Distraction Condition Research Articles

C1-ring оsteosynthesis as a functionally preserving operation for unstable atlas fractures

Objective. To analyze the dynamics of pain syndrome, quality of life and functional status of patients with unstable atlas fractures after C1-ring osteosynthesis.Material and Methods. Study design: observational retrospective case series study (n = 15). The intensity of pain syndrome was assessed using the VAS scale before surgery, 3 days, and 3 and 6 months after surgery. The quality of life was assessed using the Neck Disability Index (NDI) before surgery, and 3 and 6 months after surgery. Functional status, as well as cervical spine range of motion (head turn left/right, flexion/extension) was assessed 3 and 6 months after surgery. The integrity of the atlas bone ring and the degree of fusion after fixation were assessed using axial CT scans; and the lateral mass separation was assessed using frontal CT scans. The criterion for transverse ligament injury was a separation of lateral masses of more than 8.1 mm. Results. All patients had C1 fractures type 3B according to Gehweiler, out of them 7 patients (46.7 %) had traumatic injury to the atlas transverse ligament according to Dickman type 1, and 8 patients (53.3 according to Dickman type 2. The average age of patients was 40 years (12; 71), the male/female ratio was 2/1. In 7 patients (46.7 %), the cause of injury was diving, in 6 (40.0 %) it was a traffic accident, and in 2 (13.3 %) – a fall from a standing height. Observation of patients revealed a positive dynamics in the form of statistically significant regression of pain according to VAS before and 6 months after surgery from 6.8 (6.0; 8.0) to 1.0 (1.0; 0.0) points (Z = -3.434; p = 0.001). A positive trend was also noted in the form of a decrease in NDI scores and an improvement in the quality of life after 3 (Z = -3.411; p = 0.001) and 6 months after surgery (Z = -3.410; p = 0.001). The range of motion (turn left/right, flexion/extension) increased statistically significantly by the 6th month after C1-ring osteosynthesis, and its indicators were close to physiological ones. Postoperative CT scans showed positive dynamics in the form of statistically significant regression of the lateral mass separation from 10.4 mm (8.9; 11.4) to 2.2 mm (1.8; 2.6); Z = -3.408; p = 0.001. Complete fusion of the atlas fracture was observed after 12.5 months (8.5; 16.5).Conclusion. Isolated posterior osteosynthesis of the atlas ring for Gehweiler type 3B injury using a repositioning compression maneuver under distraction conditions is physiologically justified. It is a reliable method of stabilization, ensures the restoration of congruence and the entire range of motion in the atlanto-occipital and atlantoaxial joints and stability of the occipital-atlantoaxial complex. This operation contributes to a considerable and long-term reduction in the intensity of pain syndrome and a significant improvement in the quality of life.

Putting self at stake by telling a story: Storyteller's narcissistic traits modulate physiological emotional reactions to recipient's disengagement.

Telling a story to a disengaged recipient induces stress and threatens positive self-image. In this study, we investigated whether storytellers with overly positive and fragile self-images (e.g., individuals with grandiose and vulnerable narcissism) would show heightened behavioral, emotional, and psychophysiological reactivity to recipient disengagement.Building on Bavelas, Coates, and Johnson [1] we conducted a conversational experiment instructing the participants to tell about a "close call" experience to a previously unknown co-participant. We modified the co-participant's level of interactional engagement by asking them either to listen to the story carefully or to simultaneously carry out a counting task that distracted them from the content of the story. We found that the distraction condition was unrelated to the storytellers' narration performance, but a significant positive association was found between the story-recipients' observed lack of affiliation and the tellers' narration performance. The distraction of recipients was also associated with increased self-reported arousal in the tellers, indicating disengagement-induced stress in the tellers. Moreover, tellers higher in grandiose narcissism reacted with higher skin conductance response to disengagement, and vulnerable narcissism was associated with higher heart rate during narration in general. Our experiment thus showed that grandiose narcissists are emotionally sensitive to their co-participants' disengagement.

Beyond Distracted Eating: Cognitive Distraction Downregulates Odor Pleasantness and Interacts with Weight Status.

