Attention and Performance

Question 1

Stroop Effect (J. Ridley Stroop, 1935)

Answer 1

it’s almost impossible to look at a common word without reading it

Question 2

Attention

Answer 2

The process by which certain information is selected for further processing and other information is discarded

Question 3

Exogenous attention

Answer 3

Control by stimulus driven attention (stimulus-driven attention)

Question 4

Endogenous control

Answer 4

Control by goal-directed factors (goal-directed attention)

Question 5

Late Selection Theory

Answer 5

Filter occurs after we perceive the stimulus

Question 6

Early Selection Theory (Broadbent 1958)

Answer 6

Filter occurs before we perceive the (entire) stimulus

Question 7

Inhibition of return

Answer 7

People are slower to shift their attention to a previously attended location than a new location

Question 8

Serial bottlenecks

Answer 8

Attentional systems select information to process at serial bottlenecks when it is no longer possible to do things in parallel

Question 9

Automated processes/Automaticity

Answer 9

As tasks become practiced, they become more automatic and require less and less central cognition to execute

Question 10

The binding problem

Answer 10

The binding problem is the question of how the brain puts together various features in the visual field

Question 11

Illusory conjunctions

Answer 11

False perception due to mis-matching features

Question 12

Inattentional blindness

Answer 12

We often fail to see objects in plain view, particularly when our attention is engaged in another task

Question 13

Stimulus-driven attention

Answer 13

Something just grabs our attention (Exogenous control)

Question 14

Goal-directed attention

Answer 14

Selects a message to be processed (Endogenous control)

Question 15

Dichotic listening task

Answer 15

A task where subjects are presented with two messages to two ears over headphones and are instructed to “shadow” one

Question 16

Attenuation theory (Treisman)

Answer 16

Early selection theory: Early messages are weakened/attenuated but not fully eliminated during the information processing

Question 17

ACC

Answer 17

Anterior cingulate cortex

Question 18

Central bottleneck

Answer 18

Point in the central information processing system where only one task can be handled at a time, causing delays

Question 19

DLPFC

Answer 19

Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Question 20

Executive control

Answer 20

ability to carry out goal-directed behavior using complex mental processes and cognitive abilities

Question 21

Feature-integration theory

Answer 21

Proposes that people must focus their attention on a stimulus before they can synthesize its features into a pattern

Question 22

Filter theory

Answer 22

Early-selection theory proposing that individuals select messages based on physical characteristics, filtering out others

Question 23

Object-based attention

Answer 23

A type of attention that focuses on specific objects, irrespective of their spatial locations

Question 24

Space-based attention

Answer 24

A type of attention that focuses on specific regions of space, independent of the objects present

Question 25

Perfect time-sharing

Answer 25

“Perfect time-sharing refers to the optimal allocation of cognitive resources to efficiently manage and alternate between different tasks with minimal interference and switch costs

Question 26

Shadowing

Answer 26

A task in which a participant repeats aloud a message word for word at the same time that the message is being presented, often while other stimuli are presented in the background

Question 27

Unilateral neglect

Answer 27

Patients completely ignore one side of the visual field

Question 28

Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)

Answer 28

Region in the brain involved in controlling attention

Question 29

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)

Answer 29

Part of the prefrontal cortex responsible for setting intentions and controlling behavior; it is particularly engaged during tasks requiring executive control

Question 30

Active Mode of Attention

Answer 30

Active, top-down processed, goal directed, endogenous, intentional attention
e.g. attend to the 4th sound in a sequence

Question 31

Passive Mode of Attention

Answer 31

Passive: bottom-up processed, stimulus driven, exogenous, incidental attention
e.g. an unpredicted change “catches” your attention

Question 32

Cocktail Party Effect

Answer 32

In a crowded room, a person may focus on a single conversation, blocking out others. Hearing their own name in a different conversation can cause them to automatically shift their attention

Question 33

Disorders of Visuospatial Attention: Neglect

Answer 33

A lack of awareness of stimuli presented to the side of space on the opposite side to the brain damage - Impairment typically in contralesional visual field

Question 34

Disorders of Visuospatial Attention: Unilateral Neglect

Answer 34

Patients completely ignore one side of the visual field the visual field (contralesional) -> Damage typically in right hemisphere’s posterior parietal lobe