Measuring individual differences in internal versus external attention: The attentional style questionnaire

Attentional capacity can vary amongst individuals, along several dimensions. Currently available questionnaires confound distinct dimensions of attention, such as top-down versus bottom-up attentional processes, and the orientation of these processes towards internal versus external objects of attention. This study proposes a novel questionnaire that measures the attentional style of an individual by taking into account both the type and orientation of attention. The structure of the questionnaire was first explored in an exploratory factor analysis, which yielded two factors representing externally and internally oriented attention. This factor structure was validated in a second study using confirmatory factor analysis, and its construct was validated in a third study using attention-related questionnaires. This study proposes a new questionnaire allowing to characterize an individual's attentional style according to top-down/bottom-up and internal/external dimensions of attention, and provides further insights into the subdivisions of functionally relevant attentional dimensions.