Attention

Abstract Attention is a selection process in information processing that prevents a system of limited resources from being overloaded. Besides selectivity, other characteristics commonly attributed to attention are improving the processing of objects that are the focus of attention and promoting the access of these objects to awareness. While it may be said that these characteristics are central to the concept of attention, it is important to emphasize that attention is controversial and difficult to define, with several metaphors having been proposed to characterize it and different features added to the concept depending on the metaphor used. For example, visual attention is often characterized as a kind of spotlight, used to “illuminate” the visual field. In this metaphor, control mechanisms (executive processes) are responsible for shifting attention between visual field areas, and objects that fall in the center of the “beam” are the focus of attention and are more highly processed than objects on the periphery. Therefore, this kind of metaphor adds control mechanisms and the idea of dislocation to the concept of attention. It is also common to distinguish between attention driven by exogenous factors, such as stimulus characteristics (e.g., an abrupt movement that captures our attention), and that driven by endogenous factors, such as expectations and goals.