Considering the widespread issue of distracted eating, our study investigates how cognitive distraction influences the sensory perception of food-related odors among individuals with varying weight statuses. We conducted an exploratory, randomized, and cross-sectional experimental study, using the Tetris game to simulate real-life cognitive distraction, incorporating two distraction levels (low and high) and presenting five distinct odors. A total of 59 participants, categorized into a lean (n = 30) and overweight/obese group (n = 29) based on their body mass index (BMI), received odor stimuli while playing Tetris at low and high difficulty, corresponding to low and high distraction levels, respectively. Participants subsequently rated odor intensity and pleasantness under the two cognitive distraction conditions. Respiratory movements were monitored to ensure accurate olfactory stimulation. Our findings revealed no significant difference in odor intensity ratings across distraction levels (p = 0.903). However, there was a significant reduction in odor pleasantness under high cognitive distraction (p = 0.007), more pronounced in lean participants compared to those with an overweight status (p = 0.035). Additionally, an interaction between gender and cognitive distraction effects was observed in odor pleasantness perception. The differential effects of distraction across weight-status groups and genders are discussed in the context of hedonic motivation and compensatory mechanisms. This study sheds light onto the sensory mechanisms underlying distracted eating and could inform more personalized strategies for promoting healthier eating habits in a world dominated by distractions.

Under pressure: Effects of distraction and reappraisal on adolescents' psychophysiological stress responses

Although cognitive reappraisal and distraction are generally both beneficial to down-regulate negative affect, it remains unknown whether one may be more effective in helping adolescents handle stressful situations. Therefore, this study compared the effects of both strategies on adolescent's psychophysiological stress responses. Belgian adolescents (N = 82, Mage = 13.99 years, SDage = 0.62; 38% males) received a 100-min training on cognitive reappraisal or distraction to ensure adolescents could use the strategies when instructed; subsequently they were exposed to a standardized interpersonal stressor after which they were instructed to use the learned technique. As compared to participants in the cognitive reappraisal condition, participants in the distraction condition reported larger increases in positive affect during the initial minutes of stress recovery. However, no clear differences emerged when examining negative affect and respiratory sinus arrythmia recovery. These findings provide new insights into the effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal and distraction in adolescents.

Sensitivity to and Control of Distraction: Distractor-Entrained Oscillation and Frontoparietal EEG Gamma Synchronization.

While recent advancements have been made towards a better understanding of the involvement of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the context of cognitive control, the exact mechanism is still not fully understood. Successful behavior requires the correct detection of goal-relevant cues and resisting irrelevant distractions. Frontal parietal networks have been implicated as important for maintaining cognitive control in the face of distraction. The present study investigated the role of gamma-band power in distraction resistance and frontoparietal networks, as its increase is linked to cholinergic activity. We examined changes in gamma activity and their relationship to frontoparietal top-down modulation for distractor challenges and to bottom-up distractor processing. Healthy young adults were tested using a modified version of the distractor condition sustained attention task (dSAT) while wearing an EEG. The modified distractor was designed so that oscillatory activities could be entrained to it, and the strength of entrainment was used to assess the degree of distraction. Increased top-down control during the distractor challenge increased gamma power in the left parietal regions rather than the right prefrontal regions predicted from rodent studies. Specifically, left parietal gamma power increased in response to distraction where the amount of this increase was negatively correlated with the neural activity reflecting bottom-up distractor processing in the visual area. Variability in gamma power in right prefrontal regions was associated with increased response time variability during distraction. This may suggest that the right prefrontal region may contribute to the signaling needed for top-down control rather than its implementation.

‘Are you even listening?’ - EEG-based decoding of absolute auditory attention to natural speech

Objective. In this study, we use electroencephalography (EEG) recordings to determine whether a subject is actively listening to a presented speech stimulus. More precisely, we aim to discriminate between an active listening condition, and a distractor condition where subjects focus on an unrelated distractor task while being exposed to a speech stimulus. We refer to this task as absolute auditory attention decoding. Approach. We re-use an existing EEG dataset where the subjects watch a silent movie as a distractor condition, and introduce a new dataset with two distractor conditions (silently reading a text and performing arithmetic exercises). We focus on two EEG features, namely neural envelope tracking (NET) and spectral entropy (SE). Additionally, we investigate whether the detection of such an active listening condition can be combined with a selective auditory attention decoding (sAAD) task, where the goal is to decide to which of multiple competing speakers the subject is attending. The latter is a key task in so-called neuro-steered hearing devices that aim to suppress unattended audio, while preserving the attended speaker. Main results. Contrary to a previous hypothesis of higher SE being related with actively listening rather than passively listening (without any distractors), we find significantly lower SE in the active listening condition compared to the distractor conditions. Nevertheless, the NET is consistently significantly higher when actively listening. Similarly, we show that the accuracy of a sAAD task improves when evaluating the accuracy only on the highest NET segments. However, the reverse is observed when evaluating the accuracy only on the lowest SE segments. Significance. We conclude that the NET is more reliable for decoding absolute auditory attention as it is consistently higher when actively listening, whereas the relation of the SE between actively and passively listening seems to depend on the nature of the distractor.

