Chapter 4 Flashcards
Attention
focus on specific objects or locations in the environment; focus on certain thoughts or activities.
A behavioral and cognitive process
NOT an emotion or Interest.
Load Theory of Attention
Low-load task = less resources used; automatic
High-load task = requires more resources
Attention; psychological level
allocation of processing resources
Attention; neural level
Alterations in selectivity, intensity, and duration of neuronal responses to such events
Controlled Attention
Posner & Snyder letter identification
Expectations->use cues when they are predictive
Helps when expectation is accurate; hurts when expectation is wrong (facilitation vs inhibition)
High validity cues vs low validity cues
Automatic Attention
Unconscious influences
Repetition, even if you don’t notice
Automatic processes
Feature Integration Theory
Stage in perceptual processing where features are represented independently from “binding” to objects.
Feature Integration: Preattentive Stage
Features can still float from one object to another. Analyze into features
Feature Integration: Focused Attention Stage
It takes attention to bind features together into objects
Combine feaures.
Visual Spatial Attention
Location-based: the “spotlight”
Selective attention
Ability to scan events/stimuli and pick out the ones that are relevant
Divided Attention
coordinate performance on more than on task at a time
Selective Attention: Dichotic Listening
Two different messages presented in each ear. Told to repeat what the one ear is saying. Could not say what the other ear message was except for changes in gender and tone.
Filter Hypothesis
Filter allows some sensory inputs to pass to deeper levels of processing, and block other inputs from continued processing.
Role of an Attention Filter: Early selection model
Broadbent’s filter model
Filters message BEFORE incoming information is analyzed for meaning; top-down, limited capacity.
Could not explain Cocktail Party or Dear Aunt Jane
Role of an Attention Filter: Intermediate-selection model
Treisman’s Attenuation Theory
Attended message can be separated from unattended message early in the information-processing system
Attended to message is let through the attenuator at full strength. Unattended message is let through at a much weaker strength
But selection can also occur later.
Treisman’s Attenuation: Dictionary unit
Words that are common or important have low thresholds
Uncommon words have high thresholds
Role of Attention Filter: Late Selection Models
Selection of stimuli for final processing does not occur until after information has been analyzed for meaning
- Most likely NOT correct
Attentional Blink
Brief slowing of processing due to having processed another event VERY recently
Example: so focused on taking notes that you miss what she is saying next
Inattentional Blindness
stimulus that is not attended is not perceived, even though a person might be looking directly at it
Example: gorilla video in class
Change Blindness
If shown two versions of a picture, differences between them are not immediately apparent
Experiment with the man giving directions and the guy asking for directions changes but no one noticed.
Stroop Effect
Name of the word interferes with the ability to name the ink color
Cannot avoid paying attention to the meanings of the words
Divided Attention
The distribution of attention across two or more task
Attentional resources are limited
Visual Neglect
After brain injury, some patients seem to lose the ability to attend to one side of visual field
Inability to attend to or respond to stimuli in contralesional visual field
