Attention Flashcards
Posner cuing test
On a screen with a fixation point, a cue appears directing which way the participant should shift their attention. A target then appears on screen afterwards
Invalid Posner cuing test trial
Cue points to the opposite side of the screen where the target will appear
Valid Posner cuing test trial
Cue points to the same side of the screen where the target will appear
Neutral Posner cuing test trial
Cue points to either side of the screen
How do reaction times change for valid and invalid trails
Invalid trials have a much longer response time than valid trials, while neutral trials are in the middle
Reflexive capture of attention
On a screen with a fixation point, an unexpected stimulus pops up. After a delay, a target appears.
How do short delays affect reaction time in reflexive capture of attention
Short delays enhance reaction time in valid trials
How do long delays affect reaction time in reflexive capture of attention
Long delays cause slower reaction time in valid trials
- Have a faster reaction time for invalid trials than valid trials
Endogenous/top-down attention
Cuing yourself to redirect your attention (looking for somebody you know is coming from the other side of the street)
Exogenous/bottom-up attention
An external unexpected stimulus causes you to redirect your attention
Timeline and intensity of endogenous attention
Endogenous attention happens slowly, but can be maintained for longer periods of time
Timeline and intensity of exogenous attention
Exogenous attention happens rapidly, but fades very quickly unless the stimulus is important
Feature search
Looking for a single attribute (looking for a yellow object or looking for a square object)
Conjunction search
Looking for two or more attributes at the same time (looking for a yellow circle or a green square)
Reaction time differences for feature and conjunction search
- Feature search has the fastest reaction time
- Conjunction search with a present target is slower than feature search
- Conjunction search with the target absent takes the longest time
Event related potentials
EEGs of multiple trials are averaged
- Earlier waveforms in the ERP are exogenous attention cues
- Later waveforms in the ERP are endogenous attention cues
N1 effect
Large negativity in the ERP occurring about 100 ms after presentation of a stimulus, which is enhanced for input we consciously direct our attention to
P3 effect
Large positivity in the ERP occuring 300-500 ms after presentation of a stimulus, which is associated with higher order processing and late selection effect of auditory stimuli
P1 effect
Large positivity in the ERP that occurs 70-100 ms after presentation of a stimulus, which is enhanced for VISUAL input we consciously direct our attention to
How does covert orientation of attention affect neural processing and detection
Valid cues that covertly direct attention toward a stimulus significantly enhance neural processing and detection shown by enhancements in P1 and N1 components in the ERP
N2pc effect
Second negativity after stimulus presentation that is triggered at occipitotemporal sites contralateral to visual target; reflects selective processing of targets
Pd effect
Large positivity associated with ignoring distractors
What ERP changes are observed when a participant is asked to attend to one stimulus and ignore another
N2pc is seen and associated with covert attention when instructed to focus on the red line, while Pd was a different ERP component associated with ignoring distractors
Information from which hemiretina crosses over
Nasal hemiretina
Information from which hemiretina stays ipsilateral
Temporal hemiretina
What do PET and fMRI scans show us about attention
Brain regions that process key aspects of the visual stimuli show an enhancement of activity