Visual spatial attention span orientation can be either endogenous or exogenous (Chica,
Bartolomeo, & Lupiáñez, 2013). Endogenous orienting of attention is top-down, or voluntary
attention. Spatial attention is oriented endogenously when the observer chooses to orient his or
her attention to specific, relevant stimuli, usually by the interpretation of a cue that directs
attention to the target. In contrast, exogenous orienting of attention is bottom-up, or involuntary,
stimulus-driven attention. Exogenous stimuli comprise multimodal salient stimuli external to the
observer such as a moving or flashing target. Salient stimuli can exogenously capture the
observer’s attention even when he or she has not intended to direct attention to that target.
Michael Posner’s spatial cueing paradigm illustrates endogenous and exogenous orienting of
attention (Posner, 1980). In the paradigm, attention can be oriented either endogenously, using a
spatially predictive central cue, or exogenously, using a spatially non-predictive peripheral cue,
in order to detect a presented target. Figure 1 presents a model of the exogenous and endogenous
cues used in the Posner paradigm. In this cueing paradigm, observers’ ability to focus on the task
and detect the target is significantly better when the target is presented at the cued location using
endogenous cueing. Thus, the ability to intentionally and purposefully focus one’s attention is
associated with better awareness and focus.