Attention Bibliography

Studies on Attention: An Annotated Bibliography of Theories and Research

June 2006 By Patrick Reed

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The Norman Lear Center

Studies on Attention: An Annotated Bibliography

Studies on Attention: An Annotated Bibliography Does violence attract more attention than sex? Do video games destroy attention spans? Are pictures more eye-catching than words? What is “attention” and how does it work? The Norman Lear Center asked Patrick Reed to take a broad, cross-disciplinary look at how attention works and how it is defined. This annotated bibliography summarizes the work of psychologists, sociologists, neuroscientists, anthropologists, marketers and many others who have devised experiments and theories that attempt to explain a process that defines the human experience.

The Norman Lear Center The Norman Lear Center is a multidisciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society. From its base in the USC Annenberg School for Communication, the Lear Center builds bridges between eleven schools whose faculty study aspects of entertainment, media, and culture. Beyond campus, it bridges the gap between the entertainment industry and academia, and between them and the public. For more information, please visit www.learcenter.org.

Patrick Reed Patrick Reed has contributed to several projects for the Norman Lear Center, including “Ready to Share” and “The Tyranny of 18 to 49.” He currently lives in Frankfort, Kentucky, and works as a researcher and Web editor for “Thoroughbred Times” and as a freelancer. He has worked for a variety of businesses and non-profits since the late-1990s as a writer, researcher, film critic, copyeditor and video producer. He received a B.A. in telecommunications with a concentration in film studies from the University of Kentucky and an M.A. in popular culture from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He lives in Frankfort, Kentucky.

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The Norman...