The differential impact of face distractors on visual working memory across encoding and delay stages

External distractions often occur when information must be retained in visual working memory (VWM)—a crucial element in cognitive processing and everyday activities. However, the distraction effects can differ if they occur during the encoding rather than the delay stages. Previous research on these effects used simple stimuli (e.g., color and orientation) rather than considering distractions caused by real-world stimuli on VWM. In the present study, participants performed a facial VWM task under different distraction conditions across the encoding and delay stages to elucidate the mechanisms of distraction resistance in the context of complex real-world stimuli. VWM performance was significantly impaired by delay-stage but not encoding-stage distractors (Experiment 1). In addition, the delay distraction effect arose primarily due to the absence of distractor process at the encoding stage rather than the presence of a distractor during the delay stage (Experiment 2). Finally, the impairment in the delay-distraction condition was not due to the abrupt appearance of distractors (Experiment 3). Taken together, these findings indicate that the processing mechanisms previously established for resisting distractions in VWM using simple stimuli can be extended to more complex real-world stimuli, such as faces.

Threat of shock increases distractor susceptibility during the short-term maintenance of visual information.

Elevated arousal in anxiety is thought to affect attention control. To test this, we designed a visual short-term memory (VSTM) task to examine distractor suppression during periods of threat and no-threat. We hypothesized that threat would impair performance when subjects had to filter out large numbers of distractors. The VSTM task required subjects to attend to one array of squares while ignoring a separate array. The number of target and distractor squares varied systematically, with high (four squares) and low (two squares) target and distractor conditions. This study comprised two separate experiments. Experiment 1 used startle responses and white noise as to directly measure threat-induced anxiety. Experiment 2 used BOLD to measure brain responses. For Experiment 1, subjects showed significantly larger startle responses during threat compared to safe period, supporting the validity of the threat manipulation. For Experiment 2, we found that accuracy was affected by threat, such that the distractor load negatively impacted accuracy only in the threat condition. We also found threat-related differences in parietal cortex activity. Overall, these findings suggest that threat affects distractor susceptibility, impairing filtering of distracting information. This effect is possibly mediated by hyperarousal of parietal cortex during threat.

Effects of digital and non-digital parental distraction on parent-child interaction and communication

Technoference, namely parental screen use in the presence of a child, is a widespread phenomenon that has negative effects on parent-child interaction and communication. When parents use screens around their children there are fewer interactions and parents are less contingent and responsive to the child. Additionally, children show more negative behaviors, such as whining, frustration, and outbursts. Communication is also affected—parents speak and gesture less towards their children and, in turn, children are less likely to develop their language abilities. It remains unclear, however, if parental distraction due to screen use affects parent-child interaction and communication more negatively compared to non-digital parental distraction. Fifty-two parent-child dyads (mean child age = 22 months, range 12–36 months) first played for 5 min (Time 1); then (Time 2), the parent was asked to fill out a questionnaire on a tablet (screen condition), on a printed form (paper-pen condition) or was not interrupted (control condition). Interactive quality was assessed at Time 1 and Time 2 using the Coding Interactive Behavior scale. Communication was assessed by coding the number of word tokens and types during Time 1 and Time 2; child gestures were also coded. Results revealed that when parents were distracted—either by the paper-pen or the screen questionnaire—the quality of the interaction significantly deteriorated (ps ≤ .01) and the quantity of parental communication significantly declined (ps ≤ .012). Importantly, the nature of the distraction did not matter: there were no significant differences between the paper-pen and the screen distraction conditions across Time 2 (ps ≥ .59). Findings suggest that parental distraction matters for the quality of interaction and the amount of communicative bids, independently on whether parents were distracted by a digital or non-digital activity. These findings likely relate to complex factors related to young children's experiences and habits with parental screen use.

Augmented Recognition of Distracted Driving State Based on Electrophysiological Analysis of Brain Network.

