The impact of time pressure on selective attention—the role of attention span

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms by which long-term and short-term time pressure affects individual selective attention (including both object-based and spatial attention), as well as the potential role of attention span in these processes. In Experiment 1a, the Time Affordance Scale was used to measure an individual’s level of long-term time pressure. Selective attention was measured using the dual-bounding paradigm. No significant effects of long-term time pressure on object-based or spatial attention were found. In Experiment 1b, time constraints and behavioral feedback were introduced into the dual-bounding paradigm to manipulate short-term time pressure. It was found that short-term time pressure significantly reduced the object-based advantage effect, but had no effect on spatial attention.