Attention and Early & Late Selection in Attention

Question 1

Different types of attention

Answer 1

Selective Attention: Focusng attention on certain information, while ignoring information
Sustained attention:
- Maintaining focused attention
Divided attention:
Multi tasking
Attention to different sensory modalities:
Sight, touch, sound, smell

Question 2

Covert Attention

Answer 2

paying attention without moving eyes

Question 3

Overt Attention

Answer 3

Selectively processing one location over others by moving eyes to point of attention

Question 4

How can we study attention?

Answer 4

through eye movements
Reaction time experiements:
Spatial cuing
Visual search
Distractor effects: Stroop
Attentional capture - we assume attention has been captured by a stimulus if it slows us down when it is irrelevant 
Self report measures: mind wandering

Question 5

Effects of attention on neural processing

Answer 5

Two regions respond selectively to specific stimulus
FUSIFORM FACE AREA (FFA)
PARAHIPPOCAMPAL PLACE AREA (PPA)
Covert attention to faces increased FFA response
Covert attention to houses increased PPA response

Question 6

Attention has limited capacity

Answer 6

Load theory:

cognitive and perceptual load

Question 7

Dichotic Listening Task

Answer 7

Present different messages to each ear
Subjects attended one ear and ignored the other
Repeat attended message out loud

Participants shadowed the attended message easily
rarely noticed when unattended message was in a foreign language

Question 8

Broadbents Filter Theory

Answer 8

Filtering occurs before incoming stimuli are analysed to the semantic level

Messages - sensory store - filter- detector- memory
Sensory store: holds incoming information for a short period of time
Filter: analyses messages based on physical characteristics like tone of voice location of stimulus
Detector - information is processed to determine meaning
Short-term memory - holds information for general processing

Question 9

Breakthrough

Answer 9

words need to meet a certain threshold of signal strength to be detected
thresholds fo certain words lowered .. so more easily detected

Question 10

Negative Priming

Answer 10

Responses to previously ignored stimuli are slowed

Question 11

Load theory

Answer 11

Perceptual capacity is limited
Tasks with high perceptual load exhaust capacity
Irrelevant distractors are filtered or attenuated at early perceptual stage: Early selection
Tasks with low perceptual load leave spare capactiy

Question 12

Evidence supporting load theory

Answer 12

Neuroimaging evidence
High perceptual load reduced visual cortex response to background
reduces amygdala responses to fearful faces

Question 13

Implications for individual differences

Answer 13

individuals with high perceptual capacity need high load to avoid distraction
Capacity differences associated with 
Autism
Age
Video game experience

Question 14

Early selection theories

Answer 14

Irrelevant information is filtered, or attenuated at perceptual stage of processing
Semantic information is not processed

Question 15

Late selection theories

Answer 15

All stimuli is processed to the point of meaning

Selection takes place at later stage of processing and may involve inhibition

Question 16

Load Theory

Answer 16

Both early and late selection are possible depending on perceptual load of task stimuli