Chapter 4: Attention & Performance

Question 1

The ability to focus on specific stimuli or locations.

Answer 1

Attention.

Question 2

Attending to one thing while ignoring others.

Answer 2

Selective attention.

Question 3

One stimulus interfering with the processing of another stimulus.

Answer 3

Distraction.

Question 4

Paying attention to more than one thing at a time.

Answer 4

Divided attention.

Question 5

A rapid shifting of attention usually caused by a stimulus such as a loud noise, bright light, or sudden movement.

Answer 5

Attentional capture.

Question 6

Movements of the eyes from one location or object to another.

Answer 6

Visual scanning.

Question 7

Attention may be described by three (3) “relative” characteristics.

Answer 7

1. Selective
2. Shiftable
3. Divisible

Question 8

We can (relatively) isolate and examine a small portion of incoming stimuli to the exclusion of other stimuli.

Answer 8

Selective.

Question 9

We can alter the portion of stimuli we isolate and examine. This shift may be deliberate or conscious, or it may be accidental or unconscious.

Answer 9

Shiftable.

Question 10

We can, at times, examine two or more sources of stimuli simultaneously, consciously or unconsciously.

Answer 10

Divisible.

Question 11

A common task used in early attention studies.

Answer 11

Dichotic listening.

Question 12

This refers to the phenomenon where at noisy parties, people are able to focus on what one person is saying even if there are many conversations happening at the same time.

Answer 12

Cocktail party effect.

Question 13

A model of attention in which attended stimuli are identified initially and unattended stimuli receive little processing.

Answer 13

Early selection filter.

Question 14

A model of attention in which all stimuli are analyzed, but only attended stimuli are perceived.

Answer 14

Late selection filter.

Question 15

He created a model of attention designed to explain how it is possible to focus on one message and why information isn’t taken in from the other message.

Answer 15

Donald Broadbent.

Question 16

In Broadbent’s filter model of attention, this holds all of the incoming information.

Answer 16

Sensory memory.

Question 17

In Broadbent’s filter model of attention, this identifies the message that is being attended to based on its physical characteristics.

Answer 17

Filter.

Question 18

In Broadbent’s filter model of attention, this processes the information from the attended message to determine higher-level characteristics of the message, such as its meaning.

Answer 18

Detector.

Question 19

A model of attention which considers attention as a set of limited cognitive resources for recognizing and categorizing stimuli.

Answer 19

Capacity models.

Question 20

This type of priming is produced by the presentation of the priming stimulus and does not require additional cognitive resources.

Answer 20

Stimulus-based priming.

Question 21

This type of priming occurs when the individual believes the priming stimulus allows predictability of future outcomes. Requires additional cognitive resources.

Answer 21

Expectation-based priming.

Question 22

A phenomenon in which an individual can focus on a single object in the left visual field, but do not realize the object is there if another object is simultaneously presented to the right visual field.

Answer 22

“Visual extinction.”

Question 23

An extreme attentional disorder in which patients ignore the visual field controlled by the damaged hemisphere entirely.

Answer 23

Unilateral visual neglect.

Question 24

A practiced central cognitive component of a task to the point where the task require little to no attention. When tasks become habitual, they have reached this state.

Answer 24

Automaticity.

Question 25

A downside to automaticity where we often find it difficult to stop an automatic process even when we want to.

Answer 25

The Stroop Effect.