When the mind's eye prevails: The Internal Dominance over External Attention (IDEA) hypothesis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Historically, attention research focused on external stimuli.
• Recent theories suggest attention also processes internal information.
• Evidence indicates a shared attentional focus for internal and external information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate the Internal Dominance over External Attention (IDEA) hypothesis.
• To explain the inherent bias of attention toward internal information.
• To provide a theoretical framework for understanding attentional balancing.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical review of existing literature.
• Examination of findings from working memory, attention switching, visual search, mind wandering, sustained attention, and meditation research.
• Consideration of neurocognitive mechanisms and implications for psychopathology.

Main Results:

• The IDEA hypothesis posits that attention is inherently biased toward internal information.
• This internal bias offers a coherent explanation for findings across diverse research areas.
• The hypothesis suggests a dynamic interplay in prioritizing internal versus external information.

Conclusions:

• The IDEA hypothesis provides a novel framework for understanding attention.
• It unifies disparate research findings under a single principle.
• Further research is needed to explore the neurocognitive underpinnings and clinical applications of this internal attention bias.