Attention and Visual Communication.

One theory of visual communication maintains three things. It holds that attention is a process for obtaining information, that it is a transaction between the visual and the viewer, and that the success of a visual communication is determined by the amount and relevance of information conveyed. Current research aims at evaluating "attention-getters" and training "attention-givers." The measurement of the former proceeds indirectly through the measurement of occipital alpha rhythms in the brain which are associated with changes in visual control related to changes in attention. Results show that attentional response to a stimulus varies with its relevance and fades with repetition, approaching zero after 30 presentations. Training sessions with biofeedback methods indicate that subjects can learn to modify and control occipital alpha rhythms. Individuals appear to undergo unique and incommensurable experiences, but there is disagreement on how control over the rhythms is achieved, and there is no evidence as yet which substantiates the position that successful biofeedback attention training helps an individual to learn better. (Author/PB)