Attentional shift

Attentional shift (or shift of attention) occurs when directing attention to a point increases the efficiency of processing of that point and includes inhibition to decrease attentional resources to unwanted or irrelevant inputs.[1][page needed] Shifting of attention is needed to allocate attentional resources to more efficiently process information from a stimulus. Research has shown that when an object or area is attended, processing operates more efficiently.[2][3] Task switching costs occur when performance on a task suffers due to the increased effort added in shifting attention.[1] There are competing theories that attempt to explain why and how attention is shifted as well as how attention is moved through space in attentional control.

  1. ^ a b Johnson, Addie; Proctor, Robert W. (2004). Attention: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. OCLC 645153300.
  2. ^ Gazzaniga, M.; Ivry, R.; Mangun, G. (2002). "Selective Attention and Orienting". Cognitive Neuroscience: The Biology of the Mind (2nd ed.). New York: Norton. pp. 247–252. ISBN 978-0-393-97777-6. OCLC 47767271.
  3. ^ Posner, M.I. (February 1980). "Orienting of attention". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. 32 (1): 3–25. doi:10.1080/00335558008248231. PMID 7367577. S2CID 2842391.