Attention

Question 1

What are the four theories of attention?

Answer 1

1. Selective/Filter Attention
2. Vigilance/Spotlight Attention
3. Divided Attention(Mental Resource)
4. Visual Search

Question 2

What is exogenous attention?

Answer 2

Our external environment directs what we pay attention to?

Question 3

What is endogenous attention?

Answer 3

We choose what we pay attention to.

Question 4

What is overt attention?

Answer 4

Others know what we are paying attention to?

Question 5

What is covert attention?

Answer 5

Others don’t know what we’re paying attention to.

Question 6

What is automatic attention?

Answer 6

We don’t need to pay attention to complete a task.

Question 7

What is controlled attention.

Answer 7

We pay attention to what task we are performing.

Question 8

What is inattentional blindness?

Answer 8

When we are unable to discern changes in our environment because our attention is elsewhere.

Question 9

What is change blindness?

Answer 9

When we are not aware of changes between two pictures/people.

Question 10

What are selective theories of attention.

Answer 10

These theories posit that a mechanism in our minds blocks certain unimportant stimuli from further processing.

Question 11

What was Broadbent’s Early Filter of Attention Theory? What experiment showed this? What problems does this theory have?

Answer 11

It posited that all our sensory memory goes through a filter that selects for important sensation and discards the rest while embedding the important stuff into our mind. In a dichotic listening task, people were good at selective attention, not processing a word that was repeated 30 times.

Problems: People are aware of their own name in an unattended message, and participants can follow a meaningful message in the unattended ear (Dear Aunt Polly).

Question 12

What is the Treisman Attenuation Model (Leaky Early Filter) Theory.

Answer 12

Sensory input goes into temporary sensory memory which is then filtered through a attenuator that increases or decreases attention to a given stimulus. This stimulus goes into a dictionary unit which has a threshold for each word’s “salience”. If that threshold is passed we commit that word to memory. The reason unattended info gets through is either because it’s more intense, more important or more likely given the circumstances.

Question 13

What are the theories of divided attention?

Answer 13

We have a fixed amount of attentional resources that we use to perform mental work. We know that we have additional cognitive resources because attention spills over in low load tasks. This was demonstrated with the Flanker Compatibility Task. In the low load, Ps had extra cognitive resources left over so they would pay attention to the flanker and thus have higher RT to the needed task.

Question 14

Contrast parallel vs serial processing?

Answer 14

Parallel processing is fast because multiple processes are going on at once. Serial processing is slow because every step is taken in sequence.

Question 15

Contrast automatic vs controlled attention. (4)

Answer 15

1. Does not require attention vs. requires attention.
2. Fast vs Slow
3. Parallel vs Serial
4. Cannot be modified once started vs under conscious control.

Question 16

How does the Stroop task show automatic vs controlled processing.

Answer 16

We have a harder time reading colors that belong to different words because reading is more automatic than reading out colors.

Question 17

What are capacity theories of attention?

Answer 17

Capacity theories say that because our cognitive resources are limited, we are less able to do certain tasks when our attention is divided.

Question 18

What is the capacity of our visual attention according to Cowan?

Answer 18

We can attend to 4+1 items at a time.

Question 19

What are vigilance theories of attention?

Answer 19

Vigilance theories of attention say that our attention is like a spotlight that focuses on different areas at once and selectively pays attention to those areas.

Question 20

How did Posner prove vigilance theories of attention?

Answer 20

He tricked participants into looking at the area of the screen where he promised there would be a stimulus they would have to react to. When the stimulus showed up elsewhere the RT to recognize the stimulus was longer.

Question 21

What is object based attention? Evidence? Explain 2 experiments.

Answer 21

It is similar to space based attention/vigilance but it says that we pay attention to objects rather than spaces. Hands clapping vs ball passing scenario and two objects RT experiment.

Question 22

What is the binding problem?

Answer 22

How are separate features combined into a single object and how do brain processes construct phenomenological experience?

Question 23

What is visual search (feature integration) theory? Experiment.

Answer 23

The theory that attention is designed to bind features, that is to look and connect object features that are located in one place. An experiment that showed this is to see reaction time when asked to find an object with shared features with others (i.e., color or shape) or absent similar features. RT is higher in cases where features are shared. Meaning the former process (Conjunction Search) is serial, the latter (Feature Search) parallel.

Question 24

What type of process does feature integration theory see attention as?

Answer 24

A 2-stage process where a single feature does not require attention and pops out automatically (pre-attention) while binding features requires attention (combining features).