No crisis when attention is the outcome of selective action

Rosenholtz addresses the crisis of proliferating mechanisms for visual attention by redefining the concept in terms of (a) the known limitations of peripheral vision and (b) a proper assessment of task complexity. We argue that abandoning the see → decide → act pipeline model and the myth of a centralized gate or resource eliminates this crisis. In our view, “attention” describes an outcome—the consequence of multiple constraints on perception and action—rather than a reified cause.