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The automatic mind: Insights from JEP: HPP on learned attentional control
1Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, McMaster University.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|September 24, 2025
Summary
Attentional control, the process of selecting information, can be learned and automatically executed. This challenges the traditional view of attention as solely a deliberate, resource-demanding process.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Perception and Performance
Background:
- Traditional cognitive psychology viewed attentional control as a deliberate, effortful process.
- Recent research has expanded the understanding of attentional control mechanisms.
- The role of automaticity in attention has become increasingly recognized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review pivotal studies on learned and automatic attentional control.
- To discuss the paradigm shift in understanding attentional control.
- To explore future research directions in the field of attention.
Main Methods:
- Review of key empirical studies published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.
- Synthesis of findings related to learned attentional control.
- Analysis of the transition from deliberate to automatic attentional processes.
Main Results:
- Attentional control can be acquired through learning.
- Acquired attentional control can be executed automatically in response to environmental cues.
- This challenges the necessity of constant goal-directed effort for attention.
Conclusions:
- Attentional control is not exclusively a deliberate, resource-intensive process.
- Learned attentional skills can operate automatically, influenced by environmental triggers.
- Future research should further investigate the mechanisms and implications of automatic attentional control.
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