Focalism

Biological Parallel

A sparrow spotting a hawk experiences complete attentional capture—feeding, preening, and social behavior cease as all cognitive resources lock onto the threat. This focus is adaptive for immediate survival but excludes competing factors that shape actual experience. Focalism—overweighting a single factor when predicting emotions—occurs because we simulate futures using this same threat-response spotlight: we imagine getting fired and predict devastation, but the simulation excludes the ambient reality (family support, alternative opportunities, daily routines) that will actually dilute the focal event's impact. We predict using survival-mode attention, then experience using whole-life context.