Divided attention is characterized by which of the following?

Divided attention refers to the ability to process multiple pieces of information or perform more than one task at the same time. When someone engages in divided attention, they are effectively managing their cognitive resources to handle two or more tasks concurrently, often resulting in a decreased performance on tasks compared to when attention is focused on a single activity.

In the context of the question, the option representing divided attention highlights the simultaneous performance of tasks, which may sometimes involve multitasking or juggling different streams of information. This is different from merely shifting focus, maintaining attention on just one task, or ignoring distractions, as those actions pertain more to selective attention or focused attention rather than the broad capacity involved in divided attention.