Attention and Distraction Flashcards
Why do we need attention?
We need attention so that we don’t waste limited resources processing irrelevant information
What does attention as a spotlight mean?
It is said to be like a spotlight as we can focus our attention in order to enhance the processing of relevant information
Give 3 characteristics of controlled processing
Controlled/deliberate processing:
- involves mental effort
- limited
- subject to distraction
Give two characteristics of automatic processing
Automatic/obligatory processing
- happens independently of effort
- causes distraction when in congruent with the focal task and facilitation when congruent with the focal task
What are controlled and obligatory processing also called?
Controlled= deliberate Automatic= obligatory
What is selective attention?
Selective attention the process which controls our awareness so ghat we don’t become conscious of all the stimuli our sensory organs detect.
Discuss memory and attention
Attention controls what enters our short term memory and therefore what stuff enters our explicit long term memory
Does all information we don’t pay attention to get lost?
No, information doesn’t get lost but is instead stored in our implicit memory
Define 2 cues used in visual detection experiments to do with attention, like posners cueing
Endogenous cue:“a cue, such as a centered arrow, that instructs a participant in a task to direct attention to a particular location but does not automatically draw attention to that location. It initiates a voluntary movement of attention” They push attention
Exogenous cue: “a cue, usually the onset of a stimulus in the peripheral visual field, that draws attention automatically to the location of the stimulus. It initiates involuntary movement of attention” They pull attention.
What is congruence in visual cueing?
Congruence is where the number of object flashes up is where the arrow was pointing the participant look
Why does congruence mean faster reaction time?
The interval between arrow and number is too short to allow eye movement, so looking to the other side of the screen means diverting our attention which takes longer
What is the stroop effect?
“The finding that the time it takes a participant to name the color of ink in which a word is printed is longer for words that denote in congruent color names than for neutral words or for words that denote a congruent color.
What is visual inattentional blindness? Give an example
Visual innattentional blindness is where we don’t see a visual stimulus because our attention has been drawn to something else even when it is an obvious thing.
Simon and Levin 1998 found people didn’t notice when a person giving directions changed when they switched them behind a moving door
What is dichotic listening and how does it show selective attention?
When there are two messages, one in each ear. Someone is able to pay attention to only one of the messages and completely disregard the other (Cherry 1953). information that wasn’t being attended to is lost. They wouldn’t even notice is language or reading backwards changed
Is the message in the unattended to ear entirely lost in dichotic listening?
No, there is evidence that we form implicit memories of the unattended message.
What kind of information makes someone more likely to form implicit memories from the unattended information?
- Von wright et al 1975 presented words along with a electric shock then used a dichotic listening experiment after, when the words associated with the electric shocks were played in the unattended ear they triggered an emotional reaction. (Shocks)
- Moray 1959 found names would be heard and remembered
- Sexually explicit words neison and sarason 1981
What is the cocktail party phenomenon?
The cocktail party phenomenon
when in a room with a lot of people all having conversations we are able to pick out certain voices,mirroring the effect iof when you hear soemone saying you name in a conversation you arent in.
What happens to background noise?
Background noise is unnecessary information so we ry to become less conscious and less aware of what we feel we don’t need to hear
What worsens performance more, background speech noise or any background auditory stimuli?
There is mixed evidence and it is still not known.
- be at conversation level?
- show some variance?
What is the fundamental difference between early section and late selection modes of selective attention?
Early selection models of attention say that any information not attended to is not selected for perceptual analysis so will have no later information processing whereas late selection models say all information is attended to but is only select later in the processing chain after perceptual analysis.
What is the attenuation model of selective attention? early or late selection?
Attenuation model of selection attention is an early selection model by Treisman 1960. said selective attention is early information processing and all info gets through,just unattended info gets through in a weakened, attenuated form
Discuss and evaluate the all or nothing model of early selection
Broadbent 1958 all of nothing filter theory of attention with a sensory store filter limited capacity perceptual system which identifies the material.
Proved wrong by Moray 1959 as found people could switch between what ear they were listening to, in broadbents model then one channel should have been blocked
What is divided attention? Does it worsen or aid performance?
Divided attention is where attention is split over a range of tasks, there is conflicted evidence as to whether it makes any difference
Name 2 models of resource pools in divided attention
- single capacity models
- Multiple resource model
Describe the single capacity model of resource pools in divided attention
We have one pool of resources to deal with cognitive and perceptual challenges, suggesting dual task methodology performance will worsen if we undertake more than one
Describe the multiple resource model of resource pools in divided attention
This model suggests we have several resource pools to deal with various cognitive and perceptual processes therefore we an undertake multiple task at equal efficiency.
Do all models either take the early or late selection idea?Give an example.
Johnson and Heinz 1978 said that early selection is selecting perceptual and sensory information whereas late selection is selecting the meaning of things.
What do the 2 cerebral hemispheres do in attention?
left hemisphere: lots of focal attention and local cues
right hemisphere: global attention, holistic attention which takes on whole scenes
What part of the brain shows increased activation in selective attention?
Selective attention shows increased activity in the posterior regions of the brain
What region is involved in both divided an sustained attention?
The prefrontal cortex is involved in both sustained attention and divided attention, but different sides of it are involved.
What is spatial neglect?
Spatial neglect is a perceptual disorder where brain injured patients cant report or respond to stimuli contraltaeral to the side of the brain injury
