Multiple Goal Management Starts With Attention

Prior studies have shown that attention is allocated to events relevant to the current goal of a person. Until now, research has focused on the implementation of a single goal leaving open the question of how attention is allocated when multiple goals are activated. We examined whether the allocation of spatial attention is affected by the prioritizing of one goal over another. The results of two dot probe studies showed that attention is oriented to stimuli relevant to a goal with high value when simultaneously presented with stimuli relevant to a goal with low value (Experiment 1) and to stimuli relevant to a goal with high expectancy of success that were simultaneously presented with stimuli relevant to a goal with low expectancy of success (Experiment 2). These findings demonstrate that the allocation of spatial attention is dependent on the motivational strength of goal pursuit.