‘Everyone knows what attention is'

William James once stated that ‘everyone knows what attention is,’ [ 1 ] but it appears that nobody seems to agree on the definition [ 2 ]. The concept of attention, like other neurocognitive processes, is difficult to define, test, and distinguish from other aspects of cognition [ 3 ]. That said, people intuitively understand what attention is; common phrases in the English language provide insight into our collective understanding of human attention and its meaning. For example, in everyday life, we may hear phrases such as: ‘Pay attention,’ ‘Grab my attention,’ ‘Want your full attention,’ ‘Keep your eye on the ball,’ ‘stand to attention,’ ‘I’m all ears,’ ‘draw your attention to,’ ‘I have a short attention span,’ ‘I want your undivided attention,’ ‘centre of attention,’ ‘stand to attention,’ ‘attention seeker,’ ‘attract attention,’ ‘attention deficit,’ etc. Attached to each of these phrases is a perspective that can be explored.