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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology pp 1066–1067Cite as

Focused Attention

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Definition

An aspect of attention that brings a select amount of information into conscious awareness.

Historical Background

Fundamental research in attention emerged in the 1950s1956 with the rise of cognitive psychology and theories that involved process such as attention, memory, and perception that do not involve directly observable behavior (e.g., Miller, 1956; Broadbent, 1957).

Current Knowledge

Focused attention has been described within the context of theories of attention, working memory, executive function, and consciousness. Baddeley (1993) proposed that the central executive in his model of working memory may function as Norman and Shallice’s (1986) Supervisory Attentional System, such that it generates higher level schemas that override lower level, automatic, or environmentally generated schemas to achieve internally produced goals. These temporary active schemas are held online within the episodic buffer and form the focus of attention. Some researchers further specify...

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References and Readings

  • Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working memory or working attention? In A. D. Baddeley & L. Weiskrantz (Eds.), Attention: Selection, awareness, and control: A tribute to Donald Broadbent. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

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  • Broadbent, D. E. (1957) A mechanical model for human attention and immediate memory. Psychological Review, 64, 205–215.

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  • Cohen, R. (1993). The neuropsychology of attention. New York: Plenum.

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  • Cowan, N. (1988). Evolving conceptions of memory storage, selective attention, and their mutual constraints within the human information processing system. Psychological Bulletin, 104, 163–191.

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  • Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97.

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  • Norman, D., & Shallice, T. (1986). Attention to action: Willed and automatic control of behaviour. In R. J. Davidson, G. E. Schwartz, & D. E. Shapiro (Eds.), Consciousness and self-regulation: Advances in research and theory(Vol. 4, pp. 1–18). New York: Plenum.

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  • Sohlberg, M., & Mateer, C. A. (1989). Introduction to cognitive rehabilitation: Theory and practice. New York: Guilford Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, 78 Dana Street, 2906, Providence, RI, USA

    Anna MacKay-Brandt

Authors
  1. Anna MacKay-Brandt
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VCU, 980542, Richmond, Virginia, 23298-0542, USA

    Jeffrey S. Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  4. Independent Practice, 564 M.O.B. East, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA, 19096, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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MacKay-Brandt, A. (2011). Focused Attention. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1303

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