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Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control
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Published on: July 5, 2015

Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: a failed theoretical dichotomy.

Edward Awh1, Artem V Belopolsky, Jan Theeuwes

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA. awh@uoregon.edu

Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|July 17, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Existing attentional control models fail to explain selection biases. A new framework integrates past experience with current goals and salience for a more comprehensive understanding of attention.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Prominent models of attentional control propose a dichotomy between top-down (goal-driven) and bottom-up (salience-driven) mechanisms.
  • This dichotomy struggles to explain selection biases not accounted for by current goals or physical salience, such as reward-associated stimuli capturing attention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose an alternative framework for attentional control that addresses the limitations of the top-down/bottom-up dichotomy.
  • To integrate past selection history with current goals and physical salience in explaining attentional biases.

Main Methods:

  • The study reviews existing literature and theoretical models of attentional control.
  • It proposes a new conceptual framework for understanding attentional prioritization.

Main Results:

  • The traditional top-down and bottom-up model is insufficient to explain all attentional selection phenomena.
  • A novel framework is presented that incorporates past selection history as a critical factor.

Conclusions:

  • Attentional control is shaped by an integrated priority map considering goals, salience, and past experiences.
  • This integrated approach offers a more complete explanation for attentional biases than previously proposed models.