18 Ways Attention Goes Wrong

This is a precis of information found here:

http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/04/18-ways-attention-goes-wrong.php

1. Utilisation behaviour
...patients find themselves unable to resist the routine actions suggested by objects around them.

2. Spatial neglect
...fail to pay full attention to things they see on their left (because of the way the brain is wired, the right hemisphere processes information about the left-visual-field).

3. The rubber gloves illusion
...information from the visual system can override attention to tactile sensation (or lack thereof) from the hands, to create an apparently impossible sensation.

4. Pain
...pain is the ultimate attention-grabber...Pain pulls sufferers' attention away from task demands and forces them to continually re-focus to achieve their goal.

5. The cocktail party problem
...ability to tune our auditory attention to just one voice at a party. Unfortunately for those with hearing loss this can become the cocktail party problem, a difficulty in separating one voice from all the others.

6. Alcohol myopia
...long-term consequences of actions are ignored in favour of short-term impulses.

7. Errors of automaticity
When our attention is distracted we carry out highly practised behaviours automatically, occasionally at inappropriate times...One person reported unwrapping a sweet, throwing the sweet away and putting the wrapper in his mouth...

8. Inattentional & choice blindness
...changes people will miss when they're distracted.

9. Ironic processes of control
Sometimes too much attention is just as detrimental as too little.

10. Insomnia
...insomniacs keep themselves awake by focusing too much on the bodily sensations associated with sleep and any environmental noises that might be keeping them awake.

11. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

12. Anxiety
...a person continually thinking about themselves in social situations is bound to become more self-concious.

13. Panic attacks
Paying too much attention to bodily processes is a strong feature of those who experience panic attacks....people who experience panic attacks are hypervigilant to somatic sensations.

14. Hypochondriasis
...hypochondriacs tend to be hypersensitive to odd twinges.

15. Eating disorders
...people with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa seem to have attentional biases around body image.

16. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
Excessive attention towards anxiety-inducing thoughts...

17. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
...flashbacks, nightmares and the feeling of losing control...PTSD sufferers are especially attracted to and vigilant for negative stimuli in the environment

18. Depression
...enhanced processing for negative stimuli...One important maintaining process in depression is thought to be rumination. Individuals who are more prone to going over negative experiences again and again are more susceptible to developing clinical depression.