ABSTRACT
Norman suggests that the relative pertinence of stimuli controls the focus of attention. In Sokolov's research, novelty is defined in terms of violation of expectation and dynamism. The major point of possible contention between the present view of quantitative novelty and other theories dealing with variables that determine the focus of attention is the following. Quantitative novelty integrates previously unrelated variables such as distinctiveness, consensus, and stimulus salience. The concept of relational properties suggests that any type of relationship between two or more people or two or more stimuli necessarily imbues the participants with relational properties. Heider's classification system suggests that sentiment relationships and belonging relationships represent the two major types of relatedness. Correspondent inference theory argues that a person's behavior conveys maximum information about actual attitudes and beliefs when the person has freely chosen to engage in a behavior that has a low prior probability of occurrence.
