Attention is the mind’s selective possession of one focus amid several possible ones.
Evidence
An important reference point is the definition of attention by the American psychologist William James: “the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought,” the opposite of distraction (James 1890: 404). — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 5
Categorization
- DEFINE: Canonical James definition worth keeping verbatim since modern attention discourse repeatedly returns to it.
- XREF: connects to: Attention is fundamentally a collecting and filtering act for survival.; Attention is directional potential, not a static countable quantity. — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 236; Attention is a vector, not a scalar, because it aims beyond itself — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 238 (+7 more)
Related
- Attention necessarily requires ignoring competing stimuli to select one focus (similarity 0.91)
- Attention is fundamentally a collecting and filtering act for survival. (similarity 0.90)
- Attention is directional potential, not a static countable quantity. (similarity 0.85)
- Attention is a filtering mechanism that shapes decision-making (similarity 0.84)
- Attention is a vector, not a scalar, because it aims beyond itself (similarity 0.84)
- Paying attention differs from spending time or being aware. (similarity 0.83)
- Attention also varies in quality and mode, not just quantity (similarity 0.83)
- Focused attention necessarily amputates awareness of other stimuli (similarity 0.83)
- Attention always responds to something else and never rests still. (similarity 0.82)
- Attention can be defined beyond action and receptivity (similarity 0.82)
- Attention is a superimposition of entangled mechanisms rather than a single faculty (similarity 0.82)
- Attention defies any single fixed definition and demands continual restlessness. (similarity 0.82)
- Cognitive neuroscience officially defines attention as selection for a task (similarity 0.82)
- Attention is fundamentally alienated because it is always directed at something else. (similarity 0.82)
- Attention is not just a filter of perception but the formative interface of identity (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Attention necessarily requires ignoring competing stimuli to select one focus
#expands(0.85) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1154 - Attention acts as a gate that admits pre-existing sensory information into consciousness
#expands(0.85) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 393 - Attention is diverse cognitive engagement, not narrow focus
#contradicts(0.80) — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!, 496 - Attention is a filtering mechanism that shapes decision-making
#expands(0.80) — Thomas Davenport & John Beck, The Attention Economy, 12