The Psychology of Attention for UX Designers

The Bottleneck Effect in the Same Sensory Channel

The bottleneck effect is more marked when an additional input stimulus comes from the same sensory channel. Sensory channels could be auditory, visual, or haptic. When two people are speaking, the input comes from the same auditory channel. When there is a change in pitch or tone of voice on either channel, we’re more likely to attend to that channel because the pitch is different or perhaps there is urgency in the tone. Variations within the same sensory channel help us prioritize our attention. Also, our brain can more readily filter and process certain words such as our name, favorite movies, or sports teams that we follow, which stand out among other inputs.

Information-rich user interfaces such as social-media feeds and complex dashboards often suffer from visual overload, an evident problem. Social-media platforms bombard users with a constant stream of diverse content in a single scrollable feed. Business-intelligence tools, project-management software, and especially financial-trading platforms feature cluttered dashboards that are filled with charts, data points, and graphs. Processing a large volume of visual information that is competing for attention in the same visual channel presents a challenge to users. This information overload can cause an increase in the user’s cognitive load, causing the user to miss critical information. The result is poor engagement with the product, decision fatigue, and less informed decision-making, despite the wealth of information. This experience highlights the limitations of processing multiple streams of information within the same sensory channel. Therefore, we should streamline or distribute visual information across diverse input channels in digital applications to enhance information processing and the user experience.

The Bottleneck Effect in Different Sensory Channels

The bottleneck effect is less pronounced when different channels are competing for our attention. Let’s assume that you’re going on a road trip with your friends. While driving, you can comfortably converse with your friends because both activities come from different channels, so the interference is minimal. For example, Navigation applications such as Google Maps and Waze use both visual and auditory channels—the map user interface and voice directions, respectively. Users can effectively process the map visually while listening to turn-by-turn instructions. This is very similar to driving while having a conversation with a friend. However, if there is severe traffic or you need to pass a vehicle on a narrow road, you won’t be able to attend to the conversation because the road requires your full attention. This phenomenon is the allocation of capacity.

Capacity Theory

Unlike the bottleneck theory, in which people filter sensory inputs from different channels and process only a single information source, the capacity theory claims that there is a general limit on a person’s capacity to perform mental work. Cognitive psychologists developed this theory to supplement rather than replace the bottleneck theory.

According to capacity theory, our attention system consists of a finite pool of cognitive resources that we can disperse flexibly across tasks. As we direct more resources toward one task, fewer are available for others. Humans have great control over the allocation of these resources. Activities that require attention compete for this limited capacity, and the amount of attention they require varies depending on the task—some tasks need more, while others need less. A person’s performance level on a task might drop or even fail if there is insufficient capacity to fulfill its requirements or the person has diverted their attention somewhere else.

Imagine that you’re out for a run while listening to an educational podcast. Your brain processes the information from the podcast while you maintain your pace and navigate your route. However, as you head into a busy intersection, you pause the podcast and completely shift your focus to crossing the intersection safely, checking for traffic and timing your crossing. This example demonstrates how you can flexibly allocate your attention based on changing environmental demands and prioritizing safety whenever necessary.

Applying capacity-theory concepts can significantly enhance a user’s interaction with a digital product. By understanding the user’s limited cognitive resources and knowing how to effectively shift users’ attention to tasks that meet their goals, we can create efficient digital products. This understanding can help users manage their cognitive load, focus on necessary information, and effectively shift their attention as necessary. This approach reduces friction and error rates, leading to more successful, satisfying digital experiences. Task proficiency lessens the strain on the user’s limited cognitive resources. Making the transition to effortless execution leads to automatic processing, which is the ability to perform familiar tasks with little conscious effort, freeing up cognitive resources for other tasks.

Automatic Processing

Automatic processing is a form of mental processing that requires less conscious effort. Tasks become automatic, and as they become more familiar and routine, we can perform them without deliberate thought. When we first learn to drive a car, we must consciously think about every action that we take. Thus, a novice driver must pay close attention to steering, accelerating the vehicle, checking the mirrors, and understanding road signals. Each activity demands cognitive effort and focus, and managing all of them simultaneously can be overwhelming. But as drivers practice and become intermediate to expert drivers, the whole process of driving becomes automatic. We don’t even realize that we’re performing these sequences of action. Checking mirrors, adjusting our speed, and navigating traffic become so automatic that there is little or no cognitive load in switching between these steps. When basic activities and tasks become automatic, our brain can dedicate its remaining capacity to other activities such as planning our day or listening to music.

Automatic processing allows us to accomplish our tasks with minimal mental effort, while still influencing how we gather and store data. The seamless process of integrating new information into our memory as called automatic encoding. Automatic processing focuses on task execution, while automatic encoding is all about effortlessly storing information in our memory.

Automatic Encoding

Automatic encoding is the mental process through which we store information in our memory without conscious effort. There are several ways to determine whether a person is encoding information automatically.

• a lack of conscious awareness—People can perform a process or skill below the threshold of conscious perception. Consider the example of an experienced guitarist who can play familiar pieces without consciously thinking about the finger placements for individual notes.
• no interference with other mental activities—Automatic encoding processes do not compete with other tasks or thought processes for cognitive resources. Watching a movie with subtitles is a great example of this. We can effortlessly follow the dialogue of the characters and read the subtitles simultaneously. Our brain processes spoken words and written text without each interfering with the other. The seamless integration of visual and auditory inputs occurs without requiring additional cognitive effort.
• occurring without intention—Tasks happen without deliberate thought or intention. For example, we usually drive the same route to our workplace or school daily. However, on another day, when we intend to go somewhere else but begin by taking the same route, we might unintentionally take the exit or path toward our workplace or school. This happens because a frequent task that follows a pattern has become ingrained and automatic. Thus, while automatic processing and encoding are often beneficial, they sometimes lead to mistakes.

The human brain can process and store information by effectively utilizing limited mental capacity with the help of automatic encoding. This makes people’s lives easier by enabling them to navigate complex environments and tasks with ease. By gaining an understanding of how automatic processing and encoding work, UX designers can make informed design decisions and create engaging user experiences.

Conclusion

In cognitive psychology, attention theories are not just theoretical concepts. When we implement them correctly, we can effectively change the way users interact with digital applications. Knowing how people’s attention works enables UX designers to anticipate what users want, removes friction, and creates experiences that are more engaging for users. Designing digital user interfaces that align with people’s natural cognitive processes becomes possible only when we know how to direct and retain human attention. We live in a world in which people are constantly bombarded with abundant information. The ability to create digital products that can effectively capture user’s attention distinguishes better UX designers.