Paper Type
Short
Paper Number
PACIS2026-1895
Description
Individuals are increasingly exposed to digital distractions with potential negative consequences. While blocking interventions can be mitigators, little is known about how different blocking modes and distractors influence attentional mechanisms and task performance. Drawing on the process model of self-control, we examine how self-deployed and other-deployed blocking affect attentional mechanisms and task outcomes under digital distraction. We conducted a laboratory experiment with eye-tracking to capture real-time attentional dynamics during a reading comprehension task. Participants were assigned to four conditions: no distraction, distraction without intervention, distraction with self-deployed blocking, and distraction with other-deployed blocking. Results show that digital distractions reduce task attentional engagement, while blocking interventions reduce attentional engagement with distractors. Self-deployed blocking leads to lower attentional capture and dwelling on distractions compared to other-deployed conditions. The findings advance our understanding of digital distractions by revealing underlying attentional mechanisms and highlighting the importance of user autonomy in designing attention management interventions.
Recommended Citation
Yadav, Pratyush; Ding, Yong; Tong, Yu; and Kankanhalli, Atreyi, "Attention Under Digital Distraction: An Eye-Tracking Study on the Effectiveness of Blocking Interventions" (2026). PACIS 2026 Proceedings. 11.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/pacis2026/hci_robotic/hci_robotic/11
Attention Under Digital Distraction: An Eye-Tracking Study on the Effectiveness of Blocking Interventions
Individuals are increasingly exposed to digital distractions with potential negative consequences. While blocking interventions can be mitigators, little is known about how different blocking modes and distractors influence attentional mechanisms and task performance. Drawing on the process model of self-control, we examine how self-deployed and other-deployed blocking affect attentional mechanisms and task outcomes under digital distraction. We conducted a laboratory experiment with eye-tracking to capture real-time attentional dynamics during a reading comprehension task. Participants were assigned to four conditions: no distraction, distraction without intervention, distraction with self-deployed blocking, and distraction with other-deployed blocking. Results show that digital distractions reduce task attentional engagement, while blocking interventions reduce attentional engagement with distractors. Self-deployed blocking leads to lower attentional capture and dwelling on distractions compared to other-deployed conditions. The findings advance our understanding of digital distractions by revealing underlying attentional mechanisms and highlighting the importance of user autonomy in designing attention management interventions.
Comments
12-HCI