Attention: and Cognitive Control

Question 1

Lavie et al (2004) investigated the effects of cognitive load on attention; what task did they employ?

Answer 1

Response competition flanker task;
asked to remember digits during each trial, either 1 (low) or 6 (high cognitive load)

Question 2

Lavie et al (2004) investigated the effects of cognitive load on attention; what did they find?

Answer 2

Distractor interference increased under high cognitive load

Question 3

What did Lavie and de Fockert (2005) find? - hint: attentional capture and cognitive load

Answer 3

Cognitive load increases interference from colour singleton distractor

Question 4

Carmel et al (2012) investigated cognitive load and awareness; what task did they employ?

Answer 4

Participants were asked to classify names and ignore faces; there was a surprise memory task for faces at the end.

Question 5

Carmel et al (2012) investigated cognitive load and awareness; what did they find?

Answer 5

High load condition yielded higher success rates (80%) compared to low load, which had chance success (50%).

Question 6

What is the relationship between perceptual load and distractor processing/inattentional blindness?

Answer 6

Higher perceptual load is associated with:
- lower distractor processing
- higher inattentional blindness

Question 7

What is the relationship between cognitive load and distractor processing/inattentional blindness?

Answer 7

Higher cognitive load is associated with:
- higher distractor processing
- lower inattentional blindness

Question 8

How do perceptual load and cognitive load each influence distraction?

Answer 8

Perceptual load reduces distraction, whereas cognitive load increases distraction.

Question 9

According to Load Theory, what aspect of selection is perceptual capacity associated with?

Answer 9

In early-selection, the availability of perceptual capacity determines whether distractors receive further processing

Question 10

According to Load Theory, what aspect of selection is cognitive capacity associated with?

Answer 10

Cognitive control is required to inhibit any distractors in late-selection

Question 11

Engle et al investigated individual differences in working memory capacity; what task did they use?

Answer 11

Operation Span (OSPAN) task; simultaneously perform simple maths and read words, test word recall.

(Related to fluid intelligence, assesses efficiency of prefrontal functioning.)

Question 12

What 3 things did individuals with low working memory capacity show?

Answer 12

• Stroop interference
• Response competition interference
• Own name breakthrough in dichotic listening (65%)

Question 13

How does cognitive control and attention relate to individual differences?

Answer 13

Better cognitive control reduces distraction;
- ADHD and anxiety involve symptoms of cognitive control deficits
- damage to frontal/parietal regions associated with attention and cognitive control problems

Question 14

Hopfinger et al. (2000) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what method did they use? - hint: hopping finger

Answer 14

fMRI Spatial Cuing

Question 15

Hopfinger et al. (2000) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what did they find?

Answer 15

• Visual cortical response to the cued location (effect of attention)
• Frontal-parietal activation at time of cue (orientation of attention)

Question 16

de Fockert et al. (2004) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what method did they use? - hint: fuck it

Answer 16

fMRI Attentional Capture

Question 17

de Fockert et al. (2004) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what did they find?

Answer 17

Presence vs absence of singleton distractors associated with RT interference and frontal/parietal activation; frontal activation negatively predicted behavioural interference

Question 18

Bishop (2009) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what method did they use? - hint: chess

Answer 18

fMRI Response Competition

Question 19

Bishop (2009) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what did they find?

Answer 19

Incongruent distractors were associated with higher RT interference and frontal recruitment;
- dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
- anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Question 20

Forster et al. (2013) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what method did they use?

Answer 20

fMRI Sustained Attention

Question 21

Forster et al. (2013) investigated neural mechanisms of attentional control; what did they find?

Answer 21

Frontal regions (DLPFC and ACC) [also] active during sustained attention

Question 22

Christoff et al. (2009) investigated mind-wandering and cognitive control; what did they find?

Answer 22

Some frontal regions involved in both attentional control and generating task-unrelated thought (TUT)

Question 23

Kane et al (2007) investigated the association between working memory capacity and mind-wandering; what did they find? - hint: sustained

Answer 23

High WM capacity associated with reduced MW during sustained attention

Question 24

Levinson et al (2012) investigated the association between working memory capacity and mind-wandering; what did they find? - hint: response competition task

Answer 24

High WM capacity associated with increased MW during low perceptual load response competition task

Question 25

Kane et al (2007) supports mind-wandering as executive ______

Answer 25

failure

Question 26

Levinson et al (2012) supports mind-wandering as executive ______

Answer 26

function