Chapter 3 - Attention

Question 1

What is dichotic listening?

Answer 1

Different messages in each ear
Don’t notice changes in language of second message
Notice gender

Question 2

How do people notice second message?

Answer 2

If it’s slow
If main task not challenging
Meaning of unattended task is immediately relevant
If their name is mentioned (cocktail party effect)

Question 3

What is Stroop effect?

Emotional Stroop effect?

Answer 3

People take a long time to name ink colour when used in printing an incongruent word
People are slower to name colour on anxiety-inducing words

Question 4

What is attentional bias?

Answer 4

More attention to some stimuli

Suicidal to suicide-related words

Question 5

What variables influence visual searches?

Answer 5

Frequent appearance

Question 6

1. What is isolated feature/combined-feature effect?

2. Feature-present/feature-absent effect?

Answer 6

1. If target differs from irrelevant items on display by colour, quickly detected if isolated, slower if combined.
2. People locate a feature present than absent

Question 7

What is saccadic eye movement?
Perceptual span?
Parafoveal preview?
Regression?

Answer 7

1. Centers retina over word
   7 to 9 letters
   Fixation 200-250 milliseconds
2. Number of letters and spaces perceived during fixation. 4 left 15 right
3. Access info on upcoming words. Can’t identify word more than 8 spaces to right of fix point
4. Moving eyes backward to earlier text, when not understood

Question 8

Which systems are involved in reading?

Answer 8

Visual, linguistic, oculomotor, attentional

Question 9

Which part of the brain activates during searches?

Answer 9

Orienting attentional network in parietal lobe
Unilateral spatial neglect due to lesion here
Causes unawareness of things on other side

Question 10

What is executive attention network responsible for?

Answer 10

Attention to focus on one of two conflicting tasks
Top down control of attention
Enhanced during meditation
To inhibit one response and give a less obvious one

Question 11

What is Treisman’s feature integration theory?

Answer 11

Sometimes we use distributed attention to process all parts of a scene at same time
Sometimes we use focused attention and process each item one at a time
Usually continuum
Focused attention slower for complex objects

Question 12

What is illusory conjunction?

Binding problem?

Answer 12

1. Overwhelmed with too many visual tasks, we combine features inappropriately
2. Can’t represent features of object as unified whole

Question 13

Mindless reading
Mind wandering
Thought suppression
Blindsight

Answer 13

1. No processing
2. Internal processing
3. Eliminate thoughts
4. Damaged visual cortex but can still point to object because info registers with other parts of brain without being conscious of it