Abstract
VARIOUS theories of selective attention1 propose the existence of an inverse relationship between the amount of attention given to one aspect of a stimulus situation and the amount given to all others. Attention may be inferred from the slope of a generalization gradient obtained by varying the stimulus along a dimension. The steeper the gradient (that is, the greater the control exercised by a dimension), the more attention must have been paid to that aspect of the training stimulus. Selective attention to one stimulus dimension should produce a steepened generalization gradient for that dimension and flattened gradients for all other dimensions. Several studies, however, have reported results inconsistent with this prediction.
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THOMAS, D., SCOTT BURR, D. & SVINICKI, M. Evidence for a Positive Relationship between Degree of Control acquired by Two Dimensions of a Complex Stimulus. Nature 223, 420–421 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/223420a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/223420a0
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