Attention has long been studied in cognitive science, and has been a feature of computational cognitive models literally ever since there have been such things.

Attention has long been studied in cognitive science, and has been a feature of computational cognitive models literally ever since there have been such things. Here's a paper from 1997 that explicitly uses attentional focus: http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/1997v21/i03/p0305p0350/MAIN.PDF http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/1997v21/i03/p0305p0350/MAIN...