attention and performance Flashcards
what is attention?
mental process of concentrating effort on a stimulus
what are four interrelated ideas on attention
- we are constantly confronted with more info than we can attend to
- serious limitations in how much we can attend to at any one time
- we can respond to some info and perform som tasks with little if any attention
- with sufficent practice and knowledge some tasks become less demanding
what is focused selective attention?
select one input while ignoring others
how does visual search influence attention?
- indicate as quickly as you can whether a particular target is present
- takes longer and requires more attention when searching for a combination (or conjuction) of features
what are the two processing stages in feature integration theory
- basic features processed rapidly and pre attentively in parallel across visual search
- slower serial process with focused attention
what are the two processing stages in feature integration theory
- basic features processed rapidly and pre attentively in parallel across visual search
- slower serial process with focused attention
what are illusory conjuctions?
- no difficulty perceiving features on display
- however, unsure how features are combined
- report illusory conjuctions
- not be sure if the letters are certain colours
attention networks (Posner,1980)
- majority of cues valid
central cues= rts faster for valid cues
peripheral cues= rts faster for valid cues - select the side a flash of light is presented. left/right of a central fixation cross
flash preceded by a central cue:
- arrow correctly points to flash location (valid)
- arrow incorrectly points to flash location (invalid)
flash preceded by a peripheral cue:
- outline of shape in flash location (valid)
- outline of shape opposite side of flash location (invalid)
exogenous attention network
- used when peripheral cue present and stimulus driven
- bottom up
- stimulus driven
-automatically shift attention - peripheral cues
endogenous
endogenous attention used when central cues present and controlled by expectations
- top down
- goal directed
- controlled by expectations
- central cues
endogenous
endogenous attention used when central cues present and controlled by expectations
- top down
- goal directed
- controlled by expectations
- central cues
what is focused auditory attention ?
- lessons learned from vision applied to our sense of hearing
- select sounds of interest, while ignoring others
- must be separate (or segregate) different auditory stimuli
what is the cocktail party problem (cherry,1953)
- how do we focus on one conversation?
- using physical difference (gender,females have higher frequency)
- extract little info from unattended stimuli
- exogenous (stimulus driven) as hear salient info in unattended stimulus, someone shouts our name
cross modal attention
coordinate info from two or more modalities simultaneously
the mcgurk effect
sound same in both clips
further evidence for visual dominance
input from vision influences what we hear
development of cross model attention
speech degraded to stimulate cochlear implant listening
- youngest children did not benefit from visual info
- audio visual gain increased with age
what is the ventriloquism effect?
- close together in time/space
- match expectations
- example of visual dominance
development of cross model attention
- speech degraded to stimulate cochlear implant listening
- youngest children did not benefit from visual info
- audio visual gain increased with age
divided attention
- present two stimulus inputs at same time
- must attend and respond to all
- multi-tasking
- tells capacity of attention, what limitations
dual-task performance
- tap left hand when dot changes colour
- right hand when you see letter x
- when introduce response is slower
what determines how well we can perform? - similarity between task modality
- similarity between responses e.g. manual or vocal
controlled processes (serial)
- limited capacity
- require attention
- flexibly in changing circumstances
automatic processes (parallel)
- no capacity limitations
- do not require attention
- hard to modify once learned
definitions of automaticity - reject assumption that clear cut distinction between controlled and automatic processes
four factors related to attention
- unconscious
- efficient
- faster
- goal unrelated
importance of attention
- attention is important and helps us to:
- focus on a specific object to gain more info
- bind (or intergrate) features together so we can perceive a coherent object
- ignore unwanted distraction
change in blindness and it’s causes
- failure to detect changes in environment
- typically happens in a event and a new event pops up in between
what causes change blindness?
- no single or simple answer, representations may be incomplete due to limited attentional focus.
- representations may decay or be overwritten
- representations of pre change stimulus may be limited to the unconscious
- impossible to compare pre and post change
- perceptual accuracy sacrificed so we have continous and stable perception
inattentional bias and causes
- fail to notice an unexpected but fully visible item when attention is diverted by other aspects of the display
causes - depends on the probability that an unexpected object attracts attention
