Attention Flashcards
What is the state of attention?
The difference between attended and unattended processing
What is the process of attention?
The selection of relevant information
What are the 2 divisions of attention?
Focused attention and divided attention
What does focused attention do?
Processes only one input.
What does divided attention do?
Processes all inputs
What is focused attention sub-divided to?
Auditory and visual
What is divided attention sub-divided into?
Task similarity, task difficulty and practice
What is selective attention?
The process by which relevant information is selected for further processing and irrelevant information is discarded
How is selective attention often investigated?
By measuring the influence of ignored information on performance
If the irrelevant information affects performance, then it implies that the irrelevant information was not fully ignored
What are the theories of selective attention?
- Broadbent’s filter theory
- Trelsman’s attenuation theory
- Deutsch and Deutsch theory
What is Broadbent’s filter theory?
2 inputs go through sensory register
only 1 input goes past the selective filter into STM
What is Trelsman’s attenuation theory
2 inputs go through sensory register
2 inputs go through attenuator
they both go to STM but
since STM has limited capacity, only 1 input comes out
What is Deutsch theory
2 inputs go through sensory register
They both go to STM
only one comes out of STM
What are the neural mechanisms of attention?
- Single-cell studies
- ERP studies
- Neuroimaging studies
What are failures of attention without brain damage?
- Inattentional blindness
- Change blindness
- Attentional blink
What is inattentional blindess?
The phenomenon that an unexpected stimulus often goes unnoticed, because it did not receive attention
What are disorders of visual attention?
Visual neglect - a lack of awareness of stimuli presented to the side of space on the opposite side of the brain damage
Extinction - neglect patients sometimes detect a single stimulus presented to the left visual field but fail to detect the same stimulus when another stimulus is presented to the right of it
Tell me about visual neglect
Following lesions to right parietal lobe (stroke) patients often neglect left hemisphere
Tell me about extinction
2 objects presented simultaneously to each visual field, patient won’t see objects in visual field corresponding to damage
What areas are involved in attention?
Neuroimaging techniques show that the parietal and frontal lobes are involved in attention
