Which type of attention involves multi-tasking or doing two things at once?

• A. Sustained
• B. Focused
• C. Divided
• D. Selective

Answer: (C)

Divided attention is the ability to allocate cognitive resources to more than one task at the same time. It’s what you use when you try to listen to a podcast while drafting an email, or drive and have a conversation. Because attention is a limited resource, handling two tasks at once typically means processing multiple streams of information simultaneously, which can reduce performance on one or both tasks.

In contrast, sustained attention is about maintaining focus on a single task over time; focused attention is honing in on one specific stimulus; and selective attention is choosing one stimulus to focus on while ignoring others. So the scenario described—multi-tasking or doing two things at once—fits divided attention best.