![]() He argued that attention consists of two separate stages. One of the most influential of these was introduced in 1958 by Donald Broadbent, one of the pioneers of attention research (Eysenck & Keane, 2010). ![]() Philosophers have speculated for centuries on the nature of attention, but it was only in the latter half of the 20th century that formal models of attention were proposed. The following section will review the major information-processing theories.įigure 12.1 Schematic diagram of Broadbent’s filter theory of attention Theories of attention that are based on this idea are known as information-processing models of attention (or limited-capacity models of attention). Only some of the information gets through the bottleneck for subsequent processing. A bottleneck is a useful metaphor, as it captures the idea that people are only able to attend to a small proportion of the information available to them. It is often described as involving a bottleneck. Selective attention refers to those processes involved in the orientation towards, and the selection of, certain stimuli over others. Mechanisms underlying selective attention The second section explores issues that cut across these different theories. The first section offers the different theories that have been proposed regarding the mechanisms underlying attention. Given the broad scope of research into attention, this chapter can only provide a general outline of some of the major theories of attention, and the findings that have motivated changes to these theories. In the words of William James, one of the most influential of the early theorists of attention: ’y experience is what I agree to attend to - without selective interest, experience is an utter chaos’ (1890, p. It is impossible to imagine a world without it. Finally, imagine trying to do the same exercise while crossing a busy road.Īttention is intimately involved with many aspects of our mental life, including perception, memory and ultimately, consciousness. Not easy, is it? Now imagine that you are expected to do this for both what you can hear and what you can see, at the same time, and you should begin to appreciate how important the ability to attend selectively to certain stimuli over others is. Now, at the same time, try to listen to a second sound. Try focusing on one sound in your immediate environment, such as the ticking of a nearby clock or the singing of a bird. A simple exercise will reveal how important this ability is. How many times in the past have you been told to pay attention? Every day, you are exposed to thousands of sounds, sights and smells, and yet you are frequently expected to be able to select a few for attention while ignoring the others. She decided that in future she would wait until she stopped driving before using her cellphone. She was not able to pay attention to driving the car, watching the road and talking to her friend all at the same time. Not only was she an inexperienced driver, but she was not at all familiar with driving the car she had been given. On reflection, Melinda realised just how dangerous the situation had been. She was later told by the police that if the owner of the 4×4 had not been as quick to react by swerving at the last minute, the accident would have been a lot worse. It turned out that Melinda had driven straight through an intersection without even noticing the stop sign. She had just had time to tell her friend that she was on her way when a 4×4 came out of nowhere, swerved and drove into the front of her car. In fact, she was so excited that she decided to phone her best friend while still on the road. Melinda could hardly wait to take it for a drive and show it off to her friends. ![]() The car was supposed to be one of the safest on the road, and included a hands-free cellphone kit. Melinda had recently received her driver’s licence, and as a reward her parents bought her a small car.
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