8A - Attention

Question 1

Attention definition

Answer 1

actively focusing our mental resources on certain information, while simultaneously blocking out irrelevant information

Question 2

What do we attend to?

Answer 2

• Internal information such as our thoughts and feeling
• External information gathered from our senses

Question 3

Internal stimuli definition

Answer 3

information or sensations that originate from within the body

Question 4

External stimuli definition

Answer 4

information or sensations that originate outside the body

Question 5

Our attention is:

Answer 5

• Limited
• Selective
• Controllable

Question 6

Characteristics of attention - Limited

Answer 6

• We have a certain amount of attention that can be utilised at any given time
• We can’t attend to all sensory stimuli; instead, we filter relevant components into our awareness
• we can only attend to some stimuli and block out other stimuli (can be internal or external)

Question 7

Characteristics of attention - Selective

Answer 7

• We can direct our attention to certain stimuli at the exclusion of other stimuli
• switch between what we are attending to
• chose to direct our attention to certain stimuli and ignore other stimuli

Question 8

Characteristics of attention - Controllable

Answer 8

• Our attention often shifts without us being aware of it
• we do have control over our attention, however there is certain stimuli that we seem to be naturally orientating our attention to when those kinds of stimuli arise

Question 9

Factors that influence the way our attention functions include:

Answer 9

• Level of arousal
• Task difficulty
• Level of anxiety
• Skill development

Question 10

Arousal

Answer 10

• Different states of arousal, such as being fatigued or inebriated, can reduce our level of attention.
• While arousing states, such as mild stress, can enhance our attention

Question 11

Task difficulty

Answer 11

a new or challenging task requires more attentional resources

Question 12

Anxiety

Answer 12

can reduce the cognitive resources that we have available

Question 13

Skill development

Answer 13

through practice in attending to certain stimuli, you can become better at these attentional tasks

Question 14

Sustained attention definition

Answer 14

the process of maintaining attention on one stimulus or task over an extended period of time

Question 15

Role of sustained attention

Answer 15

allow us to fully process information or complete a task

Question 16

Examples of sustained attention

Answer 16

• Completing a maths problem
• Having a conversation
• Completing a driving test

Question 17

Steps of sustained attention:

Answer 17

1. An individual focuses attention on the stimulus they wish to sustain attention towards
2. Maintaining attention on that stimulus (resulting from internal motivation to sustain attention and individual ability to hold focus
3. Releasing sustained attention (when the individual no longer needs to focus on the stimuli

Question 18

Selective attention definition

Answer 18

focusing our mental resources on one stimuli at the exclusion of other stimuli

Question 19

Role of selective attention

Answer 19

acts as a filter that helps us to prioritise incoming information according to its importance

Question 20

Example of selective attention

Answer 20

focusing on what one person says and ignoring the sounds of other conversations or stimuli that may distract you

Question 21

Divided attention definition

Answer 21

splitting attention across two or more stimuli at one time
- involves multitasking, the act of working on multiple tasks at one time.

Question 22

Role of divided attention

Answer 22

allows us to process multiple sources of information or stimuli more efficiently

Question 23

Example of divided attention

Answer 23

driving while following directions from your navigation system

Question 24

Sustained attention - Positive impact

Answer 24

Makes it possible to concentrate in order to complete a set task

Question 25

Sustained attention - Negative impact

Answer 25

Distractions can cause individuals to have to constantly refocus their attention

Question 26

Selective attention - Positive impact

Answer 26

An individual is able to prioritise incoming information according to its importance

Question 27

Selective attention - Negative impact

Answer 27

You are so focused on one stimulus that you ignore any distractions, certain distractions that could be warnings

Question 28

Divided attention - Positive impact

Answer 28

An individual is able to work on multiple tasks at one time

Question 29

Divided attention - Negative impact

Answer 29

Switching tasks can actually make an individual more prone to distraction and reduce their understanding of the task, decreasing performance