The automatic mind: Insights from JEP: HPP on learned attentional control.

Traditionally, cognitive psychology has viewed attentional control-the process of selecting information for perception, cognition, and action-as a deliberate, resource-demanding process governed by immediate goals. However, significant advances over the past few decades have broadened our understanding of how attention is controlled. A particularly groundbreaking insight is that attentional control can be learned and once acquired can be automatically executed in response to environmental cues. Key studies contributing to this paradigm shift have been published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. This article reviews several of these pivotal studies and discusses potential future directions for the field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).