automatic attention

Automatic attention makes fewer demands but is relatively inflexible, as it cannot cope with the unexpected. The focal and automatic modes may be illustrated by a driving example: a new driver has to attend to gear shifting in a focal way (actively thinking about it),…

…(large CNV) and the less-demanding automatic mode (small CNV). If the priming view of the CNV is correct, it may well indicate recruitment of the necessary resources to deal with the (imperative) task.