Consistent with this complex of hysterical symptoms is a preferred mode of attention that entails parallel-processing in the periphery combined with a broad unfocussed attentional beam. Such an attentional mode is responsive only to the striking and obvious features of the environment. Parallel-processing facilitates the apprehension of multiple sources of input, but the broad unfocussed bandwidth renders this information vague and poorly connected. As a consequence, the hysterical style does not yield a basis for carefully considered judgments and must rely, at best, on impressionistic hunches