Attention - Leakage, Slippage and Spillover

Question 1

What is leakage?

Answer 1

Treisman (1960, 1964)

Filter doesn’t block information from irrelevant channel, just attenuates it

Information from irrelevant channel “leaks” through filter

Attenuated information can activate concepts in LTM leading to identification of stimuli (e.g. hear own name)

Question 2

What is slippage?

Answer 2

Focus and attention slips to irrelevant channel so attentional resources slips to irrelevant channel

Cannot aim attentional resources perfectly

Cannot focus on relevant channel all the time so if attention not properly focused, attention will slip to irrelevant channel