Salience (neuroscience)

Salience ( conspicuity ) means in psychology that a stimulus highlighted (eg, an object or a person) from its context and thus the mind is more accessible than a non- salient stimulus. Causes may be that the figure-ground contrast is high, or that the stimulus is contrary to the expectations, or that the stimulus provides information about current goals.

The salience of a stimulus or an object or a person diagnosed with what is directed human attention. This is determined by two mechanisms of perception:

  • Stimulus -induced collection of attention. That is, objects that are salient for certain characteristics, draw - regardless of the objectives of the perceiving person - the attention. Example: A red light in the midst of green lights " eye-catching ".
  • Goal -driven selection (selective attention). That is, the perceiving person gives because of their goals or their current motivation particular objects of attention. Example: A hungry man are food rather than a rich man.

Both processes play together. In cases where the two processes compete with each other - so it put the previous psychological research suggests - is the stimulus-induced collection against the target-controlled by choice.

Salience of stimulus depends inter alia on its

  • Intensity ( an intense stimulus is more salient than a less intense )
  • News ( a new stimulus is more salient than a well-known and a surprising stimulus more salient than an expected )
  • Needs Relevance (English biological need, a stimulus that satisfies a biological need, is more salient than a stimulus that is biologically irrelevant)
  • Ecological validity ( engl. ecological validity, a stimulus that relevant information about an object provides, is more salient than a stimulus that does not do this )

Social psychology is known that salience is an important factor for cause attributions. For example, if Members of minority groups show certain behaviors, this behavior is attributed by the other people are more likely to belong to this minority, as the same conduct of a member of the majority of the membership of this same majority.

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