Article Covert Attention, Temperament, and Looking: A Novel Approach to Studying Attention in the Social World Raymond D. Collings and Leslie G. Eaton State University of New York College at Cortland, USA Abstract The current study examines relations between individual differences in attention measured in laboratory and real-world settings. In-laboratory computer-based assessments of orienting, phasic alertness, and executive attention as well as self- report measures of temperament and attention-related problems were administered to 111 undergraduate participants. Participants later completed a walking tour of a multistory building while wearing video recording glasses. The recordings were sub- sequently coded for orientation and capture of overt attention. Overt attention was correlated with attention-related traits only in high-demand walking conditions (stairways). Our findings suggest that individual differences should be a more impor- tant consideration in attention research. The novel methodology piloted here may be especially practical for studying overt attention in social settings. Keywords Overt attention, covert attention, temperament, executive function, social contexts Corresponding Author: Raymond D. Collings, Department of Psychology, SUNY Cortland, PO Box 2000, Cortland, NY 13045, USA. Email: collingsr@cortland.edu Psychological Reports 0(0) 1–22 ! The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0033294118799734 journals.sagepub.com/home/prx