Attention: mechanisms, applications, and cognitive frameworks

Psychology-Cognitive

Attention

In order for humans to survive there is a constant need to monitor the events that are occurring in our external environment along with the events in our internal environment like our thoughts. This process of monitoring events is known as attention. Attention is strategic and becomes actively manipulated as we attempt to examine, consider, manage, and respond to events. The processes that allow us to perform these vibrant cognitive functions on the information that is held in consciousness makes up what is referred to as working memory (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008).

Working memory is actually a number of closely interacting subsystems that combine to sub-serve a host of higher-level mental processes. These processes include language comprehension, problem solving, and reasoning. Working memory is accomplished by an articulatory loop. This loop is made up of two subcomponents: a phonological store that holds information temporarily and an articulatory process, called the sub-vocal rehearsal mechanism that allows for the rehearsal of information. Our difficulty remembering similar sounding items results from the sub-vocal rehearsal mechanism. It is known that attention is limited and we can't possibly process everything we see and hear. So there has to be some sort of regulatory mechanism whereby we allow information to enter the information-processing system. The fact that we allow information to pass through implies that we have some choice about it, and indeed we do. In other words, attention is strategic (Robinson-Riegler and Robinson-Riegler, 2008).