Attention: Theory and Practice

"The book is well-organized and comprehensive in covering the essential material. The inclusion of human factors material is a strength that is not covered in other books. . . . The book is a balanced survey which will be of value to graduate students or anyone wanting to enter the field and needing a broad overview." --Steven Yantis, The Johns Hopkins University "My overall impression is that the authors have combined their expertise and experience in the classroom to provide a text that will clearly cover attention more completely and in a more coherent and less confusing manner than any other available text. . . . this is the best available text on the psychology of attention at the advanced undergraduate level." --Mark Faust, University of South Alabama "This text represents a strong review of the empirical and theoretical developments in attention work." --Tom Busey, Indiana University "A nice overview of the 'classic' work on attention, with up-to-date consideration of the literature, usefully bringing together some more applied literatures in which attention is a central construct...The scholarship seems comprehensive and up-to-date, and the authors do a nice job of presenting research in a fair and neutral manner." --Richard Carlson, Pennsylvania State University "The chapters present the material at a level appropriate for a first course on attention. The focus on providing a comprehensive treatment of the highlights of a variety of different topics related to attention is a strength." --Art Kramer, University of Illinois Attention is one of the fastest growing research areas in cognitive psychology. In light of the growing importance of this topic, there are surprisingly few texts that provide a coherent overview of the field of attention. Authors Addie Johnson and Robert W. Proctor have written Attention: Theory and Practice for students, researchers, and practitioners who wish to gain insight into this area in a comprehensible and consistent manner. Attention: Theory and Practice provides a balance between a readable overview of attention and an emphasis on how theories and paradigms for the study of attention have developed. The book highlights the important issues and major findings while giving sufficient details of experimental studies, models, and theories so that results and conclusions are easy to follow and evaluate. Rather than brushing over tricky technical details, the authors explain them clearly, giving readers the benefit of understanding the motivation for and techniques of the experiments in order to allow readers to think through results, models, and theories for themselves. Features and benefits of this text: Balanced. The book gives equal coverage to theory, experimental paradigms and results, neuropsychology, and applications. Adaptable. "Technical Boxes" isolate technical procedures and difficult models, which can be omitted without interrupting the flow of the chapters, allowing instructors to adjust the material to the level of their course. Pedagogical. The book includes brief chapter previews, chapter summaries, highlighted key words, an end-of-book glossary, and an abundance of figures and tables that enhance student understanding. Attention is an accessible text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, as well as an important resource for researchers and practitioners interested in gaining an overview of the field of attention.

Table of Contents:
1. Historical Overview of Research on Attention - with Kim-Phuong L. Vu The Philosophical Period The Period from 1860 to 1909 The Period from 1910 to 1949 The Period from 1950 to 1974 The Period from 1975 to Present Summary & Preview of the Book 2. Information Processing & the Study of Attention The Information Processing Approach Mental Resources Behavioral Measures Signal Detection Methods Psychophysiological Measures Brain Imaging Techniques Summary 3. Selective Visual Attention The Function of Selective Attention The Locus of Selection The Spotlight of Attention Exogenous & Endogenous Orienting Space-based versus Object-based Attention Visual Search Combining Object- and Space-based Selection in Theories of Visual Attention Summary 4. Auditory & Crossmodal Attention Auditory Selective Attention Divided Auditory Attention Alerting & Orienting Functions of Auditory Attention Attentional Set Cross-modal Attention Summary 5. Attention & Inhibition Types of Inhibition (Attempted) Inhibition of Irrelevant Information Inhibition of Return Visual Marking Negative Priming Inhibition of Thought & Action Responding to a Signal to Stop Summary. 6. Multiple-Task Performance Managing Attentional Resources Setting Goals & Intentions Control of Multi-step Tasks Intentional Control & Multitasking Attention & Skill A Closer Look at Dual-task Performance Summary 7. Memory & Attention - with Mark Nieuwenstein Sensory Memory Working Memory The Role of Attention in Encoding & Retrieval Memory Consolidation & Attention The Bottleneck Model Revisited Procedural Memory Implicit Learning Attention, Memory, & Skill Summary 8. Attention & Displays - with Kim-Phuong L. Vu Visual Displays Organization of Displays Auditory & Multisensory Displays Supervisory Control Complex Tasks & Display Arrangements Sustained Attention & Vigilance Summary 9. Mental Workload & Situation Awareness Processing Resources Processing Strategies Measuring Mental Workload Situation Awareness Human Error Summary 10. Individual Differences in Attention Attentional Ability Attention & Intelligence Intra-individual Differences in Attention Attention Across the Lifespan Training & Attention Attention, & Memory & Emotion Summary 11. The Neural Basis of Attention - Robert Melara Tools of the Cognitive Neuroscientist Mismatch Negativity: The Automatic Detection of Change Selective Attention The Duality of Selection The Sources of Selective Control The Sites of Selective Control Attentional Networks Summary. 12. Disorders of Attention - with Edward de Haan & Roy Kessels Developmental Attention Disorders Attention Deficits Due to Focal Lesions & Hemorrhage Attention Deficits Following Diffuse Injury Measuring Attention Deficits Dementia Attention Deficits in Psychiatric Patients Treatment of Attention Deficits Summary References

About the Author :
Addie Johnson is Professor of Human Performance and Ergonomics at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. She received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University in 1993 and has been teaching and conducting research in the field of attention and human performance for over 10 years. She has taught courses on attention to over 1,000 students and thus brings broad experience to bear in writing this text for a student audience. After five years as Assistant Professor in Human Factors Psychology at Rice University (with a year off as visiting scientist at the Institute of Occupational Physiology at the University of Dortmund, Germany), she moved to the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, where she remained until moving to the University of Groningen in 2002. In addition to conducting research in attention, memory, and skill acquisition, with applications in the field of ergonomics, Dr. Johnson is active in several professional societies and has served on a number of editorial boards. She is currently Secretary of the Dutch Ergonomics Society. Attention: Theory and Practice is the second book she has co-authored with Robert W. Proctor. The first, Skill Acquisition and Human Performance, was published by Sage in 1995. Together, Drs. Johnson and Proctor bring a strong theoretical orientation as well as interest and experience in ergonomic applications to their new book. Robert Proctor is Professor of Psychology at Purdue University at West Lafayette. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1975. Dr. Proctor has been teaching and conducting research in the field of attention and human performance for nearly 30 years. He conducts research on basic and applied aspects of human performance, with an emphasis on stimulus-response compatibility effects and the relation between perception and action. Dr. Proctor is member of several journal editorial boards. He has co-authored four books and co-edited two. Attention: Theory and Practice is his second book with Dr. Addie Johnson; the first, Skill Acquisition and Human Performance, was published by Sage in 1995. Together, these two authors brought an integrated perspective and broad experience to bear in crafting this book. Dr. Proctor is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society and an honorary fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Review :
"The book is well-organized and comprehensive in covering the essential material. The inclusion of human factors material is a strength that is not covered in other books. . . . The book is a balanced survey which will be of value to graduate students or anyone wanting to enter the field and needing a broad overview." "My overall impression is that the authors have combined their expertise and experience in the classroom to provide a text that will clearly cover attention more completely and in a more coherent and less confusing manner than any other available text. . .this is  the best available text on the psychology of attention at the advanced undergraduate level." "This text represents a strong review of the empirical and theoretical developments in attention work." "A nice overview of the ‘classic’ work on attention, with up-to-date consideration of the literature, usefully bringing together some more applied literatures in which attention is a central construct…The scholarship seems comprehensive and up-to-date, and the authors do a nice job of presenting research in a fair and neutral manner." "The chapters present the material at a level appropriate for a first course on attention. The focus on providing a comprehensive treatment of the highlights of a variety of different topics related to attention is a strength." "The work highlights the important issues and major findings while giving sufficient details of experimental studies, models, and theories so that results and conclusions are easy to follow and evaluate. The collection is balanced, adaptable and pedagogical with brief chapter previews, summaries, highlighted key words etc., thus making it an interesting reading for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in psychology as well as important resource for researchers and practitioners."