به هدف در میدان توجه ظاهر شود. همه‌گیری کووید-19 به‌قدر کافی برجسته بود تا سهم بزرگی از ظرفیت توجهی افراد را به تصرف خود درآورد. هدف از مطالعه‌ی حاضر پاسخ به چگونگی تاثیر تازگی اخبار مرتبط با شیوع بیماری بر توجه در زندگی روزمره بود.
روش: 162 شرکت‌کننده با استفاده از یک دعوتنامه‌ی برخط به پژوهش ورود پیدا کردند و به دو نمونه‌ی مقاطع مقدم و مؤخر تقسیم شدند. متغیرها شامل برجستگی اخبار، افکار مزاحم، توجه درون‌زاد و دانش کووید-19 با استفاده از تحلیل واریانس چند متغیره، بین دو اندازه‌گیری (مقاطع) مقایسه شدند. افزون بر این، به منظور دستیابی به مدلی از روابط بین متغیرها از تحلیل همبستگی استفاده شد.
یافته‌ها: مشخص شد که در گذر زمان، علی‌رغم افزایش موارد ابتلا، از میزان افکار مزاحم و تصرف توجه کاسته می‌شود. همچنین به منظور توصیف رابطه‌ی میان برجستگی اخبار و تصرف توجه یک مدل مفهومی معرف شد.
نتیجه‌گیری: افزون بر دیگر خصایص فیزیکی محرک، تازگی نیز می‌تواند در برجستگی محرک اثرگذار باشد. در زندگی روزمره، موقعیت‌های جدید می‌تواند آغازگر افکار مزاحم و تصرف توجه باشد. با این وجود با از دست رفتن تازگی، این پدیده نمی‌تواند ماندگار باشد. مدل پیشنهادی می‌تواند در فهم شرایط مشابه آتی سودمند باشد.

Keywords [Persian]

  • توجه روزمره
  • تصرف توجه
  • برجستگی
  • کووید-19
  • شیوع بیماری
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