Synonyms
Definition
Selective attention is defined as the cognitive process of attending to one or fewer sensory stimuli (i.e., external and internal) while ignoring or suppressing all other irrelevant sensory inputs (McLeod 2018; Murphy et al. 2016). Researchers have proposed and examined several different theories for the process of selective attention such as bottleneck theories [i.e., Broadbent’s Filter Theory (1958), Deutsch and Deutsch’s Late Selection Theory (1963), and Treisman’s Attenuation Theory (1964)] that focus on flow and filtering of information and, more recently, load theories [i.e., Lavie’s Perceptual Load Theory (1994), Tsal and Benoni’s Dilution Theory (2010), and Hybrid Theory (2013)] that address perceptual and cognitive resources expended. While load theories are the primary focus within the cognitive psychology literature, it is often difficult to obtain measures that adequately operationalize these constructs, calling into question the...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Broadbent, D. (1958). Perception and communication. London: Pergamon Press.
Brodeur, D. A., & Pond, M. (2001). The development of selective attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 29(3), 229–239.
Deutsch, J. A. & Deutsch, O. (1963). Attention: some theoritical considerations. Psychological Review, 70, 80–90.
Girard, E. I., Wallace, N. M., Kohlhoff, J. R., Morgan, S. S. J, & McNeil, C. B. (2018). Parent-child interaction therapy with toddlers. New York, NY: Springer International Publishing.
Lavie, N., & Tsal, Y. (1994). Perceptual load as a major determinant of the locus of selection in visual attention. Perception & Psychophysics, 56, 183–197.
McLeod, S. A. (2018). Selective attention. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/attention-models.html
Murphy, G., Groeger, J. A., & Greene, C. M. (2016). Twenty years of load theory – Where are we now, and where should we go next? Psychonomics Bulletin and Review, 23(5), 1316–1340.
Patterson, G. R. (1982). A social learning approach: 3. Coercive family process. Eugene: Castalia.
Scalf, P. E., Torralbo, A., Tapia, E., & Beck, D. M. (2013). Competition explains limited attention and perceptual resources: Implications for perceptual load and dilution theories. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 243.
Treisman, A. (1964). Selective attention in man. British Medical Bulletin, 20(1), 12–16.
Tsal, Y., & Benoni, H. (2010). Diluting the burden of load: Perceptual load effects are simply dilution effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 36, 1645–1656.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bater, L.R., Jordan, S.S. (2019). Selective Attention. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1904-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1904-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences