Attention 1

Question 1

What’s attention?

Answer 1

The things we see when we pay attention to them
A lot more sparce than we think

Question 2

Dichotonic listening task

Answer 2

Two messagees presented to each ear via earphones
Some of the basic physical features of the unnatended message are processed, but not higher level semantic propertes

Question 3

Broadbend’s Filter Theory

Answer 3

Sensory input - Short term store- Selective filter - Limited-capacity channel- Higher processing and response selection - Response

Accounts for many of the findings in the dichotic listening experiments

Question 4

Attentional paradox?

Answer 4

“Coctail party effect” (Cherry, 1953; Moray, 1959) - Actively paying attention to someone while noticing background noise, people, objects

Question 5

Unnatended information

Answer 5

some of it gets registered as shown in experiments by Von Wright, et al. (1975) paired some words with electric shock in dichotic task, MacKay (1973) most people paraphrased from the unatended ear correctly,

Question 6

Treisman (1960) attenuation theory

Answer 6

Breakthrough - when Ps say a word that was presented in the unattended ear in a dichotonic task

Occurs more when the word is given context

Sensory inputs - Feature Discrimination - Short-term store - Analysis of meaning (includes context) - Response

Question 7

Deutsch & Deutsch’s late-selection theory

Answer 7

Best one yet
Input - Sensory regisrer - short term memory
Filtering occurs late when all stimuli are analysed
Extensive processing of unnatended stimuli

Question 8

Pereptual load theory - Lavie (1995,2000)

Answer 8

Everyone has a limited attentional capacity
Total capacity always allocated
Spare capacity allocated to irrelevant stimuli
Attentional capacity allocated to the main task depends on perceptual load ( how many items are in vision)

Perceptual load high (difficulty) - early selection
Perceptual load low - late selection

Question 9

Change blindness

Answer 9

perceptual phenomenon occuring when a change in visual stimulus is introduced and the observer doesn’t notice it

Question 10

Location based attention

Answer 10

Visual attention = “the attentional spotlight” - can be focused on a particular thing

Posner (1980) suggests we can switch location of attention without eye movement - “covert attention”

Question 11

Control of spotlight?

Answer 11

Disengagement
shifting
engaging

Question 12

Attentional cueing (exogenous)

Answer 12

Shifts attentuon automatically
Activates when uninforamtive peripheral cues are presented
Stimuli that are salient or differing from others most likely to be attended to

Question 13

Endogenous system

Answer 13

Contolled by the individual’s attention and expactations
Involved when central cues are presented

Question 14

Social cues to attention

Answer 14

We get social cues from other through their body language

Question 15

Misdirection and magic

Answer 15

Misdirection is a deceptive technique which focuses the audience’s attention on one thing in order to distract them from another

Question 16

Zoom lense?

Answer 16

We can concentrate our attention on a priority task, object, etc.

Area of focal attention can be increased based on increased or decreased risk (La Berge, 1983)

Question 17

Divided attention

Answer 17

Difficult to do two things at once, however we can carry out ceratin tasks simulataniously depending on task difficulty (Sullivan, 1976) - dichotonic shadowing task , the similiarity of the two tasks (Treisman & Davies, 1973) more interference when tasks were in similar

Question 18

Explanation of divided attention

Answer 18

Why is performance poorer when tasks performed simulataniously vs. separetly?

Central capacity model- limited resources
Bourke et al (1996) used random letter generation, pattern learning, manual task, tone detection to support central capacity theory

Multiple resources model - different source of capacity designated to diffirent tasks (Wickens, 1984)
Three stages of processing - encoding - central processing - response

Question 19

Cognitive bottleneck

Answer 19

Broadbent (1958) suggests we have limited amount of attentional resources that we can use at one time, stimuli are filtered to most relevant

Question 20

Hemispatial Neglect (unilateral neglect, hemi-neglect, spatial neglect or neglect)

Answer 20

Most prominent when right hemisphere has been severed (righ parietal damage) especially following a stroke

Ps fail to act upon, aknowledge or identify CONTROLEASIONAL (on the side opposite the lesion) stimuli and aknowldge onlu stimuli IPSILESIONAL (on the side of the leasion)

Ps can demonstrate EXTINCTION - failure to detect a contralesional stimulus if presented simultaniously with an ipsilesional stimulus

Question 21

Neglect - a gradient (naklon)

Answer 21

The border between neglected and non neglected space isn’t consistent

The patient’s deficit isn’t sharp (ex.hemianopia), doesn’t align with the vertical meridian of the display , depends on distractions on display

Question 22

Negelct - processing?

Answer 22

Some things get processed in the unatended space semantically

Patient not consciously aware of the neglected stimuli

Question 23

Neglect - memory?

Answer 23

hemispheral neglect can affect our memories
Pizza Duomo experiment (Bisiach & Luzzatti, 1978)

Question 24

Visual Search

Answer 24

when we have to look for a target amongst non targets

Question 25

Feature Integration Theory

Answer 25

Treisman & Gelade (1980), Treisman (e.g. 1988, 1992)
Object - Preattentive stage (features separated) - Focused attention stage (features combined) - Perception

Question 26

Feature Integration Theory

Answer 26

Single feature targets - the actual target
Conjuctive targets - targets that share features with the original target

Question 27

Threat superiority effect

Answer 27

Noticing something faster when it poses threat in comparison to somehing positive or neutral

Question 28

Automaticity - The Stroop effect

Answer 28

Two competing processes naming the colour (primary task) , reading the word (automatic)
The automatic processing of reading the word interferes with the instruciton of naming the colour

Question 29

Automatic vs. Controlled processes

Answer 29

automatic - fast, unscoscious, doesn’t require attention (cognitive resource), parallel processing, etc.

controlled - slow, requires attention, takes up processing capacity, serial processing, conscious, can be used flexibly (Shiffin and Schneider, 1977)

Question 30

Supervisory attentional system (SAS)

Answer 30

Norman & Schallice (1986) - separated different levels of automaticity:

• fully automatic (controlled by schemas ; organised plans)
  -partially automatic- contention scheduling - ro resolve conflict between schemas without deliberate action
  -deliberate control by SAS - new tasks, deliberate planning, problem solving, conflict monitoring, etc.

Question 31

Involvement of frontal lobes in SAS?

Answer 31

Dysexective syndrome - cognitive, emotional, behavioural symtoms
-often associated with frontal lobe damage
- patients often have difficulty in planning, organizing, controlling action

Utilization behaviour (Lheermitte, 1983)
- medial frontal lesions
-patients will understanded and use any object that is presented even if the behaviour is innapropritate