Attention Grabber 2: Unexpected Elements
The second aspect that immediately commands attention is contrast. The neuroscience term for this is salience, and it means how much something stands out in contrast to its surroundings. You would immediately notice a little green light flashing on your cell phone indicating a new message. Imagine that you are driving in the country and out the window you see cornfield after cornfield. Suddenly you notice a patch of sunflowers amid the corn. You cannot help but focus your attention on those bright sunflowers. The flashing light and the sunflowers are salient stimuli.
The reason that something unexpected stands out has to do with the scientific principle of habituation. Habituation means that we get used ...
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