The Psychology of Attention

Research on attention has evolved dramatically since the early work of the 1950s, and even in the few years since the publication of the first edition of this book. There have been significant changes in the study of how we are able to select some aspects for processing and ignore others, and how we are able to combine tasks, learn skills and make intentional actions. Attention is now increasingly seen as a complex process intimately linked with perception, memory and action. New questions are continually being addressed in the area of crossmodal attention and there have been important developments in brain imaging, which allow new insights into the biological bases of attention.
After an initial consideration of what attention might be, this book charts the development in the ideas and theories which surround the field. An entirely new chapter addresses the nature of auditory attention and the question of how visual and auditory attention are combined across modalities. The problems of task combination, skill acquisition and automaticity are considered, as well as the selection and control of action, and conscious and unconscious processing.
The Psychology of Attention, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to this fascinating and rapidly developing field.