Attentional Resource Theory

Attentional Resource Theory suggests that our brain has a limited amount of mental energy, or attention, that can be divided among tasks. When we focus on multiple activities simultaneously, this shared "mental pool" gets used up more quickly, leading to decreased performance or increased mistakes. It’s like having a finite budget of attention; if one task demands more focus, less remains for others. This theory helps explain why multitasking can impair efficiency and why focusing on one thing at a time often yields better results.