Attention Flashcards
Attention
the means by which we actively process a limited amount of information from the enormous amount of information available through our senses, memories amd other cognitive processes.
includes both conscious and unconscious processes
3 purposes of conscious attention
- Helps in monitoring our interactions with the environment
- Assist us in linking our past (memories) in our present (sensations) to give us a sense of continuity of experience - basis for personal identity
- Helps us in controlling and planning for future actions
5 functions of attention
Signal detection vigilance search selective attention divided attention
Signal-Detection theory
how to detect stimulus (signal) among distractors
Hit (present signal detected)
False alarm (present signal not detected)
Miss (absent signal detected)
Correct rejection (absent signal not detected)
Vigilance and brain structures involved
A person’s ability to attend to a field of stimulation over a prolonged period.
-might increase by training
amygdala and thalamus
feature vs conjuction search
feature search - scan the environment for that feature (blue)
conjunction search - a combination of features; more vulnerable to distractors (Blue and round)
Feature-Integration Theory
mental maps representing the given feature across the visual field for every aspect of each stimulus - the features are represented in the maps immediately
during conjunction searches an additional stage conjoins features into an object representation
Similarity theory
The difficulty of search task depends on the similarity between target and distractor - more similar mlre difficult
Guided search Theory
- parallel stage - activation of mental representations of all the potential targets
- serial stage - evaluation of them according to the degree of activation
finally the true targets are chosen from the activated elements
cocktail party problem
dichotic presentation - person listens to two sources of information simultaneously each into one ear
factors that help to selectively attend (3)
- Distinctive sensory characteristics of the target speech (pitch pacing..)
- Sound intensity
- Location of the Sound Source
Broadbent’s Model and its modification
We filter information right after we notice it at the sensory level stimuli that the attentional filter doesn’t permit may never reach the level of perception
Modification : selective filter model - some personally important messages go through
Attenuation model
The filter weakens the strength of stimuli other than the target stimulus
Late-Filter Model
Stimuli are filtered out only after they have been analyzed for both their physical properties and their meaning
A synthesis of early and late filter models
2 processes:
1. Preattentive - used to notice physical sensory characteristics
- Attentive - working memory needed
a dual task
The simultaneous performance of two activities
attentional blink
A decrease of performance in speeded dual tasks
Capacity models of attention
fixed amount of attention, in a single or multiple pools of attentional resources that we can divide freely
people are much better at dividing their attention when competing tasks are in different modalities - some resources may be specific to the modality
factors influencing attention (4)
anxiety
arousal - being tired influences attention
task difficulty
skills
3 subfunctions of attention
Alerting - being prepared to attend to an incoming event and maintaining this attention
Orienting - the selection of stimuli to attend to
Executive Attention - monitoring and resolving conflicts that arise among internal processes - thoughts, feelings
Inspection time and Choice reaction time
Inspection time is the amount of time it takes you to inspect items and make a decision about them ; shorter time correlates with higher intelligence
Choice reaction time is the amount of time it takes to select one answer among several possibilities; faster correlates with higher IQ
PASS model
intelligence consists of functional units that are the basis for specific action:
planning
attention and arousal
simultaneous and successive processing
ADHD and main types
Difficulties in focusing attention in ways that enable them to adapt in optimum ways to their environment
Inattention,hyperactivity, impulsiveness, easily distracted, losing things, failure to pay attention to details…
Types: hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, combination
Change blindness
An inability to detect changes in object or scenes that are being viewed
Inattentional blindness
Inability to see things that are actually there
Habituation vs Sensory adaptation
Habituation - becoming accustomed to a stimulus so that we gradually pay less and less attention to it
accessible to conscious control
in dishabituation, a change in a familiar stimulua prompts us to start noticing it again
Sensory adaptation - a lessening of attention to a stimulus that is not accessible to conscious control; occurs in the sense organ
Automatization
transforming a controlled process into an automatic process through practice
stroop effect
The delay in reaction time between automatic and controlled processing
Mistakes vs Slips
Mistakes are errors in choosing an objective / means of achieving it
Slips are errors in carrying out an intended means for achieving said objective
Consciousness
the feeling of awareness and the content of awareness, some of which may be under the focus of attention
we typically are conscious of the products of our thinking but not of the processes
preconscious information
Memories we are not using but we could summon when we need them
the tip of the tongue phenomenon
Effort to remember something stored in our memory that we can’t retrieve
Blindsight
Traces of visual perceptual ability in blind areas of people who have lesions in some areas of the visual cortex
