Switching or gating? The attentional challenge in cognitive models of psychological time

This paper briefly outlines theories dealing with attentional processes, before the status of attention is evaluated within cognitive models of psychological time. Particular emphasis is put on comparing the temporal information processing model (TIP) and the attentional gate model (AGM). It is argued that certain functional attributes that the AGM splits between an 'attentional gate' and the switch located at the clock level of the TIP model were already ascribed to the switch and supported by previous animal data. Thus, the notion of an 'attentional switch' is favored over adding a 'gate'. This does not exclude the possibility that the TIP model may be adapted to accommodate both prospective and retrospective timing data. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.