The Psychology of Attention

Rating:
Summary: Thorough and complete, not for the layperson, however.
Review: This text is an outstanding overview of the field of attention and the research that has been done investigating the topic. It is exceptionally complete and thorough, examing the issues involved in understanding attention and the theories about it from a viewpoint of hypothesis and empirical research. In contrast to Styles book on this topic by the same title, the treatment is done on an issue by issue basis, such as selective attention, divided attention, etc. It is also divided into two main parts, the first a treatment of the research on attention starting with the work of Broadbent, Cherry, and Deutsch and Deutsch with the second section devoted to discussion and analysis of theories of attention.

There is a noticeable bias, however, in the critical evaluation of the theories of attention discussed; arguments throughout the book are made for early selection theories and against late selection theories. Where the evidence favors late selection accounts of attention, they are always presented with caveats and pointed explantions of their limitations, and how these limitations in turn favor early selection theories. For this reason I deducted a star, as the treatment of the ideas could have been more balanced and objective. However, the text does point to areas where research evidence is lacking, and further work would be illuminative.

Overall, the text is exceptionally thorough and complete. It makes use of many illustrations, the one and only true weakness of the book by Styles. Due to the technical detail and in depth analysis of the treatment from the viewpoint of cognitive psychology and neurophysiology, this book is not for the beginner. As just mentioned, Styles book on this subject is a much better volume for the novice in this subject, and then Pashler's work is much more accessible. It also helps to be familiar with the concepts native to cognitive psychology such as information processing theory, introductory probability theory, and signal detection theory for the reader to get the most out of this text.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough and complete, not for the layperson, however.
Review: This text is an outstanding overview of the field of attention and the research that has been done investigating the topic. It is exceptionally complete and thorough, examing the issues involved in understanding attention and the theories about it from a viewpoint of hypothesis and empirical research. In contrast to Styles book on this topic by the same title, the treatment is done on an issue by issue basis, such as selective attention, divided attention, etc. It is also divided into two main parts, the first a treatment of the research on attention starting with the work of Broadbent, Cherry, and Deutsch and Deutsch with the second section devoted to discussion and analysis of theories of attention.

There is a noticeable bias, however, in the critical evaluation of the theories of attention discussed; arguments throughout the book are made for early selection theories and against late selection theories. Where the evidence favors late selection accounts of attention, they are always presented with caveats and pointed explantions of their limitations, and how these limitations in turn favor early selection theories. For this reason I deducted a star, as the treatment of the ideas could have been more balanced and objective. However, the text does point to areas where research evidence is lacking, and further work would be illuminative.

Overall, the text is exceptionally thorough and complete. It makes use of many illustrations, the one and only true weakness of the book by Styles. Due to the technical detail and in depth analysis of the treatment from the viewpoint of cognitive psychology and neurophysiology, this book is not for the beginner. As just mentioned, Styles book on this subject is a much better volume for the novice in this subject, and then Pashler's work is much more accessible. It also helps to be familiar with the concepts native to cognitive psychology such as information processing theory, introductory probability theory, and signal detection theory for the reader to get the most out of this text.