In this study, we propose an electrophysiological analysis-based brain network method for the augmented recognition of different types of distractions during driving. Driver distractions, such as cognitive processing and visual disruptions during driving, lead to distinct alterations in the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and the extracted brain networks. We designed and conducted a simulated experiment comprising 4 distracted driving subtasks. Three connectivity indices, including both linear and nonlinear synchronization measures, were chosen to construct the brain network. By computing connectivity strengths and topological features, we explored the potential relationship between brain network configurations and states of driver distraction. Statistical analysis of network features indicates substantial differences between normal and distracted states, suggesting a reconfiguration of the brain network under distracted conditions. Different brain network features and their combinations are fed into varied machine learning classifiers to recognize the distracted driving states. The results indicate that XGBoost demonstrates superior adaptability, outperforming other classifiers across all selected network features. For individual networks, features constructed using synchronization likelihood (SL) achieved the highest accuracy in distinguishing between cognitive and visual distraction. The optimal feature set from 3 network combinations achieves an accuracy of 95.1% for binary classification and 88.3% for ternary classification of normal, cognitively distracted, and visually distracted driving states. The proposed method could accomplish the augmented recognition of distracted driving states and may serve as a valuable tool for further optimizing driver assistance systems with distraction control strategies, as well as a reference for future research on the brain-computer interface in autonomous driving.

Effects of mobile phone-related distraction on driving performance at roundabouts: Eye movements tracking perspective

Modern road infrastructures are complex networks featuring various elements such as roads, bridges, intersections, and roundabouts, with advanced control systems. Roundabouts have gained prominence as a safer alternative to traditional intersections promoting smoother traffic flow and fewer collisions by guiding traffic in one direction, encouraging reduced speed, and minimizing conflict points.This study investigated driver behavior within roundabouts, focusing on gaze behavior, particularly the left-side mirror and window, under mobile phone distraction conditions. In addition, the effects of roundabout specifications (i.e., number of lanes and size of the central island) and the drivers’ characteristics (i.e., driving experience) were examined.In total, 43 participants, aged 19–56 years including 30 males and 13 females, held a valid driving license, drove through a virtual simulated urban road containing four roundabouts, implemented in a static driving simulator, under baseline condition (no distraction) as well as mobile-induced distraction. Driving simulator data were collected and drivers’ gaze direction and fixation on nine areas of interest were captured with an eye tracker. Resultsshowed that experienced drivers exhibit a more fixation on the left-side mirror and window and were less distracted. Moreover, the road environment, i.e., the number of cars and the roundabout size, significantly influenced the drivers’ attention. As regards the driving performance, the number of infractions increased when the drivers diverted focus from the left side of the car. The outcomes of the present study might help to improve traffic safety at roundabouts.

Suppression on the basis of template for rejection is reactive: Evidence from human electrophysiology.

According to most theories of attention, the selection of task-relevant visual information can be enhanced by holding them in visual working memory (VWM). However, there has been a long-standing debate concerning whether similar optimization can also be achieved for task-irrelevant information, known as a "template for rejection". The present study aimed to explore this issue by examining the consequence of cue distractors before visual search tasks. For this endeavor, we manipulated the display heterogeneity by using two distractor conditions, salient and non-salient, to explore the extent to which holding the distractor color in VWM might affect attentional selection. We measured the reaction times of participants while their EEG activity was recorded. The results showed that WM-matched distractors did not improve reaction times but rather slowed them down in both tasks. Event-related potential (ERP) results showed that the display heterogeneity had no modulatory effect on the degree of distractor suppression. Even in the salient distractor condition, the WM-matched distractor received no greater suppression. Furthermore, the WM-matched distractor but not the neutral distractor elicited an N2pc before the PD in salient distractor conditions. This suggests that the template for rejection operates reactively since suppression occurs after extra attentional processes to the distractor. Moreover, the presence of WM-matched distractors led to a reduction of P3b, indicating a competition between target processing and WM-matched distractor rejection. Our findings provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the optimization of attentional selection, and have implications for future studies aimed at understanding the role of VWM in cognition.

