Attention

The ability to selectively focus on certain aspects of the environment while ignoring others.

What is attention?

Quote: "Attention is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli."

How did William James define attention?

Quote: "Attention is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought."

How has attention been described in terms of cognitive processing resources?

Quote: "Attention is manifested by an attentional bottleneck, in terms of the amount of data the brain can process each second... leading to inattentional blindness."

What fields of study investigate attention?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within education, psychology, neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology."

What are some active areas of investigation within the study of attention?

Quote: "Determining the source of the sensory cues and signals that generate attention, the effects of these sensory cues and signals on the tuning properties of sensory neurons, and the relationship between attention and other behavioral and cognitive processes."

What is one area of research exploring the effects of attention?

Quote: "Research investigating the diagnostic symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury and its effects on attention."

How does attention vary across cultures?

Quote: "Attention also varies across cultures."

Why is the relationship between attention and consciousness complex?

Quote: "The relationships between attention and consciousness are complex enough that they have warranted perennial philosophical exploration."

What fields can be impacted by the understanding of attention and consciousness?

Quote: "Effects in fields ranging from mental health and the study of disorders of consciousness to artificial intelligence and its domains of research."

How does attention relate to working memory?

Quote: "The relationship between attention and other behavioral and cognitive processes, which may include working memory."

What is the role of attention in psychology?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within psychology."

How does attention play a role in neuroscience?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within neuroscience and cognitive neuroscience."

How is attention related to vigilance?

Quote: "The relationship between attention and other behavioral and cognitive processes, which may include...psychological vigilance."

What is the capacity of the brain's visual input data?

Quote: "In human vision, only less than 1% of the visual input data...can enter the bottleneck, leading to inattentional blindness."

How does attention relate to education?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within education."

What is the essence of attention?

Quote: "Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence."

How does attention relate to the field of neuropsychology?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation within neuropsychology."

What is a relatively new area of research related to attention?

Quote: "A relatively new body of research, which expands upon earlier research within psychopathology, is investigating the diagnostic symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury and its effects on attention."

How has attention been described in relation to cognitive processing?

Quote: "Attention has also been described as the allocation of limited cognitive processing resources."

Why is attention a significant topic of investigation?

Quote: "Attention remains a crucial area of investigation."