Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T15:22:58.315Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Attention: Awareness and Control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2019

By
Michael I. Posner
Edited by
Robert J. Sternberg  and
Wade E. Pickren
Robert J. Sternberg
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
Wade E. Pickren
Affiliation:
Ithaca College, New York
Get access

Summary

Methods to control the mind go back 2,500 years, but our understanding of the brain networks used for such control has developed only in the last 30 thirty years. This chapter reviews the behavioral and cognitive tasks developed within psychology that lie behind these advances. Studies of switching, cueing attention, and resolving conflict have illuminated the mechanisms of attention. The chapter also discusses general methods in psychology which that have influenced theories of attention such as: behaviorism, introspection, information processing, and cognitive science. Attention has been applied to understanding development, consciousness, and aspects of pathology. Tthis chapter also considers these applications of the study of attention.

Keywords

alertnessawarenessattention networksdevelopmentexecutive networkorienting networkpathologyself-control
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of the Intellectual History of Psychology , pp. 111 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, K. C. S., & Vogel, E. K. (2017). Confident failures: Lapses of working memory reveal a metacognitive blind spot. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 79 , 1506–1523.Google Scholar
Anderson, C. H., Van Essen, D. C., & Olshausen, D. (2005). Directed visual attention and the dynamic control of information flow. In Itti, L., Rees, G., & Tsotsos, J. (Eds.). Neurobiology of Attention (pp. 11–17). San Diego: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Attneave, F. (1959). Applications of Information Theory to Psychology. New York: Holt.Google Scholar
Benes, F. M. (1999). Model generation and testing to probe neural circuitry in the cingulate cortex of postmortem schizophrenic brains. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 24, 219–229.Google Scholar
Berger, A., Tzur, G., & Posner, M. I. (2006). Infant babies detect arithmetic error. PNAS, 103, 12649–12653.Google Scholar
Bills, A. G. (1931). Blocking: A new principal of mental fatigue. American Journal of Psychology, 43, 230–245.Google Scholar
Blair, R. J. R. (2004). The role of orbital frontal cortex in modulation of antisocial behavior. Brain and Cognition, 55, 198–208.Google Scholar
Broadbent, D. E. (1958). Perception and Communication. London: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Burtt, E. A. (1932). Metaphysical Foundations of Modern Science. New York: Doubleday Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Bush, G., Luu, P., & Posner, M. I. (2000). Cognitive and emotional influences in the anterior cingulate cortex. Trends in Cognitive Science, 4, 215–222.Google Scholar
Christoff, K., Gordon, A. M., Smallwood, J., Smith, R., & Schooler, J. W. (2009). Experience sampling during fMRI reveals default network and executive system contributions to mind wandering. PNAS, 106, 8719–8724.Google Scholar
Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3, 201–215.Google Scholar
Coull, J. T., Frith, C. D., Buchel, C., Nobre, A. C. (2000). Orienting attention in time: Behavioural and neuroanatomical distinction between exogenous and endogenous shifts. Neuropsychologia, 38, 808–819.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dehaene, S (2014). Consciousness and the Brain. New York: Viking.Google Scholar
Dehaene, S., & Cohen, L. (1994). Dissociable mechanisms of subitizing and counting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 20, 958–975.Google Scholar
Descartes, J. (1649/1989). The Passions of the Soul. Translated by Voss, S. H.. Indianapolis: Hackett.Google Scholar
Desimone, R., & Duncan, J. (1995). Neural mechanisms of selective visual attention. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 18, 193–222.Google Scholar
Donders, F. C. (1868/1969). On the speed of mental processes. Acta Psychologica, 30, 412–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dosenbach, N. U. F., Fair, D. A., Miezin, F. M., Cohen, A. L., Wenger, K. K., Dosenbach, R. A. T., Fox, M. D. et al. (2007). Distinct brain networks for adaptive and stable task control in humans. PNAS, 104, 11073–11078.Google Scholar
Early, T. S., Posner, M. I., Reiman, E. M., & Raichle, M. E. (1989). Hyperactivity of the left stiato-pallidal projection, Part I: Lower level theory. Psychiatric Developments, 2, 85–108.Google Scholar
Eimas, P. D., Siqueland, E. R., Jusczyk, P. W., Vigorito, J. (1971). Speech perception in infants. Science, 171, 303–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ericsson, K. A., & Chase, W. G (1982). Exceptional memory. American Scientist, 6, 607–612.Google Scholar
Fair, D. A., Cohen, A. L., Power, J. D., Dosenbach, N. U. F., Church, J. A., Miezin, F. M., Schlaggar, B. L., & Petersen, S. E. (2009). Functional brain networks develop from a “local to distributed” organization. PLoS Computational Biology, 5, 1–13.Google Scholar
