7. What determines what we pay attention to?

Question 1

Biased Competition Theory (Desimone & Duncan, 1995) Says there are top-down a____ c ____ mechanisms and Bottom-up s____-d____ mechanisms sensitive to stimulus s____

Answer 1

Top-down attentional control mechanisms
Bottom-up sensory-driven mechanisms sensitive to stimulus salience

Question 2

What is the Biased Competition Theory?
The idea that our attention is i____ by both t____-d____ and b____-u____ underlies many of the current t____ of s____ a____

Answer 2

This idea that our attention is influenced by both top-down and bottom up underlies many of the current theories of selective attention

Question 3

What are three kinds of stimuli that can “capture” our attention?
1. Stimuli of h____ s____
2. M____/’a____ o____’
3. Things r____ to u____/r____ to our v____

Answer 3

1. Stimuli of high salience
2. Movement/’abrupt onset’
3. Things relevant to us/relate to our values

Question 4

C____ is irrelevant to shape-based search task

Answer 4

Colour

Question 5

Colour “singleton” increases search…

Answer 5

reaction times

Question 6

What is Theeuwes’ interpretation?
C____ t____-d____ selectivity not p____

Answer 6

Complete top-down selectivity not possible

Question 7

Stimulus-driven selection says ____ processing happens before ____ processing

Answer 7

Bottom-up BEFORE top-down
(bottom-up input, top-down modulation)

Question 8

In the first stage of stimulus-driven selection, there’s an initial s____ across v____ f____, entirely b____-u____. Calculation of l____ s____

Answer 8

sweep
visual field
bottom-up
local salience

Question 9

What occurs in the second stage of stimulus-driven selection?
Is selected item t____? If not, l____ i____
Attention then s____ to item that is n____ in line with respect to s____

Answer 9

Is selected item target? If not, location inhibited
Attention then shifts to item that is next in line with respect to salience

Question 10

Stimulus-driven selection only takes place within a____ w____

Answer 10

Attentional window
Spatial cues can vary size of attentional window

Question 11

Singletons outside c____ location do not capture a____

Answer 11

Cued, attention

Question 12

Contingent capture (Folk & Remington, 1992) states attentional capture is not s____-d____.
Attention can only be captured by stimuli relevant to our g____

Answer 12

stimulus-driven
goals

Question 13

Contingent capture research found:
1. Colour cues capture attention when target was defined on c____
2. Onset cues capture attention when target was defined on o____
3. Suggests attentional capture is c____ on task g____

Answer 13

1. Colour
2. Onset
3. Contingent, goals

Question 14

Define abrupt onset

Answer 14

Something which suddenly appears

Question 15

What does abrupt onset theory state?
O____ abrupt onsets can produce s____ d____ c____

Answer 15

Only abrupt onsets can produce stimulus driven capture

Question 16

Abrupt onsets research found singleton was n____ p____ of target location, and could be either c____ singleton, or o____
Onsets produced attentional c____, but colour singletons didn’t

Answer 16

Not predictive
colour, onset
capture

Question 17

Moving or l____ stimuli also capture attention, but r____ stimuli don’t

Answer 17

looming, receding

Question 18

Attention tasks usually begin with some kind of c____ to display. This may induce general “d____-w____” settings for dynamic changes, including o____.

Answer 18

change
display-wide
onsets

Question 19

Sometimes things seem to attract attention because of their m____, or p____ r____

Answer 19

Meaning, personal relevance

Question 20

More recent theories highlight role of “selection h____” or r____ associations

Answer 20

History, reward

Question 21

Stimuli associated with v____ capture attention

Answer 21

value

Question 22

Define local salience
How much does this d____ from s____ i____ a____ along some d____ such as c____, s____, l____, s____ etc

Answer 22

How much does this differ from surrounding image attributes along some dimension such as colour, shape, luminance, size etc?

Question 23

In research into abrupt onset, singleton was not predictive of what?

Answer 23

Target location