The distracting effect of mobile phones on visual attention in consumer decision-making: a gaze behavior perspective

ABSTRACT Visual attention as a highly complex system is considered a scarce source. This study investigates the distraction effect (specifically, mobile phone usage unrelated to purchasing decisions) on visual attention during consumers’ decision-making processes of the Mobile native generation. An eye-tracking experiment utilizing 2-AFC tasks was used for the product choice procedure. The findings revealed no significant differences in gaze behavior in distracting and non-distracting conditions. Interestingly, the results indicate the significant effect of consumer distraction on the relationship between visual attention and product preference. A stronger tendency for a value-based gaze and attentional bias effect under distraction conditions was evidenced. The results of this research highlight the importance of further developing theories of attention in consumer decision-making in terms of the need to re-evaluate the effects of factors on visual attention in distraction-rich environments, particularly regarding mobile technology.

Use of Bio-integrative Screws for Fixation of Lisfranc Instability; Pros and Cons from Surgeons' Point of View in a Cadaver Study.

Majority of Lisfranc fracture-dislocations require anatomic reduction and rigid internal fixation to prevent debilitating sequelae. Current methods include solid screws and flexible fixations which have been in use for many years. Biointegrative screw is a newer option that has not yet been thoroughly investigated for its effectiveness for Lisfranc injuries. The ligaments of the Lisfranc complex were resected in eight lower-leg cadaveric specimens. This was done by eight foot and ankle surgeons individually. Distraction forces were applied from opposite sides at the joint to replicate weight bearing conditions. Three methods of fixation - flexible fixation, metal, and biointegrative screws- were evaluated. The diastasis and area at the level of the ligament were measured at four conditions (replicated injury and each type of fixation) in neutral and distraction conditions using fluoroscopy images. The Wilcoxon test and Kruskal Wallis test were used for comparison. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The diastasis value for the transected ligament scenario (2.47 ± 0.51 mm) was greater than those after all three fixation methods without distraction (2.02 ± 0.5 for flexible fixation, 1.72 ± 0.63 mm for metal screw fixation and 1.67 ± 0.77 mm for biointegrative screw fixation). The transected ligament diastasis was also greater than that for metal screw (1.61 ± 1.31mm) and biointegrative screws (1.69 ± 0.64 mm) with distraction (p<0.001). The area at the level of the ligament showed higher values for transected ligament (32.7 ± 13.08 mm2) than the three fixatives (30.75 ± 7.42 mm2 for flexible fixation, 30.75 ± 17.13 mm2 for metal screw fixation and 29.53 ± 9.15 mm2 for biointegrative screw fixation; p<0.05). Metal screws, flexible fixation and biointegrative screws showed comparable effectiveness intra-op, in the correction of diastasis created as a consequence of Lisfranc injury.

Driven to Snack: Simulated Driving Increases Subsequent Consumption

When individuals eat while distracted, they may compensate by consuming more afterwards. Here, we examined the effect of eating while driving, and explored potential underlying mechanisms. Participants (N = 116, 73.3% female) were randomly allocated to complete a driving simulation (distraction condition) or to watch someone else drive (control condition) while consuming 10g (50.8 kcal) of potato chips. Afterwards, participants rated the taste intensity and hedonic experience, reported stress levels, and were then given the opportunity to eat more chips. As hypothesized, participants consumed more chips after the driving simulation. Stress levels were higher in the driving compared to control condition, but were inversely related to consumption amount, ruling out stress as explanatory mechanism. Saltiness ratings differed between the driving and passive viewing condition, only when controlling for stress. The current findings converge with earlier work showing that distracted eating can drive overconsumption, which in turn can lead to long-term health implications. Limitations, implications and potential directions are discussed.

The impact of rumination on fibromyalgia pain after physical activity: an experimental study

Some fibromyalgia (FM) patients engage in rumination (i.e. a chain of repetitive, passive and relatively uncontrollable thoughts focused on negative content) to cope with the pain and discomfort of daily activities. The partial model of rumination in chronic pain suggests that rumination processes may play a causal role in maintaining pain. Rumination might also be one of the key factors interfering with the reestablishment of adapted physical activity. The objective of this study was to test how rumination vs. distraction induction influence FM patients’ pain intensity, discomfort linked to pain, and affect after physical activity. Forty-seven participants with a diagnosis of FM were randomly assigned to undergo distraction induction vs. rumination induction after performing a physical activity in ecological setting. Their pain intensity, pain-related discomfort, and affect were measured at the baseline, after physical activity, and after rumination versus distraction induction. A series of mixed-design ANOVAs showed that rumination induction after physical activity impairs patients’ recovery in terms of pain intensity and discomfort, but not affect, as compared to the distraction condition. In conclusion, participants with fibromyalgia who engage in rumination following a physical activity recover less from their pain experience as compared to distraction induction. These results are consistent with the partial model of rumination in chronic pain and support the idea that rumination may play a causal role in the development and maintenance of pain.

