Attention 1 Flashcards
What’s attention?
The things we see when we pay attention to them
A lot more sparce than we think
Dichotonic listening task
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
Broadbend’s Filter Theory
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
Attentional paradox?
“Coctail party effect” (Cherry, 1953; Moray, 1959) - Actively paying attention to someone while noticing background noise, people, objects
Unnatended information
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,
Treisman (1960) attenuation theory
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
Deutsch & Deutsch’s late-selection theory
Best one yet
Input - Sensory regisrer - short term memory
Filtering occurs late when all stimuli are analysed
Extensive processing of unnatended stimuli
Pereptual load theory - Lavie (1995,2000)
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
Change blindness
perceptual phenomenon occuring when a change in visual stimulus is introduced and the observer doesn’t notice it
Location based attention
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”
Control of spotlight?
Disengagement
shifting
engaging
Attentional cueing (exogenous)
Shifts attentuon automatically
Activates when uninforamtive peripheral cues are presented
Stimuli that are salient or differing from others most likely to be attended to
Endogenous system
Contolled by the individual’s attention and expactations
Involved when central cues are presented
Social cues to attention
We get social cues from other through their body language
Misdirection and magic
Misdirection is a deceptive technique which focuses the audience’s attention on one thing in order to distract them from another
Zoom lense?
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)
Divided attention
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
Explanation of divided attention
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
Cognitive bottleneck
Broadbent (1958) suggests we have limited amount of attentional resources that we can use at one time, stimuli are filtered to most relevant
Hemispatial Neglect (unilateral neglect, hemi-neglect, spatial neglect or neglect)
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
Neglect - a gradient (naklon)
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
Negelct - processing?
Some things get processed in the unatended space semantically
Patient not consciously aware of the neglected stimuli
Neglect - memory?
hemispheral neglect can affect our memories
Pizza Duomo experiment (Bisiach & Luzzatti, 1978)
Visual Search
when we have to look for a target amongst non targets
Feature Integration Theory
Treisman & Gelade (1980), Treisman (e.g. 1988, 1992)
Object - Preattentive stage (features separated) - Focused attention stage (features combined) - Perception
Feature Integration Theory
Single feature targets - the actual target
Conjuctive targets - targets that share features with the original target
Threat superiority effect
Noticing something faster when it poses threat in comparison to somehing positive or neutral
Automaticity - The Stroop effect
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
Automatic vs. Controlled processes
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)
Supervisory attentional system (SAS)
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.
Involvement of frontal lobes in SAS?
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
