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Selection of visual information in the control of behaviour.
Authors:
Duncan, J.
Reference:
In A.D. Baddeley & L. Weiskrantz (Eds.), Attention: Selection, Awareness and Control: A Tribute to Donald Broadbent (pp. 53-71). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Year of publication:
1993
CBU number:
2743
Abstract:
This paper deals with selective uptake of visual information (visual "attention"), attempting to relate behavioural results to the underlying neurophysiology. The first section deals with the typical case of experiments imposing tight constraints on overall goal structure. Results suggest selection by match to a template specifying the information currently needed for control of behaviour, and show that the unit of selection is the discrete object, with all of its different attributes. Neurophysiological implications of both points are considered. Since the real world is dynamic, however, new inputs can always arise to overturn previous goals, showing the link between input selection and goal selection. Results on frontal lobe dysfunction, Spearman's g and dual task interference are considered in relation to the hypothesis of a central system involved in goal choice. A key question is how the brain's multiple selection systems combine to produce integrated behaviour.
