attention Flashcards
Explain the basic principles of attention Explain how the attention system processes inform spatially, using evidence from research paradigms Explain how the attention system integrates features, using evidence from research paradigms Explain the Simon effect Explain how visual information reaches the brain Outline how the eyes move under differing task demands Explain how eye-trackers work Explain how eye-trackers can help us to understand cognition
Describe a study demonstrating unintentional blindness
Participants run after a confederate around a university campus. They run past 3 other confederates fighting. At night 35% saw the fight and 72% in the day. If participants were asked to count how many times the confederate in front touched his head 56% saw the fight.
Describe Broadbent’s model of attention
Both attended and unattended go to the sensory buffer store. The selective filter select the attended one to focus on. Higher level processes extracts meaning and this enters into the working memory
Whats the capacity of sensory buffer store
Unlimited
Whats shadow tasking
A different auditory stimulus is played in each ear. Participants report information from one ear only.
Whats Treisman’s attenuation theory of attention
Both attended and unattended enter the sensory store. All attended and some unattended are passed to dictionary unit. Inputs are given a threshold and low thresholds are more likely to capture your attention
Whats the cocktail party effect
When the brain focuses on one piece of information while filtering out out pieces of information
What is the attentional spotlight theory
Our attention is like a spotlight which we can move around and use to focus all our attention on. We are slower to focus on things outside out spotlight
What are the features of an endogenous cue x6
- ) Symbolic of a target location
- ) Indicated where a target may appear
- ) Can voluntarily follow the cue
- ) Slow response
- ) Driven by internal goals
- ) Often centrally presented in our vision
What are the features of an exogenous cue x5
- ) Automatically captures attention
- ) Appears in the location of a target
- ) Rapid response
- ) Driven by external events in the environment
- ) Peripherally presented in our vision
Whats an endogenous cueing task
An endogenous cue shifts our attention in the direction the arrow is pointing. A cue appears. We are faster to find the cue when the arrow is pointing towards it as our attention have shifts
Whats an exogenous cueing task
A exogenous cue in the form of a flash directs participants attention. We are quicker to locate cue when the flash appears in the same place as our attention is there
Whats inhibition of return
If there’s a long delay between the exogenous flash and cue our attention shifts away and we take longer to find the cue as we shift our attention to a different location
What is feature integration theory
When you break did the separate features of a scene into smaller components based on physical characteristics. Attention combines the features to create a scene
What are the 3 visual search tasks
- ) parallel search task - based on one feature. Reaction times remain the same no matter how many items are displayed (the letter ‘a’)
- ) conjunction search - searching for more than one feature. Reaction times slow when more items added (red letterboxing ‘a’)
- ) Pop-out effect - faster to detect a object if its features are different from other items
What’s local processing
Fine, small details. Narrow attentional spotlight
What’s global processing
Large scale, big picture. Broadens attentional spotlight
What’s the navon task
Participants shown a large letter comprised of smaller letters. Asked to identify the large letter (global processing) and then the smaller letters ( local processing)
Whats a consistent representation
When a stimulus and response match up (turn left is presented in the left ear)
Whats an inconsistent representation
When a stimulus ands response don’t match (turn left is presented in the right ear)
Whats the Simon effect
Subjects are asked to press a arrow key in the direction they saw a stimulus. They are faster when the target is on the same side as the stimuli.
Whats a stroop task
Coloured words are shown but the colour doesn’t match what the words say. We ae asked what colour the word is. We find this hard as we automatically read the word rather than say the colours so we have to suppress our automatic tendency
What is the path of light through the eye
- ) Cornea
- ) pupil
- ) refracted to the lens
- ) lens muscles allow it to focus the light to the…
- ) retina where the image is flipped and then travels down optic nerve
What do rod cells do
Low level vision in black and white. See vision in dim light with a low spacial resolution
What do cone cells do
High level vision in colour. See vision in bright light with a high spacial resolution
What is the fovea
Area on the retina with the highest visual acuity due to lots of cone cells.
Whats overt attention
Attention to information being looked at with eye movements
Whats covert attention
Attention not associated with eye movements
How do eye trackers work
Infrared light is beamed into the participants eyes and hits the cornea. Its reflected off the cornea. The eye tracker locks onto the reflection and follows the beams of light as the eye moves the cornea moves and the eye tracker follows it
Whats a fixation
Where our eyes stop to focus
Whats a saccade
A rapid jerky eye movement
How do eye trackers help us to understand cognition
It shows wha we focus our attention to and therefore what features are important to us
