Spotlight metaphor
The Spotlight metaphor of cognitive psychology refers to the fact that we our attention as it were like a spotlight ( Spotlight move around) and can focus on different sections of irritable offer. For example, we can focus our conscious hearing on nearby or distant noises or even completely block them out (although all these noises are constantly present). At a wine tasting, more olfactory and taste attention is paid to the sip of wine than at a company party. Even if the wine and those who drink it are the same, the perception of taste is different.
The visual attention can be narrow or wide set, the size of the "cone of light" can by several Sehwinkelgrad vary. However, the larger the diameter of the spotlight, the worse the cognitive processing of all parts of the visual field. Narrowing the spotlight maximizes the processing options. Attention is highest in the center of the spotlight, even if the entire spotlight is in the foveal area of the visual field, i.e. the area of sharpest vision.
literature
- Anderson, JR: Cognitive Psychology. Spectrum, Heidelberg 1996.
Individual evidence
- ↑ LaBerge, D. (1983): Spatial extent of attention to letters and words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 9, 371-379.