Attention Flashcards
What are the two neuropsychological screening tests?
Montreal Cognitive Assessment
Mini mental status examination
Compare the main concepts of the following theories: Cognitive Resource Theory: Capacity vs. Filter (Bottleneck) theory
Capacity theory shows that we have limited mental fuel and different tasks are sharing the available mental fuel. Parallel processing works if the mental fuel is available.
Filter theory shows that we process one piece of information at a time, so serial processing works with this.
Focused attention
Basic responsiveness to stimuli
- Turing your head when you hear music from the other side
Sustained attention
Maintaining attention overtime
- listening to a sermon on Sunday at the church
Selective attention
Maintaining attention in the presence of distractors
- having a conversation with a friend at a crowded supermarket
Alternating attention
Shifting attention between stimuli
- watching TV show and doing homework
Divided attention
Paying attention to more than one stimuli concurrently
- driving while singing along to music
What is validity?
It tells us whether the test measures what it claims to measure.
What is reliability?
It tells us whether the repeated administration of the test will yield similar results.
Explain cancellation tests
Cancellation tests work on sustained and selective attention. An example will be circle only numbers on a page when other symbols like letters are also present.
Explain the relationship between level of arousal and performance
The level of arousal tell us how one is performing. Mild alertness is best for performance.
Stroop effect is an example of __________ attention.
Selective
Levels of arousal: confused
Disoriented to surroundings
Levels of arousal: lethargic
Drowsy, needs verbal or touch stimulation to initiate response
Levels of arousal: obtunded
Responds slowly to external stimulation and needs repeated stimulation to maintain attention and response
