Effortless Attention

by Bruya, Brian

• ISBN13: 9780262013840
• ISBN10: 0262013843
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-04-09
• Publisher: Bradford Books

Summary

This is the first book to explore the cognitive science of effortless attention and action. Attention and action are generally understood to require effort, and the expectation is that under normal circumstances effort increases to meet rising demand. Sometimes, however, attention and action seem to flow effortlessly despite high demand. Effortless attention and action have been documented across a range of normal activities--ranging from rock climbing to chess playing--and yet fundamental questions about the cognitive science of effortlessness have gone largely unasked. This book draws from the disciplines of cognitive psychology, neurophysiology, behavioral psychology, genetics, philosophy, and cross-cultural studies. Starting from the premise that the phenomena of effortless attention and action provide an opportunity to test current models of attention and action, leading researchers from around the world examine topics including effort as a cognitive resource, the role of effort in decision-making, the neurophysiology of effortless attention and action, the role of automaticity in effortless action, expert performance in effortless action, and the neurophysiology and benefits of attentional training. Contributors: Joshua M. Ackerman, James H. Austin, John A. Bargh Roy F. Baumeister, Sian L. Beilock, Chris Blais, Matthew M. Botvinick, Brian Bruya, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Marci S. DeCaro, Arne Dietrich, Yuri Dormashev, Laszlo Harmat, Bernhard Hommel, Rebecca Lewthwaite, Orjan de Manzano, Joseph T. McGuire, Brian P. Meier, Arlen C. Moller, Jeanne Nakamura, Michael I. Posner, Mary K. Rothbart, M. R. Rueda, Brandon J. Schmeichel, Edward Slingerland, Oliver Stoll, Yiyuan Tang, Tores Theorell, Fredrik Ullen, Gabriele Wulf A Bradford Book

Table of Contents

Introduction: Toward a Theory of Attention That Includes Effortless Attention and Action	p. 1
Effortful Attention Control	p. 29
The Benefits and Perils of Attentional Control	p. 51
Effortless Motor Learning?: An External Focus of Attention Enhances Movement Effectiveness and Efficiency	p. 75
The Impact of Anticipated Cognitive Demand on Attention and Behavioral Choice	p. 103
Grounding Attention in Action Control: The Intentional Control of Selection	p. 121
Implicit versus Deliberate Control and Its Implications for Awareness	p. 141
Effortless Attention, Hypofrontality, and Perfectionism	p. 159
Effortless Attention in Everyday Life: A Systematic Phenomenology	p. 179
Developing an Experimental Induction of Flow: Effortless Action in the Lab	p. 191
The Physiology of Effortless Attention: Correlates of State Flow and Flow Proneness	p. 205
Apertures, Draw, and Syntax; Remodeling Attention	p. 219
Toward an Empirically Responsible Ethics: Cognitive Science, Virtue Ethics, and Effortless Attention in Early Chinese Thought	p. 247
Flow Experience Explained on the Grounds of an Activity Approach to Attention	p. 287
Two to Tango: Automatic Social Coordination and the Role of Felt Effort	p. 335
The Thalamic Gateway: How the Meditative Training of Attention Evolves toward Selfless Transformations of Consciousness	p. 373
Training Effortless Attention	p. 409
Contributors	p. 425
Index	p. 429
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