Auditory distraction: A duplex-mechanism account

Abstract

A body of laboratory work is reviewed suggesting that auditory distraction comes in two functionally distinct forms. Interference-by-process is produced when the involuntary processing of the sound competes with a similar process applied deliberately to perform a focal task. In contrast, attentional capture is produced when the sound causes a disengagement of attention away from the prevailing task, regardless of the task processes involved. Particular attention is devoted to reviewing a range of converging evidence from both experimental and individual- and group-differences-based research, indicating that auditory attentional capture is controllable via greater top-down task engagement whereas interference-by-process is not.