Key Attention Theories

Why This Matters

Attention is the gateway to everything else in cognition—without it, there's no perception, no memory encoding, no learning. These theories aren't just historical footnotes; they represent fundamentally different answers to a question that still drives research today: where and when does the brain decide what information matters? You're being tested on your ability to distinguish between early selection and late selection models, understand how attentional resources get allocated, and explain why we sometimes miss obvious things right in front of us.

The theories in this guide fall into distinct camps based on the mechanisms they propose. Some focus on filtering and selection (when does irrelevant info get blocked?), others on resource allocation (how much mental fuel do we have?), and still others on spatial and feature-based processing (where and what do we attend to?). Don't just memorize names and dates—know what problem each theory solves and where it falls short. That's what separates a 3 from a 5 on conceptual questions.

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Filter and Selection Models

These theories tackle the classic bottleneck problem: we can't process everything, so when does selection happen? The debate between early and late selection shaped decades of attention research.

Broadbent's Filter Theory

• Early selection based on physical features—information is filtered by characteristics like pitch, location, or loudness before meaning is analyzed
• Single-channel bottleneck creates a processing limit where only one stream passes through at a time; everything else gets discarded entirely
• Dichotic listening experiments provided initial support, showing people could report information from one ear while ignoring the other

Treisman's Attenuation Theory

• Attenuated rather than blocked—unattended information is turned down like a volume dial, not completely filtered out
• Dictionary unit with variable thresholds explains why you hear your name in a crowded room; important stimuli have lower activation thresholds
• Cocktail party effect becomes explainable; Broadbent's model couldn't account for breakthrough of meaningful unattended information

Deutsch and Deutsch's Late Selection Theory

• All information processed to semantic level—selection happens after meaning is extracted, not before
• Relevance determines awareness rather than physical characteristics; the bottleneck moves much later in processing
• Response selection is where filtering occurs; we process everything but only respond to what matters

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Resource and Capacity Models

Rather than asking where selection occurs, these theories ask how much attention we have and how it gets divided. Think of attention as fuel rather than a filter.

Kahneman's Capacity Model

• Attention as limited mental fuel—a single pool of resources that gets allocated based on task demands and arousal level
• Central allocation policy determines distribution; motivation, enduring dispositions, and momentary intentions all influence where resources go
• Explains dual-task performance—you can do two things if combined demands don't exceed capacity, but performance drops when they do

Multiple Resource Theory

• Separate resource pools for different modalities and processing stages—visual vs. auditory, verbal vs. spatial, input vs. output
• Task compatibility predicts interference; two visual-spatial tasks compete more than a visual task paired with an auditory task
• Practical applications in human factors design; cockpit displays and driving interfaces are designed around these principles

Load Theory of Selective Attention

• Perceptual load determines filtering—high-load tasks automatically exclude distractors; low-load tasks leave capacity for irrelevant processing
• Reconciles early vs. late selection debate by showing both can occur depending on task demands
• Cognitive load operates differently; high cognitive load actually increases distractor processing by depleting executive control

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Spatial Attention Models

These theories focus on where attention goes in space—how we select locations in our environment and shift focus between them.

Spotlight Theory of Attention

• Attention as a moveable beam—illuminates one region of the visual field while leaving surrounding areas in relative darkness
• Fixed size but flexible location in early versions; later modifications (zoom lens model) allowed the spotlight to expand or contract
• Enhanced processing within the spotlight; stimuli in attended locations are detected faster and more accurately

Posner's Orienting of Attention Theory

• Three operations: disengage, move, engage—attention must release from current location before shifting to a new one
• Endogenous vs. exogenous cues distinguish voluntary orienting (you decide to look) from reflexive capture (something grabs you)
• Validity effects in cueing paradigms; valid cues speed responses, invalid cues slow them—this is the classic Posner cueing task

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Feature and Search Models

These theories explain how we find things—whether scanning a cluttered desk or searching for a friend in a crowd. They address how features get combined and how search is guided.

Feature Integration Theory

• Two-stage process—pre-attentive stage detects basic features (color, orientation) automatically and in parallel; attentive stage binds features together
• Attention required for binding—without focused attention, features can be incorrectly combined, producing illusory conjunctions
• Pop-out vs. serial search distinction; a red item among green pops out, but a red circle among red squares and green circles requires slow, item-by-item search

Guided Search Theory

• Bottom-up and top-down guidance—both stimulus salience and your goals direct the search process
• Activation map combines feature information to prioritize likely target locations; attention visits high-activation areas first
• Explains search asymmetries and why knowing what you're looking for dramatically speeds search; prior knowledge shapes the activation map

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Both Treisman's Attenuation Theory and Deutsch & Deutsch's Late Selection Theory can explain the cocktail party effect. How do their explanations differ, and what evidence would distinguish between them?

2. You're designing a car dashboard. Which theory—Kahneman's Capacity Model or Multiple Resource Theory—provides more useful guidance, and why?

3. A participant in a visual search task is looking for a blue square among blue circles and red squares. According to Feature Integration Theory, will this produce pop-out or serial search? Explain the mechanism.

4. Compare Broadbent's Filter Theory and Load Theory of Selective Attention. How does Load Theory resolve the early vs. late selection debate that Broadbent's theory sparked?

5. An FRQ asks you to explain why a driver might fail to notice a pedestrian while adjusting the GPS. Which two theories would you combine for the strongest answer, and what concepts from each would you use?