Attention Flashcards
attention
mechanisms for continued cognitive processing
4 metaphors for attention
- spotlight
- zoom lens
- bottleneck
- filter
2 types of processes in the brain
- automatic
2. controlled
automatic processes
anything that happens without attention
parts of brain involved in controlled processes
- dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
2. anterior cingulate cortex
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
associated with top-down processing and avoiding distractions
anterior cingulate cortex
involved in cognitive processes like decision making and impulse control
5 qualities of attention
- limited
- selective
- orienting
- searching
- sustained
evidence that attention is limited (4)
- Nilli Lavie load theory
- attentional blink
- divided attention
- task switching (distracted driving)
Nilli Lavie theory
load theory
processing capacity
amount of stuff you can handle at one time
load
amount of resources needed to do something
load theory
the heavier the load, the less capacity remaining to do another task
Miller’s theory
7 plus or minus 2 bits of information in the working memory
load theory teaching implications
if students have a difficult task, don’t add anything on top of this
attentional blink
failure to notice the second of 2 stimuli when presented rapidly
RSVP
rapid serial visual presentation
dual task paradigm
procedure in which a participant performs 2 tasks at the same time
key factor to distinguish in the dual-task paradigm
if the task is discrete or continuous
discrete task
has a start, beginning, and end
continuous task
continuously doing something
who researched divided attention? and when?
Schneider and Shiffrin (1971)
Schneider and Shiffrin experiment (1977)
remember target (letters or numbers) and search through distractors. After 900 trials accuracy improved from 55% to 90% as the task became automatic
how is a task switching experiment performed
- repeating trials
- alternating trials
- measure the switch cost between trials
who studied distracted driving and when
Strayer and Johnston (2001 and 2003)
Strayer and Johnston 2001
keep cursor aligned with a target and press stop button when cursor turns red
- subjects were less effective when talking on the phone, but not when listening to the radio
Strayer and Johnstonn 2003
same experiment but with a driving simulator
why does the radio not effect these results
it only marginally uses attention
how much does cell phone use increase accident likelihood
by 4X
evidence that attention is selective (1 things)
- cocktail party effect
cocktail party effect
ability to focus auditory attention on one stimulus while simultaneously ignoring many others
who studied selective listening? when?
Cherry (1953)
Cherry’s methodology
dichotic listening test
dichotic listening test
different signals go into each ear and subjects are told to ignore one while focusing on the other
- repeat what goes into the “listening ear”
who had selective attention models?
- Broadbent
- Treisman
- MacKay
Broadbent’s model
sensory memory -> filter -> detector -> memory
Treisman’s model
attenuator -> dictionary unit -> memory
what does the attenuator analyze information based on
- physical characteristics
- meaning
- grouping of words/sounds
function of the dictionary unit
stores words
MacKay’s experiment
dichotic listening
- play ambiguous words in one ear
- in unattended ear play words affecting cognition
- both ears affect subject decision
MacKay example
play “bank” in attended ear
- play “money” in unattented ear
- complete sentence “they through rocks at the…”
- patients will choose to complete the sentence with money bank rather than river bank
late selection model
selection of stimuli for final processing does not occur until meaning is determined
MacKay’s model name
late selection model
Broadbent’s and Treisman’s models
early selection models
2 types of attention orienting
- overt
2. covert
overt orienting
shift in attention is accompanied by a shift in the body
covert orienting
shift in attention without shifting the body
how do we study overt orienting
eye tracking
2 types of eye movements
- saccades
2. fixations
saccades
jerky eye movement between fixations
fixations
when the eyes are stationary
who developed the priming (precueing) experiment
Posner
priming/precueing
fixation point followed by a cue, followed by a target
time between the cue and the target
Stimulus Onset Asynchrony (SOA)
types of trials in Posner’s experiment
- valid -> cue and target in same place
- invalid -> cue and target in different places
- neutral -> no cue
what 2 things determine eye movements
- exogenous cues
2. endogenous cues
exogenous cues
attention is pulled by external stimuli
what are exogenous cues dependent on
the salience (noticability) of the stimulus
endogenous cues
shifts in attention based on meaning of a stimulus (eg: an arrow)
scene schemas
knowledge of a scene influences eye movement
who researched how attention searches
Treisman
Treisman’s theory
feature integration theory
2 stages of detection according to Treisman
- preattentive stage
2. focused attention stage
preattentive stage
detect feautres
what if a feature is detected during the preattentive stage
the pop out effect occurs and it is automatic
disjunctive search
looking for one feature
focused attention stage
features are put together which requires attention, more distractors = more time
conjunctive search
putting features together
how long do we focus on each word when reading
200-300 ms
regressions (reading)
eye tracking studies show we often skip words and go back to read what we’ve skipped
how are regressions related to dyslexics
they do them more often
moving window technique
present words on a computer screen one at a time
entry points
first thing you look at when looking at something
book entry point
the top left corner
nystagmus
disorder of eye movements involving involuntary saccades
reticular activating system
associated with general arousal and consciousness
specific roles of the RAS
muscle tension, heart rate, sensory thresholds
where is the RAS located
in the brainstem
autonomic nervous system functions (4)
- breathing
- pupil dilation
- respiration
- perspiration
explicit vs implicit processing
- explicit = occurs with awareness
- implicit = occurs without awareness
who studied implicit processing? when?
Bonebakker (1996)
what did Bonebakker use in his experiment?
word stem completion task
word stem completion task
given first part of word and asked to complete the word
Bonebakker’s experiment
if people are primed before the word stem completion task they can be swayed
when did Bonebakker prime these people?
when they were unconscious during surgery
2 types of errors the attention makes
- commission errors
2. omission errors
commission errors
when you respond to something you aren’t supposed to respond to
omission errors
when you don’t respond to something you’re supposed to respond to
which type of errors are caused by mind wandering?
omission errors
who linked omission errors to mind wandering
Simon and Chabris
Simon and Chabris experiment
gorilla walks onto screen but people aren’t paying attention and 50% of people don’t see it
what can the illusion of attention cause
blindness
2 types of attentional blindness
- inattention blindness
2. change blindness
inattention blindness
not being able to see things in plain view
change blindness
not being able to perceive a change in a visual scene you’re looking at
