We examined whether selective attention, which is mainly theorized as the ability to focus on the category-relevant dimension, is a sole construct in understanding category learning. As the attention literature dissociates selective attention into focusing and filtering, we argue that filtering is another component that should be considered to fully understanding category learning. In the study, we provide an experimental paradigm that can dissociate filtering from focusing. By utilizing the paradigm along with collecting individual attention control measures, we show that filtering is related to the ability to inhibit irrelevant information. We also present that the current computational models that incorporate selective attention only as an ability to focus can not explain the results from the current study
