Attention and the role of Cognitive Control

Question 1

How are individual differences in observation tested?

Answer 1

Tests for inattentional blindness unsuitable for indvdl diff.

New ways of testing:
New questionnaire = Observant Attention Scale

How typical is this of you
– ‘Quick to notice changes made to a familiar environment’
– ‘Fail to notice if a friend changed the top they were
wearing during the day’
– ‘Praised for being observant’

Question 2

In studies of individual differences, what relationships were they looking at?

Answer 2

Mental imagery ability = does stronger mental imagery help us to notice changes in our environment?

Other attention questionnaires:
– ADHD childhood symptoms
– Mind-wandering Spontaneous
– Hyperfocus

Behavioural measures of visual memory = Irrelevant distractor task (surprise memory test)/ Logo memory test

Question 3

What is load theory?

Answer 3

Perceptual (visual) load reduces distraction
Cognitive load increases distraction + reduces inattentional blindness

Different types of load = opposite effects on attention

Question 4

What happened in Lavie et al.’s (2004) study?

Answer 4

Response competition flanker task

Ps asked to remember digits during each trial + high/low load task
Low cognitive load = 1 digit
High cognitive load = 6

Question 4

What happened in Lavie et al.’s (2004) study?

Answer 4

Response competition flanker task

Ps asked to remember digits during each trial + high/low load task
Low cognitive load = 1 digit
High cognitive load = 6

Question 5

What was the results of Lavie et al.’s (2004) study?

Answer 5

Distractor interference increased under high cognitive load.
One expt compares cognitive and perceptual load

Question 6

What happened in Lavie & de Fockert, 2005?

Answer 6

Supported findings

Same effects found with different distractor task:

Cognitive load increases interference from colour singleton
distractor

Question 7

What is the link between cognitive load and awareness?

Answer 7

Perceptual load reduces distractor processing + increases inattentional blindness

Cognitive load increases distractor processing

Question 8

What did Carmel et al. 2012 study?

Answer 8

Task = Classify names + Ignore faces

Surprise memory test for faces

Low load = Chance level (50%) accuracy in memory test

High load = ~80% accuracy!

Question 9

Where does load theory occur during early selection and late selection?

Answer 9

Early selection = Availability of perceptual capacity determines
whether distractors receive further processing

Late selection = Cognitive control required to inhibit any distractors
that make it this far

Question 10

What is used to measure individual differences affect working memory capacity?

Answer 10

Engle and colleagues

Operation Span (OSPAN) task:
* Simultaneously perform simple maths and read words
* Test recall of words
* OSPAN related to fluid intelligence
* Argued to assess efficiency of prefrontal functioning

Question 11

What happens to people who score lower on the OSPAN?

Answer 11

Individuals with low WM capacity show increased:

– Stroop interference.
– Response competition interference
– “Own name break-through” in dichotic listening = low (noticed their name more) (high, focused and didn’t hear it)

Question 12

How does indvdl diff. in working memory capacity affect cognitive control?

Answer 12

individuals with better cognitive control less distracted

Cognitive control deficits = clinical symptoms of inattention: e.g.
– Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
– Anxiety

Patients w/ damage to frontal/parietal regions = problems in attention and cognitive control

Question 13

What is the relation of attentional control and neural mechanisms

Answer 13

Attention modulates neural activation related to perception

Question 14

Which part of the brain in fMRI spatial cuing studies showed attention?

Answer 14

Hopfinger et al. (2000)

Visual cortical response to cued location = Effect of attention

Frontal-parietal activation at time of cue = Mechanisms orienting attention

Question 15

What does de Fockdert et al. (2014) show?

Answer 15

fMRI attentional capture

Singleton distractors present or absent

Presence vs absence associated with:
– Reaction time interference
– Frontal and parietal activation

Frontal activation negatively predicted behavioural interference

Question 16

What does Bishop (2009) show about response competition?

Answer 16

Incongruent vs congruent distractions associated w/

RT interference
Frontal recruitment = Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) + Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)

People high in anxiety recruited less DLPFC + ACC and greater bhvrl interference

Question 17

What did Forster et al. (2013) show about sustained attention?

Answer 17

Frontal regions also activated during sustained attention

Question 18

How does attentional control relate to mind-wandering?

Answer 18

Forster and Davie (2013) and Forster et al (2013)

Mind-wandering positively relates to external task-irrelevant distraction:
* As well as to failures of sustained attention

Question 19

What does Christoff et al (2009) show about mind-wondering?

Answer 19

Same as frontal regions involved in:
– Attentional control
– Generating task-unrelated thought

Challenge for future research studying attentional control of mind-wandering

Question 20

What is the relationship between mind-wandering and working memory capacity?

Answer 20

Kane et al (2007) = High WM capacity associated with reduced
mind-wandering during attentionally demanding tasks = is mind-wander an executive failure, not executive function?

Levinson et al (2012): High WM capacity associated with
increased mind-wandering during low perceptual load
response competition task

Mixed evidence