Orienting
Orienting is a component of selective attention that directs the mind to target one among the virtually infinite array of sensory inputs. Let’s say you are at a party listening to the music, and tuning out a conversation going on right next to you. If someone were to ask you what they had just said, you’d have no idea. But should one of them mention your name, you would zero in on those dulcet sounds as though you had been listening to them right along. Known in cognitive science as the “cocktail party effect,” this sudden awareness illustrates part of the design of our brain’s attention systems: we take in more of the stream of information available than we know in conscious awareness. This lets us tune out irrelevant sounds but still examine them for relevance somewhere in the mind. And our own name is always relevant. Attention, then, has various channels—the one we consciously select and those we tune out of.
References
- Goleman, Daniel. Davidson, A., Richard. (2017). Altered Traits Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body Chapter 7. Attention! (EPub p. 120). Garden City, NY: Avery.
Metadata
Type:🔵 Tags: Psychology / Cognitive Science Status:☀️