Distracted Workers of the World, Unite!

In a development sure to scare everyone whose workday is leavened by brief breaks to watch otters cuddle or Manny Ramirez snuggle, a British psychologist has developed a test that could help employers measure our capacity for distraction.

61 subjects took a short computerised test during which letters, acting as distractions, flashed up on screen. The test involves finding the odd-one-out in a circular display of letters. For example, subjects had to find the letter X amongst similar letters such as H, M, K and Z; or, in the easier task, a letter X or N among Os. At the same time, letters were flashed on-screen outside the circle of letters to distract the participant from their task. Subjects were asked to ignore the distracter letters and focus on the odd-one-out in the circle of letters. They had to rapidly press the relevant key on a keyboard when they located the odd-one-out. This measures reaction times and the effects of distracters on performance.

Okay, so my analogy doesn't quite work. I've just been looking for an excuse to link to those videos.
But this sort of test could be quite valuable when scanning would-be pilots or bus drivers -- after all, who's going to admit to being easily distracted?

The researchers also observed a phenomenon that employers would do well to note: people are easily distracted when their minds aren't occupied.
Give them something interesting and engaging to do, and they pay attention.

UCL scientist develops a measure of distraction [Press Release]