Fan, J., McCandliss, B. D., Fossella, J., Flombaum, J. I., & Posner, M. I. (2005). The activation of attentional networks. Neuroimage, 26, 471–479.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fan, J., McCandliss, B. D., Sommer, T., Raz, M., & Posner, M. I. (2002). Testing the efficiency and independence of attentional networks. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 14, 340–347.Google Scholar
Fantz, R. L. (1956). A method for studying early visual development. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 6, 13–15.Google Scholar
Farooqui, A. A., Mitchell, D. M., Thompson, R., & Duncan, J. (2012). Hierarchical organization of cognition reflected in distributed fronto-parietal activity. Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 17373–17381.Google Scholar
Feng, G-F., & English, J. (Trans.) (1972). Tao Te Ching (Way of Life). By Lao-Tzu. New York: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Haith, M. M. (1998). Who put the cog in infant cognition? Is rich interpretaton too costly. Infant Behavior and Development, 21, 167–l79.Google Scholar
Halperin, J. M., & Schulz, K. P. (2006). Revisiting the role of the prefrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 4, 560–581.Google Scholar
Hamilton, W. (1859). Lectures on Metaphysics (Vol. 1). New York: Sheldon.Google Scholar
Harter, M. R., & Guido, W. (1980). Attention to pattern orientation: Negative cortical potentials, reaction time, and the selection process. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 49, 461–475.Google Scholar
Hebb, D. O. (1949). The Organization of Behavior. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Heinze, H. J., Mangun, G. R., Burchert, W., Hinrichs, H., Münte, T. F., Scholz, M., Gös, A. et al. (1994). Combined spatial and temporal imaging of brain activity during visual selective attention in humans. Nature, 372, 543–546.Google Scholar
Hick, W. E. (1948). On the rate of gain of information. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 4, 11–26.Google Scholar
Hillman, C. H., Erickson, K. I., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Be smart, exercise your heart: Exercise effects on brain and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 9, 58–65.Google Scholar
Hyman, R. (1952). Stimulus information as a determinant of reaction time. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45, 188–196.Google Scholar
James, W. (1890). The Principles of Psychology (Vol. 1). New York: Henry Holt.Google Scholar
Jersild, A. T. (1927). Mental set and shift. Archives of Psychology, 89, 5–34.Google Scholar
Jevons, W. S. (1871). The power of numerical discrimination. Nature, 3, 281–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, K. A., Robertson, I. H., Barry, E., Mulligan, A., Dáibhis, A., Daly, M., Watchorn, A., Gill, M., Bellgrove, M. A. (2008). Impaired conflict resolution and alerting in children with ADHD: Evidence from the ANT. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 1339–1347.Google Scholar
Kahneman, D. (1973). Attention and Effort. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Keehn, B., Mueller, R. A., & Townsend, J. (2013). Atypical attentional networks and the emergence of autism. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 37, 164–183.Google Scholar
Koch, C., & Tsuchiya, N. (2007) Attention and conscousness: Two distinct brain processes. Trends in Cognitive Science, 11, 16–22.Google Scholar
Landry, R., & Bryson, S. E. (2004). Impaired disengagement of attention in young children with autism. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 1115–1122.Google Scholar
Leonard, A. J. (1958). Partial advanced information in a choice reaction time task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 49, 89–96.Google Scholar
MacLeod, C. M. (1992). The Stroop task: The “gold standard” of attentional measures. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 121, 12–14.Google Scholar
McCallum, W. C., & Walter, W. G. (1968). The effects of attention and distraction on the contingent negative variation in normal and neurotic subjects. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 25, 319–329.Google Scholar
Meyer, D. E., & Kieras, D. E. (1997). A computational theory of executive cognitive processes and multiple task performance, Part 1: Basic mechanisms. Psychological Review, 104, 3–67.Google Scholar
Meyer, D. E., Osman, A. M., Irwin, D. E., & Yantis, S. (1988). Modern mental chronometry. Biological Psychology, 26, 3–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monsell, S. (2002). Task switching. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7, 137–140.Google Scholar
Mowbray, G. H., & Rhoades, M. V. (1959). On the reduction of choice reaction time with practice. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 11, 16–23.Google Scholar
Neisser, U. (1968). Cognitive Psychology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Neisser, U. (1976). Cognition and Reality. San Francisco: Freeman.Google Scholar
Pardo, J. V., Fox, P. T., & Raichle, M. E. (1991). Localization of a human system for sustained attention by positron emission tomography. Nature, 349, 61–64.Google Scholar
Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Petersen, S. E., & Posner, M. I. (2012). The attention system of the human brain: 20 years after. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 35, 71–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Posner, M. I. (1966). Components of skilled performance. Science, 152, 1712–1718.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (1978). Chronometric Explorations of Mind. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (1980). Orienting of attention: The 7th Sir F.C. Bartlett Lecture. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 3–25.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (1982). Cumulative development of attentional theory. American Psychologist, 32, 53–64.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I. (1994). Attention: The mechanism of consciousness. PNAS, 91, 7398–7402.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Gilbert, C. D. (1999). Attention and primary visual cortex. PNAS, 96, 2585–2587.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Raichle, M. E. (1994). Images of Mind. New York: Scientific American Books.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Research on attention networks as a model for the integration of psychological science. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 1–23.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., Rothbart, M. K., & Tang, Y-Y. (2015). Enhancing attention through training. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 4, 1–5.Google Scholar
Posner, M. I., Rothbart, M. K., Vizueta, N., Levy, K., Thomas, K. M., & Clarkin, J. (2002). Attentional mechanisms of borderline personality disorder. PNAS, 99, 16366–16370.Google Scholar
Raichle, M. E. (2009). A paradigm shift in functional imaging. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 12729–12734.Google Scholar
Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., Hershey, K., & Fisher, P. (2001). Investigations of temperament at three to seven years: The Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Child Development, 72, 1394–1408.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rumelhart, D. E., & McClelland, J. L. (1986). Parallel Distributed Processing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Sanders, M. D., Warrington, E. K., Marshall, J., & Weiskrantz, L. (1974). “Blindsight”: Vision in a field defect. Lancet, 304, 707–708.Google Scholar
Saraswati, D. (2000). Bhagavad Gita, Home Study Program. Saylorsburg, PA: Arsha Vidya Gurukulum.Google Scholar
Shannon, C. E., & Weaver, W. (1949). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Sigman, M., & Dehaene, S. (2005). Parsing a cognitive task: A characterization of the mind’s bottleneck, PLoS Biology, 3, e37.Google Scholar
Silbersweig, D., Clarkin, J. F., Goldstein, M., Kernberg, O. F., Tuescher, O., Levy, K. N., Brendel, G. et al. (2007). Failure of frontolimbic inhibitory function in the context of negative emotion in borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1832–1841.Google Scholar
Smallwood, J., & Schooler, J. W. (2006). The restless mind. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 946–958.Google Scholar
Sternberg, S. (1969). The discovery of processing stages. Acta Psychologica, 30, 276–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, S. (2004). Separate modifiability and the search for processing modules. In Kanwisher, N. & Duncan, J. (Eds.), Attention and Performance XX: Functional Brain Imaging of Visual Cognition (pp. 125–139). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stone, M. (1960). Models for choice reaction time. Psychometrika, 25, 251–260.Google Scholar
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reaction. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662.Google Scholar
Tang, Y. Y., Ma, Y., Wang, J., Fan, Y., Feng, S., Lu, Q., Yu, Q. et al. (2007). Short term meditation training improves attention and self regulation. PNAS, 104, 17152–17156.Google Scholar
Tang, Y. Y., & Posner, M. I. (2009). Attention training and attention state training. Trends in Cognitive Science, 13, 222–227.Google Scholar
Telford, C. W. (1931). The refractory phase of voluntary and associative responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 14, 1–36.Google Scholar
Titchener, E. B. (1908). Lectures on the Elementary Psychology of Feeling and Attention. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Treisman, A. M. (1960). Contextual cues in selective listening. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 242–248.Google Scholar
Van Voorhis, S. T., & Hillyard, S. E. (1977). Visual evoked potentials and selective attention to points in space. Perception and Psychophysics, 1, 54–62.Google Scholar
Vogel, E. K., & Machizawa, M. G. (2004). Neural activity predicts individual differences in visual working memory capacity. Nature, 428, 784–751.Google Scholar
Wang, H. B., & Fan, J. (2007). Human attentional networks: A connectionist model. Journal of Neuroscience, 19, 1678–1689.Google Scholar
Wang, K. J., Fan, J., Dong, Y., Wang, C., Lee, T. M. C., & Posner, M. I. (2005). Selective impairment of attentional networks of orienting and executive control in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 78, 235–241.Google Scholar
Womelsdorf, T., Schoffelen, J. M., Oostenveld, R., Singer, W., Desimone, R., Engel, A. K., Fries, P. (2007). Modulation of neuronal interactions through neuronal synchronization. Science, 316, 1609–1612.Google Scholar
Young, R. (1970). Mind, Brain and Adaptation: In the 19th Century. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Zeier, J. D., Maxwell, J. S., & Newman, J. P. (2009). Attention moderates the processing of inhibitory information in primary psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 118, 554–563.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×