Associative attentional guidance ​

As already mentioned in section 3, associative attention focusing is related to the first signaling system - S1 according to Kahneman - and works automatically, regardless of a person's desire. It appeared in order to contribute to human survival in an unfavorable environment, and therefore attention is specifically focused on objects that:

• Are often encountered, familiar, and known (the brain easily identifies them);
• Are associated with objects previously seen;
• Correspond to the background, are expected;
• Represent some change, new information (new entries);
• Have priority from a biological point of view (threatening, sexual stimuli);
• Are related to us;
• Are related to unfinished business (where the dot has not been put);
• Are related to some kind of mystery.

There are roles that you - consciously or not very consciously - have learned to play in specific contexts. It could be the role of a husband/wife at home, or the role of an engineer at work. The role has been played for a long time, a lot of time is devoted to it during the week, many operations with objects related to the role are carried out - and performing the role starts to become automatic. Objects related to the role become familiar, attention automatically "sticks" to them: the brain has simply learned to identify and track changes in them. For example, when you learn to play the role of an ontologist, you can "on the fly" track the density of the conceptual space during a meeting and adjust it if necessary. As a tango dancer, you will automatically assess the quality of movements in the dance.

Focusing attention on familiar objects is very easy. Conversely, focusing on unfamiliar objects can have glitches: attention literally "goes off track." For example, when a person only starts performing student practices, it can be difficult for them to allocate time to apply the practices in focus. Playing the role of an ontologist and discussing the language of discussions, the density of the conceptual space can be initially challenging: attention cameras do not want to "stick" to these objects, so effort must be made not to get distracted. This happens because such focus is not familiar, and also because of its complexity: playing the role of an ontologist requires active, costly S2 operation.

People dressed in suits are more likely to find "comfortable" couches and prefer more expensive sofas, while visitors who saw coins first of all sought information on prices and preferred cheaper couches.

Our attention is also drawn to new information (expected novelty). For example, managers often have to deal with new inputs: new information arrives from clients, new projects are launched, urgent matters appear that need to be included in the schedule. And here lies the danger described in Chapter 3: the danger of assessing new input as "important" just because it is "new" and in the "focus." This is related to the orientation of S1, which focuses attention associatively, on survival: old inputs did not kill us, but new ones might, so drop everything and run to deal with them. In reality, the matter may be categorized as "urgent but not important." To assess the importance, it is necessary to slow down and activate S2.

In addition, our attention is attracted to biological stimuli important to us: threatening, sexual stimuli. This is why aggressive advertising is popular, often used by car and jeans sellers. However, not all products can be promoted using biological stimuli: promoting kitchenware and non-alcoholic drinks with biological stimuli will not be very effective.

Also, information related to us automatically attracts us. For example, people are much more likely to read articles that describe problems similar to those they are experiencing. The behavior of their children in kindergarten worries parents much more than the behavior of their peers. Also, during conferences or meetings, people are inclined to pay more attention to the speech they are about to give than to the report of the participant right in front of them because they are worried about how their presentation will go. This effect is known as the "next in line" effect and hinders the perception of information (if not addressed).

Furthermore, attention is associatively drawn to unfinished and mysterious things. Associative attention to "unfinished business" occurs due to the Zeigarnik effect. The Zeigarnik effect states that attention will automatically be directed to unfinished business until it is completed. And if you fail to finish it, there will be discomfort, a nagging feeling of incompleteness that will bother you until it is completed. To avoid this effect, it is convenient to work on tasks in one go. And if, on the contrary, you need to return to work after a forced break, you can leave it unfinished to motivate yourself to return and complete the task.

Mystery excites people's minds and attracts attention extremely effectively. This is why storytelling practices are so popular: they create engaging stories that automatically attract and hold attention until the end of the narrative. If the story ends with a quality explanation, it can even have an educational effect.

Thus, there are many factors influencing passive attention focusing - factors that we may not even suspect sometimes.