[PSY270H5] - Final Exam Guide - Ultimate 36 pages long Study Guide!
Document Summary
Attention is the concentration of mental effort on sensory or mental events. Attention implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others. Think of it as a highlighter; it allows you to tune out some of the irrelevant information. It also effects our perception of the stimuli around us. In some cases, our attention may be focused on one thing, causing us to ignore other things. In some instances, focusing our attention on one target might result in not being able to perceive the second target at all: capacity limitations, selective attention. Lots of research in the area shows that attention is limited. Researchers have found the key variables that impact our ability to stay on any task includes how interested we are in stimulus and how many distractions we experience. Studies have shown that attention is limited in terms of both capacity and duration.
