Attention Flashcards
define selective attention
the process whereby we focus mental processing on a limited range of events
why do we need selective attention
because without it we wouldn’t be consciously aware
what is an information bottleneck?
when the channel of information processing has a limited capacity
why did Broadbent argue an info bottleneck occurs?
because the info processing capacity of our minds is limited and therefore only the important messages should be allowed to get through.
what did broadbent propose selective attention is?
a filtering mechanism that operates early in the stream of processing allowing only crucial info through.–> the early filter model
what is Broadbent’s early filter model
selective attention model that proposes that info is discarded early in the stream of processing
what is the problem with the early filter model?
info not selected for attention is still processed e.g. dichotic listening still aware of various properties
what model did treisman propose?
the attenuation model- info is still processes in the sequence but unattented messages were attenuated or dampened relative to the target message
selective attention model that proposes that info is not entirely discarded in the stream of processing but is suppressed relative to other important signals
what did treisman show about target detection in a dichotic listening task?
that the target detection was very poor for the unattended ear compared to targets processed in the attended ear.
why for selection to occur does one have to evaluate all the messages competing for conscious awareness?
in order to choose what to attenuate you must be aware of the other alternatives first
if all messages are evaluated to some extent then what does this mean? and what model did this lead to?
selection must occur late in the stream of processing when there are decisions to be made
Deutsch and Deutsch’s response selection model
what is the response selection model (deutsch and Deutsch)
selective attention model that proposes that selection occurs late in the stream of processing before a response has been made.
does the response selection model argue that there is or isn’t a bottleneck?
there is a bottleneck however, the limited capacity occured after the signals were processed but before a response could be made
according to Deustch and Deustch why did Treisman’s effect o target detection occur?
because there was competition for responding to two potential sources of info. -all signals were getting through the information bottleneck but not necessarily consciously experienced
what experiement supports the claim of Deutsch and Deustch? (Courteen and Dunn)
- a conditioned fear response measured by GSR was established.
- participants asked to selectively attend experiments in one ear
- target words presented in non-attended ear and although participants didn’t attend to these they showed a rise in GSR
- target words still unconsciously processed
what did Wright et al. show about synonyms and unconscious processing
even synonyms of words produced a GSR reaction in dichotic listening
proved that unattended signals were not only registered but processed late in the stream of info evaluation
what solution is there to the fact that there is evidence for both early and late selection?
Lavie’s Load model
what is Lavie’s load model? and what did Lavie find?
attentional model that explains early and late selection as a consequence of the task difficulty
studies that reported early selection the task is normally difficult in terms of perceptual load and in studies that report late selection the load is comparatively lighter
what is the implication of lavie’s load model?
that we can moderate the nature of our selective attention to deal with the demands of the task
what does expertise play a role in?
how we allocate/ focus attention.
what do we do when we want to attend to something?
align/orient to it
