Attention-Setting and Human Mental Function

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to experimental research on top-down human attention in complex scenes, written for cognitive scientists in general. We emphasize the major effects of goals and intention on mental function, measured with behavioral experiments. We describe top-down attention as an open category of mental actions that initiates particular task sets, which are assembled from a wide range of mental processes. We call this attention-setting. Experiments on visual search, task switching, and temporal attention are described and extended to the important human time scale of seconds.

Human Attention Restoration, Flow, and Creativity: A Conceptual Integration

“…ART and attentional ecology are related to other large issues and literature. Numerous studies have explored the scheduling and sharing of attention, including primary tasks, secondary tasks, and task switching and task threading [2,46,47]. One issue related to time is rest, and there is a large body of research that focuses on work and rest [48].…”

“…Technical advances bring with them an increasingly complex myriad of stimulation that demands attention, such as busy city traffic, flashy advertisements, and a variety of notifications designed to distract. Attention is necessary for a human to survive in this sea of stimulation; attention is needed to set goals, select information, and inhibit distractions [1,2]. The constant use of attention leads to attentional fatigue [3,4].…”

“…Before we begin, we note that attention refers to a complex set of mental functions that are still being defined (see [1,2]). Researchers generally agree that important functions of attention include selecting and prioritizing information and inhibiting distractions.…”

“…Attention can also be viewed as a resource that is scarce; when attention is depleted (fatigued), attentional functioning is degraded. We begin with "high-level" attention, which includes executive functions such as interconnecting modalities and brain regions, setting main goals, and assembling new ideas [2,[8][9][10][11].…”