Altered gait parameters in distracted walking: a bio-evolutionary and prognostic health perspective on passive listening and active responding during cell phone use.

The underpinnings of bipedal gait are reviewed from an evolutionary biology and prognostic health perspective to better understand issues and concerns related to cell phone use during ambulation and under conditions of distraction and interference. We also consider gait-related health issues associated with the fear of or risk of falling and include prognostic dimensions associated with cognitive decline, dementia, and mortality. Data were acquired on 21 healthy young adults without hearing loss, vestibular, balance, otological or neurological dysfunction using a computerized walkway (GAITRite® Walkway System) combined with specialized software algorithms to extract gait parameters. Four experimental conditions and seven temporo-spatial gait parameters were studied: gait velocity, cadence, stride length, ambulatory time, single-support time, double-support time, and step count. Significant main effects were observed for ambulation time, velocity, stride velocity, and double-support time. The greatest impact of distraction and interference occurred during the texting condition, although other significant effects occurred when participants were verbally responding to queries and passively listening to a story. These experimental observations show that relatively simple distraction and interference tasks implemented through the auditory sensory modality can induce significant perturbations in gait while individuals were ambulating and using a cell phone. Herein, emphasis is placed on the use of quantifiable gait parameters in medical, psychological, and audiological examinations to serve as a foundation for identifying and potentially averting gait-related disturbances.

Listeners’ effects on autobiographical memory for recent events

ABSTRACT The current study tested the effects of attentive versus distracted listening on both speakers and listeners in recall of an autobiographical memory. Participants included 128 pairs of friends who spoke with each other over a video call about recent negative experience that one of them had. Participants were randomly assigned to be speakers or listeners, and listeners were randomly assigned to an attentive and a distracted condition. Memory narratives were coded for factual and interpretive content. Participants returned approximately 4 weeks later, when both speaker and listener separately reported their memories of the prior conversation. Attentive listening was linked both to greater recall by the speaker at time 1 and greater listener recall at time 2, but not to speaker’s recall at time 2. Results show the effects of listener contributions to recall in the moment but raise questions as to whether they persist beyond the conversation in many scenarios.

Role of Visual Speech Cues (Cued Speech) in Foreign Language Learning by Hearing School-Age Children

In this study, we aimed to determine the role of visual speech cues in the process of foreign ‎language learning by hearing school-age children. Our experiments used Cued Speech, a method ‎designed for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. We expected that the principles of the ‎method might also be beneficial for people with normal hearing because they may help distinguish ‎the sounds of foreign speech that are difficult to hear. This study mainly focused on the effects ‎of speech perception. We tested 126 Polish junior high school students (66 girls and 60 boys) ‎with a normal range of phonemic hearing and language aptitude. We envisaged that foreign ‎language learners using visual speech cues would achieve a higher score on a test of foreign ‎language than learners who had studied the language in the traditional manner. We also ‎formulated a hypothesis concerning the interaction of training type and training conditions on the ‎effectiveness of foreign language learning: that the difference in the effects of foreign language ‎learning between participants who received visual or executive training and typical training would ‎be more significant in the presence of auditory distractors than in their absence. We observed ‎interactions between conditions and types of training for speech sound identification. Under ‎conditions of auditory distraction, foreign language learners using Cued Speech scored ‎significantly higher than learners who had traditional training.‎

The impact of different distractions on outdoor visual search and object memory

We investigated whether and how different types of search distractions affect visual search behavior and target memory while participants searched in a real-world environment. They searched either undistracted (control condition), listened to a podcast (auditory distraction), counted down aloud at intervals of three while searching (executive working memory load), or were forced to stop the search on half of the trials (time pressure). In line with findings from laboratory settings, participants searched longer but made fewer errors when the target was absent than when it was present, regardless of distraction condition. Furthermore, compared to the auditory distraction condition, the executive working memory load led to higher error rates (but not longer search times). In a surprise memory test after the end of the search tasks, recognition was better for previously present targets than for absent targets. Again, this was regardless of the previous distraction condition, although significantly fewer targets were remembered by the participants in the executive working memory load condition than by those in the control condition. The findings suggest that executive working memory load, but likely not auditory distraction and time pressure affected visual search performance and target memory in a real-world environment.