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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions. Of course, if you have a question that isn't answered here, feel free to contact us.

 What do you hope to learn from studying attention failures? 

Our goals are to measure the important aspects of inattention and attention lapses, to measure inattention more precisely, and to evaluate the impact of personal and situational factors on attention. In so doing, we hope to learn how to minimize the effects of inattention in everyday life.

 How can I help prevent attention failures during my everyday actions? 

While there is much yet to learn about preventing attention failures, see our brief essay on the costs of inattention for some helpful tips.

 What is some of the past research done on attention failures? 

Research in the past has been largely qualitative, such as that of James Reason in the 1970s, attempting to describe the occurrence of attention failures, or has studied attention failures as they occur in common with other cognitive failures, measuring attention failures via the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire developed by Broadbent et al. in 1982. More recently, Ian Robertson has conducted a number of studies on the attentional effects of brain trauma.

 Why did you choose to examine attention failures in the medical field? 

Attention failures are particularly important when they occur in medical settings because they afford much greater potential for disastrous consequences. We want to focus our initial efforts on areas that stand to benefit the most from our research. For this reason, we have specifically targeted both driving and medical settings in our research.

 Why did you choose to research attention failures? 

Attention failures offer particular appeal because they occur so commonly in our everyday lives that, with only a simple example, everyone can understand what we are talking about. Furthermore, we believe the examination of exactly how everyday attention slips we all experience can sometimes end up having disastrous consequences is inherently interesting and worthy of research.

 How does my attention failure report help the project? 

Your attention failure reports will allow us to obtain more specific details on the types and qualities of everyday attention failures people tend to experience, and their consequences. These reports may also allow us to refine and enhance our questionnaires to ensure they accurately reflect the type and scope of attention failures people regularly experience. Finally, we hope your reports will also allow us to discover strategies for effectively coping with attention failures and preventing their sometimes disastrous consequences.

 How is my confidentiality kept? 

We do not intentionally track any personally identifiable information and will only publish the information provided in your attention lapse reports if you grant us permission to do so before submission. If you have any further questions, please see our Confidentiality Statement.

 Have there been other studies such as this one; what did they find? 

We do not believe any other research has had the same focus on everyday attention failures. If you are a researcher who has conducted similar research, please feel free to contact us.