TY - JOUR
T1 - Attentional control and the self
T2 - The Self-Attention Network (SAN)
AU - Humphreys, Glyn W.
AU - Sui, Jie
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Although there is strong evidence that human decision-making is frequently self-biased, it remains unclear whether self-biases mediate attention. Here we review evidence on the relations between self-bias effects in decision-making and attention. We ask: Does self-related information capture attention? Do self-biases modulate pre-attentive processes or do they depend on attentional resources being available? We review work on (1) own-name effects, (2) own-face effects, and (3) self-biases in associative matching. We argue that self-related information does have a differential impact on the allocation of attention and that it can alter the saliency of a stimulus in a manner that mimics the effects of perceptual-saliency. However, there is also evidence that self-biases depend on the availability of attentional resources and attentional expectancies for upcoming stimuli. We propose a new processing framework, the Self-Attention Network (SAN), in which neural circuits responding to self-related stimuli interact with circuits supporting attentional control, to determine our emergent behavior. We also discuss how these-bias effects may extend beyond the self to be modulated by the broader social context—for example, by cultural experience, by an in-group as opposed to an out-group stimulus, and by whether we are engaged in joint actions. Self-biases on attention are modulated by social context.
AB - Although there is strong evidence that human decision-making is frequently self-biased, it remains unclear whether self-biases mediate attention. Here we review evidence on the relations between self-bias effects in decision-making and attention. We ask: Does self-related information capture attention? Do self-biases modulate pre-attentive processes or do they depend on attentional resources being available? We review work on (1) own-name effects, (2) own-face effects, and (3) self-biases in associative matching. We argue that self-related information does have a differential impact on the allocation of attention and that it can alter the saliency of a stimulus in a manner that mimics the effects of perceptual-saliency. However, there is also evidence that self-biases depend on the availability of attentional resources and attentional expectancies for upcoming stimuli. We propose a new processing framework, the Self-Attention Network (SAN), in which neural circuits responding to self-related stimuli interact with circuits supporting attentional control, to determine our emergent behavior. We also discuss how these-bias effects may extend beyond the self to be modulated by the broader social context—for example, by cultural experience, by an in-group as opposed to an out-group stimulus, and by whether we are engaged in joint actions. Self-biases on attention are modulated by social context.
KW - Attention
KW - Own-face effect
KW - Own-name effect
KW - Self-bias
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84929590312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://dx.doi.org/ShowEdit 10.1080/17588928.2015.1044427
U2 - 10.1080/17588928.2015.1044427
DO - 10.1080/17588928.2015.1044427
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 25945926
AN - SCOPUS:84929590312
SN - 1758-8928
VL - 7
SP - 5
EP - 17
JO - Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Cognitive Neuroscience
IS - 1-4
ER -