'The book is well-organized and comprehensive in covering the essential material. The inclusion of human factors material is a strength that is not covered in other books. . . . The book is a balanced survey which will be of value to graduate students or anyone wanting to enter the field and needing a broad overview' - Steven Yantis, The Johns Hopkins University

'The chapters present the material at a level appropriate for a first course on attention. The focus on providing a comprehensive treatment of the highlights of a variety of different topics related to attention is a strength' - Art Kramer, University of Illinois

Attention is one of the fastest growing research areas in cognitive psychology. In light of the growing importance of this topic, there are surprisingly few texts that provide a coherent overview of the field of attention. Addie Johnson and Robert W Proctor have written Attention: Theory and Practice for students who wish to gain insight into this area in a comprehensible and consistent manner.

Attention: Theory and Practice provides a balance between a readable overview of attention and an emphasis on how theories and paradigms for the study of attention have developed. The book highlights the important issues and major findings while giving sufficient details of experimental studies, models, and theories so that results and conclusions are easy to follow and evaluate. Rather than brushing over tricky technical details, the authors explain them clearly, giving readers the benefit of understanding the motivation for and techniques of the experiments in order to allow readers to think through results, models, and theories for themselves.

Features and benefits of this text:

Balanced. The book gives equal coverage to theory, experimental paradigms and results, neuropsychology, and applications.

Adaptable. "Technical Boxes" isolate technical procedures and difficult models, which can be omitted without interrupting the flow of the chapters, allowing instructors to adjust the material to the level of their course.

Pedagogical. The book includes brief chapter previews, chapter summaries, highlighted key words, an end-of-book glossary, and an abundance of figures and tables that enhance student understanding.

1. Historical Overview of Research on Attention - with Kim-Phuong L. Vu
The Philosophical Period
The Period from 1860 to 1909
The Period from 1910 to 1949
The Period from 1950 to 1974
The Period from 1975 to Present
Summary & Preview of the Book
2. Information Processing & the Study of Attention
The Information Processing Approach
Mental Resources
Behavioral Measures
Signal Detection Methods
Psychophysiological Measures
Brain Imaging Techniques
Summary
3. Selective Visual Attention
The Function of Selective Attention
The Locus of Selection
The Spotlight of Attention
Exogenous & Endogenous Orienting
Space-based versus Object-based Attention
Visual Search
Combining Object- and Space-based Selection in Theories of Visual Attention
Summary
4. Auditory & Crossmodal Attention
Auditory Selective Attention
Divided Auditory Attention
Alerting & Orienting Functions of Auditory
Attention
Attentional Set
Cross-modal Attention
Summary
5. Attention & Inhibition
Types of Inhibition
(Attempted) Inhibition of Irrelevant Information
Inhibition of Return
Visual Marking
Negative Priming
Inhibition of Thought & Action
Responding to a Signal to Stop
Summary.
6. Multiple-Task Performance
Managing Attentional Resources
Setting Goals & Intentions
Control of Multi-step Tasks
Intentional Control & Multitasking
Attention & Skill
A Closer Look at Dual-task Performance
Summary
7. Memory & Attention - with Mark Nieuwenstein
Sensory Memory
Working Memory
The Role of Attention in Encoding & Retrieval
Memory Consolidation & Attention
The Bottleneck Model Revisited
Procedural Memory
Implicit Learning
Attention, Memory, & Skill
Summary
8. Attention & Displays - with Kim-Phuong L. Vu
Visual Displays
Organization of Displays
Auditory & Multisensory Displays
Supervisory Control
Complex Tasks & Display Arrangements
Sustained Attention & Vigilance
Summary
9. Mental Workload & Situation Awareness
Processing Resources
Processing Strategies
Measuring Mental Workload
Situation Awareness
Human Error
Summary
10. Individual Differences in Attention
Attentional Ability
Attention & Intelligence
Intra-individual Differences in Attention
Attention Across the Lifespan
Training & Attention
Attention, & Memory & Emotion
Summary
11. The Neural Basis of Attention - Robert Melara
Tools of the Cognitive Neuroscientist
Mismatch Negativity: The Automatic Detection of Change
Selective Attention
The Duality of Selection
The Sources of Selective Control
The Sites of Selective Control
Attentional Networks
Summary.
12. Disorders of Attention - with Edward de Haan & Roy Kessels
Developmental Attention Disorders
Attention Deficits Due to Focal Lesions & Hemorrhage
Attention Deficits Following Diffuse Injury
Measuring Attention Deficits
Dementia
Attention Deficits in Psychiatric Patients
Treatment of Attention Deficits
Summary
References

Addie Johnson is Professor of Human Performance and Ergonomics at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. She received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Purdue University in 1993 and has been teaching and conducting research in the field of attention and human performance for over 10 years. She has taught courses on attention to over 1,000 students and thus brings broad experience to bear in writing this text for a student audience. After five years as Assistant Professor in Human Factors Psychology at Rice University (with a year off as visiting scientist at the Institute of Occupational Physiology at the University of Dortmund, Germany), she moved to the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, where she remained until moving to the University of Groningen in 2002. In addition to conducting research in attention, memory, and skill acquisition, with applications in the field of ergonomics, Dr. Johnson is active in several professional societies and has served on a number of editorial boards. She is currently Secretary of the Dutch Ergonomics Society. Attention: Theory and Practice is the second book she has co-authored with Robert W. Proctor. The first, Skill Acquisition and Human Performance, was published by Sage in 1995. Together, Drs. Johnson and Proctor bring a strong theoretical orientation as well as interest and experience in ergonomic applications to their new book.