Project description
Neurocomputational model to limit digital distractions
Receiving new messages and social media notifications does a lot more than just interrupt us – it distracts. Digital distractions also include endless scrolling on social media feeds. The question now is how people can control this behaviour. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ARCADE project aims to develop a neurocomputational model of attentional capture and task reconnection, integrating rewards, task-switching costs and cognitive control. Using an experimental task with eye tracking and pupillometry, ARCADE will seek to improve predictions of task re-engagement time. The project is designed to enhance our understanding of attention and decision-making, inform policies for healthier digital environments and help design systems that limit productivity losses from distractions.
Objective
Even as you read this sentence, chances are you have already been interrupted twice - from social media, a newsfeed, or your operating system insisting that an update is needed. This highlights the problem: our digital world is designed to distract us, to capture our attention. Intuitively, we can understand that distractions have costs; but we don’t have a clear picture of why we get stuck scrolling and how we can break free from the hold of the algorithms. Part of the problem is that existing models ignore the important roles played by motivation and mental effort.
This project, ARCADE, will address this pressing issue by delivering a neuro-computational model of attentional capture and task reconnection. It will be the first model of its kind to integrate multidimensional reward (the value of task progress vs new information) with task switching cost and effortful cognitive control. During the project I will build the model and validate it with a novel experimental task that contains realistic distraction, and uses eyetracking with pupillometry.
ARCADE will achieve two key goals: 1) A predictive neuro-computational model that accounts for task re-engagement time with >15% accuracy than current approaches. 2) A powerful simulation tool that can be used to explain the consequences of attention capture on productivity, and increase understanding of the cognitive mechanisms that are involved.
The impact of the project is significant. Scientifically I will contribute to the understanding of how attention and decision making interact during task selection. Societally, my findings will inform policies for healthier digital environments and align with UN SDG 3 (Good Health & Well-being). Economically, the project will ultimately contribute by guiding design of digital environments that can curb productivity losses to digital distractions.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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75006 PARIS
France
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