attention

n. Focusing the apparently limited capacities of consciousness on a particular set of stimuli more of whose features are noted and processed in more depth than is true of nonfocal stimuli. Attention has been a focus of research since the 1960s, and numerous models have been generated noting certain features of attention and then been found wanting. Important features of attention include limited capacity, focus, differential processing of focal and nonfocal stimuli, leaking of information from nonfocal stimuli into awareness, effect of expectations on attentional focus and perception, and cultural differences in attentional patterns.