Chapter 4: Attitudes, Consciousness, Emotion, and Stress Flashcards
Selective attention
the process by which one input is attended to and the rest are tuned out
Donald Broadbent
thought of the brain as a processing system with limited capacity and sought to map out the steps that went into creating memories from sensory data
Broadbent Filter Model of Selective Attention
inputs from the environment first enter a sensory buffer; an input is selected and filtered based on physical characteristics; in the next step, the information enters short-term memory storage, where semantic (meaning-making) processes occur
Attended vs. unattended channels
Attended - the input that is focused on, either through listening or visual aspects, etc.
Unattended - input is ignored through this channel
Cocktail party effect
when information of personal importance from previously unattended channels catches our attention
Selective priming
suggests that people can be selectively primed to observe something, either by encountering it frequently or by having an expectation
Spotlight model
spotlight is a beam that can shine anywhere within an individual’s visual field - beam describes the movement of attention, which precedes corresponding eye movement
Binding problem
info from visual perception is processed by feature detectors in the brain; binding problem is the problem of how all the different inputs are assembled together and related to a single object, rather than something else in the visual field; visual attention solves the problem b/c the feature detector’ input will all be related to the object being attended to
Anne Treisman’s Attentuation Model
tried to account for cocktail party effect; believed that rather than a filter, the mind has an attenuator, which works like a volume knob - it “turns down” the unattended sensory input, rather than eliminating it
Divided attention
concerns when and if we are able to perform multiple tasks simultaneously
Resource model of attention
says that we have a limited pool of resources on which to draw when performing tasks, both modality-specific resources and general resources
if the resources required to perform the multiple tasks simultaneously exceeds the available resources to do so, then the tasks cannot be accomplished at the same time
Performance on multi-tasking
three factors:
Task similarity - if they use the same modality for processing, it’s harder to multitask
Task difficulty - if more difficult, requires more resources and thus makes it harder to multitask
Task practice - practice lowers resource demand
Consciousness
the awareness that we have of ourselves, our internal states, and the environment
Reticular formation - reticular activating system (RAS)
brain structures that control alertness and arousal, the ability to remain attentive to what is going on
Polysomnography (PSG)
a multimodal technique to measure physiological processes during sleep, includes EEG, EMG, and EOG
Alpha waves
when a person is awake, but sleepy and relaxed; low amplitudes and high frequencies; also called neural synchrony
first indicator that a person is ready to drift off to sleep
Stage 1 Non-REM sleep
EEG show Theta waves - low to moderate intensity and intermediate frequency
slow rolling eye movements on EOG and EMG shows moderate activity
person becomes less responsive to stimuli and has fleeting thoughts
Stage 2 sleep
denoted by a change to two distinct wave patterns on EEG; theta waves are intermixed with K-complexes and sleep spindles
no eye movement, moderate activity of EMG; decreased heart rate, respiration, and temperature
K-complexes
has a duration of a half second and is large and slow; occur as a single wave amongst the theta waves
Sleep spindles
bursts of waves with a frequency of 12 Hz and are moderately intense; last half to one second
Stage 3 sleep
slow wave sleep (SWS); characterized by delta waves - high amplitude and low frequency, signifies deepest level of sleep; no eye movement and moderate muscle movement
heart rate and digestion slow, growth hormones are secreted
REM sleep
characterized by bursts of quick eye movement; waves resemble beta waves that are seen when someone’s awake, with low intensity and variable frequency
almost no muscle movement, nearly paralyzed except for sudden bursts or twitches, dreams generally occur
Circadian rhythm
biological clock; refers to the waxing and waving of alertness over the 24 hour day
Light
natural and artificial light activates light-sensitive proteins in the retina - they send signals to the pineal gland, which is responsible for producing melatonin, a hormone that induces sleep
REM rebound
missing REM sleep for one night results in an increase in REM sleep later to make up for it
Manifest vs latent content
Freud believed that the plotlines of dreams (manifest content) were symbolic versions of underlying unconscious drives and wishes that are difficult to express (latent content)
Activation-synthesis theory
suggests that dreams are byproducts of brain activation during REM sleep
Dyssomnias
abnormalities in the amount, quality, or timing of sleep
ex. insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea
Parasomnias
abnormal behaviors that occur during sleep
ex. somnambulism (sleepwalking) and night terrors
Hypnotism
a social interaction in which a hypnotist has a subject focus attention on what is being said, relax and feel tired, and accept suggestions easily through the use of vivid imagination
Dissociation theory
suggests that hypnotism is an extreme form of divided consciousness
