From Attention to Distraction
Updated on Wed 26 Aug 14:47 AEST 2026
Preface
This mini-textbook on attention was written for PSYC2016 students at the University of Sydney, but may be suitable for others too. Please let me know about any typos or unclear bits!
You can contact me (he/him) via email (alex.holcombe@sydney.edu.au), Mastodon, BlueSky, or LinkedIn.

Relationship to lectures
The lectures will mostly cover the material in this mini-textbook, just in a different manner. In lectures we will have more interaction and experiences regarding attention and distraction.
In more detail, lectures:
- Go over the same concepts but with different examples and wording
- Thanks to the mini-text, can address issues without worrying I’ll run out of time
- Show demos
- Quiz you, solicit personal experiences
FAQ
Can a lecture be downloaded as PDF?
Yes.
->Tools->PDF Export
or press the letter ‘e’ on your keyboard, that works on my browser
Can this mini-textbook be downloaded as PDF?
No, but you could save each chapter one-by-one as a PDF
which can be useful to you on the exam
I can’t see everything on some pages of the mini-text
Some things are offscreen on most phones, but will work on a laptop/desktop