Balkenius, C. (2000). Attention, habituation and conditioning: toward a computational model. Cognitive Science Quarterly, 1, 2, 171-214. [PDF]
Is attention a purely perceptual process or is it in any way related to motor control? The aim of this article is to show that attention puts similar demands on a cognitive system as motor control and present evidence supporting the view that similar mechanisms operate in the two processes. A computational model of attention is presented that uses habituation as well as classical and instrumental conditioning to explain a number of attentional processes. Evi- dence from neurophysiology is reviewed that suggest that attention is con- trolled in a way similar to actions. This view makes it possible to adapt tradi- tional learning theoretical mechanisms to the control of attention. Computer simulations are presented that illustrates the operation of the model.