The meaning of attention control

Attention control has been proposed as an ability construct that explains individual differences in fluid intelligence. Evaluating this hypothesis is complicated by a lack of clarity in the definition of attention control. Here, I propose a definition of attention control, based on experimental rese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological review Vol. 131; no. 6; p. 1509
Main Author: Oberauer, Klaus
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.11.2024
Subjects:
Attention - physiology
Executive Function - physiology
Humans
Individuality
Intelligence - physiology
ISSN:1939-1471, 1939-1471
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Attention control has been proposed as an ability construct that explains individual differences in fluid intelligence. Evaluating this hypothesis is complicated by a lack of clarity in the definition of attention control. Here, I propose a definition of attention control, based on experimental research and computational models of what guides attention, and how cognitive processes are controlled. Attention is the selection of mental representations for prioritized processing, and the ability to control attention is the ability to prioritize those representations that are relevant for the person's current goal, thereby enabling them to think and act in accordance with their intentions. This definition can be used to identify appropriate and less appropriate ways to measure individual differences in attention control. An analysis of various approaches to measurement reveals that the current practice of measuring attention control leaves room for improvement. Aligning our psychometric measurements with a clear, theoretically grounded concept of attention control can lead to more valid measures of that construct. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
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ISSN:1939-1471
1939-1471
DOI:10.1037/rev0000514