Attention and performance

Recent progress in the study of attention and performance is discussed, foc using on the nature of attentional control and the effects of practice. Gen erally speaking, the effects of mental set are proving more pervasive than was previously suspected, whereas automaticity is proving less robust. Stim ulus attributes (e.g. onsets, transients) thought to have a "wired-in" abil ity to capture attention automatically have been shown to capture attention only as a consequence of voluntarily adopted task sets. Recent research su ggests that practice does not have as dramatic effects as is commonly belie ved. While it may turn out that some mental operations are automatized in t he strongest sense, this may be uncommon. Recent work on task switching is also described; optimal engagement in a task set is proving to be intimatel y tied to learning operations triggered by the actual performance of a new task, not merely the anticipation of such performance.