{"id":"mymindmine-knowledge-attention-v1","slug":"attention","domain":"mind","title":"Attention","deck":"How a limited cognitive system selects what gets processing priority.","directAnswer":"Attention is the selective allocation of cognitive resources. It helps a mind prioritize some information, actions, or goals while leaving other available information less processed.","mechanism":["Selection changes which signals receive deeper processing.","Attention can be deliberately directed or captured by salient, novel, emotional, or task-relevant stimuli.","Sustained, selective, divided, and executive attention describe different demands rather than one single mental switch."],"whyItMatters":["What receives attention is more likely to shape memory, interpretation, and action.","Attention is therefore both a cognitive resource problem and a trajectory problem: selection changes what can be noticed next."],"questions":["Why is attention limited?","What captures attention?","How does attention interact with memory?","Why is switching attention costly?"],"related":["working-memory","executive-function","perception","metacognition","adhd"],"sources":[{"label":"APA Dictionary: attention","url":"https://dictionary.apa.org/attention","publisher":"American Psychological Association"}],"brajology":["Perspective Expansion asks whether the current attentional frame is hiding materially relevant actions.","Path Expansion asks what future option-space becomes reachable after attention is converted into action."],"updated":"2026-09-20","canonicalUrl":"https://www.mymindmine.com/mind/attention","author":{"name":"John Brajer","url":"https://www.mymindmine.com/people/john-brajer"},"publisher":"MyMindMine","knowledgeSystem":"MyMindMine Knowledge System v1","epistemicBoundary":{"externalSources":"Sources support the external factual orientation.","originalLayer":"Brajology and MyMindMine interpretations are original framework material and are not attributed to external sources."}}