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Attention and Perception

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

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Synonyms

Observation; Selective focus; Sensitivity; Understanding

Definition

Before information can be used in a meaningful way, it must first be attended to within the perceiver’s environment. Once information is attended to, how it is interpreted by the individual based on current goals, drives, and motives determines how it is perceived. Humans have an automatic tendency to focus their cognitive resources on stimuli that convey messages of potential danger (threat to survival) or mate prosperity (reproductive success). However, how these stimuli are perceived must be examined in the context of its evolutionary function in order to understand their adaptive relevance to the human cognitive system.

Introduction

The ability to efficiently attend to information within one’s environment is a vital cognitive skill that allows an organism to appropriately interact with the world. However, not all information (particularly fitness-enhancing information) is processed equivalently nor do all...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA

    Allison M. Wilck & Jeanette Altarriba

Authors
  1. Allison M. Wilck
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  2. Jeanette Altarriba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Allison M. Wilck .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

  2. Child, Youth and Family Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Doug P. VanderLaan

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Wilck, A.M., Altarriba, J. (2019). Attention and Perception. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_637-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_637-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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