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PSYC 213 > Chapter 5: Attention > Flashcards

Chapter 5: Attention Flashcards

1
Q

Attention

A

the process by which the brain decides which information to further process and which information to ignore

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2
Q

William James, 1980

A

attention can be willfully directed and is selective

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3
Q

is most information consciously processed?

A

no

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4
Q

inattentional blindness

A

the inability to perceive information outside of the attentional spotlight

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5
Q

change blindness

A

the inability to detect changes to a scene

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6
Q

inattentional deafness

A

a phenomenon in which auditory information is not perceived when a different high-load task is being performed

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7
Q

selective attention

A

when someone pays attention to one thing at the expense of all others

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8
Q

the cocktail party effect is an example of

A

selective attention

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9
Q

cocktail party effect

A

the ability to pay attention to one person you are talking to in a crowded environment while filtering out the rest of the conversations

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10
Q

dichotic listening task

A

participants listen to recordings of people speaking while wearing headphones. Cherry (1953) tested the ability of attention to selectively filter information by playing different streams of information into the right and the left headphones at the same time. The participant had to repeat the words spoken in the attended ear and Cherry tested if they remembered the information coming in the unattended ear.

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11
Q

attended message

A

the stimulus the subject is listening to

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12
Q

unattended message

A

the stimulus that is supposed to be ignored by the subjects

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13
Q

shadowing tasks

A

Participants are given two messages through headphones, one in the right ear and one in the left ear. They are asked to repeat the message from one ear and to ignore the other. People cannot remember content from the unattended ear, but they can tell you about a new noise and the gender of the speaker

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14
Q

what was the conclusion of Cherry’s dichotic listening experiments

A

unless something changes that made the new message physically distinct, the attention filter would block its contents

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15
Q

early selection models

A

selective attention acts as a filter and unattended information only gets through if physically distinct (louder)

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16
Q

detector

A

the mechanism that processes the meaning of information

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17
Q

Broadbent’s filter model

A

type of early selection model, where information is filtered prior to detection

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18
Q

late filter theory

A

selective attention acts as a filter that blocks most unattended information from further processing but personally relevant and meaningful information can also be processed

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19
Q

attenuator theory

A

Some aspects of unattended material to be processed for meaning. The filter is not “all-or-none”; some information can pass through the filter

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20
Q

mackay, 1973

A

modified the dichotic listening task by having participants focus on sentences with a potentially ambiguous meaning, while the unattended channel a word was repeatedly played that would provide context to the attended sentence. Found that even if participants were unable to explicitly recognize an ignored word, it influence their conscious perception of the sentence they were attending to

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21
Q

what attention theory did mackay’s experiment find evidence for

A

late filter theory

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22
Q

attentional load

A

A measure of how many processing resources are needed to perform a task

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23
Q

Eriksen Flanker task

A

when trying to search for a target letter among distractors, the difficulty varies by what is distracting for the target item; participants can’t help but process the distractors

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24
Q

low-load task

A

a task where it is easy to spot the target

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25
Q

high-load task

A

a task where it is more difficult to spot the target among the other conditions

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26
Q

Flanker task and distractors study

A

in the low-load condition, a distractor caused an increased reaction time because there are processing resources left over. In the high-load condition, reaction time was not increased because there are few processing resources leftover

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27
Q

automatic task

A

when a certain task is so familiar that we do not need to pay attention to do it (type of low-load task)

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28
Q

controlled task

A

a non-automatic task (type of high-load task) that requires voluntary top-down attention

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29
Q

stroop effect

A

reading the colour of words printed in contrasting ink colours takes longer than naming the colour of ink patches because the brain can’t help but process the word spelled out by the letters, even if it interferes with the task. This is likely because reading becomes an automatic task

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30
Q

what part of the stroop effect is automatic vs. controlled

A

Reading colour names= automatic
Naming the colour of the ink= controlled

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31
Q

divided attention

A

When people attend to multiple objects at the same time

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32
Q

effect of divided attention on performance

A

When we divide our attention among two tasks, performance on the individual task tends to suffer

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33
Q

do people think they are good multitaskers?

A

People often assume they are better multitaskers than they really are

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34
Q

divided attention often involves ____

A

switched attention rapidly between tasks

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35
Q

task-switching and frequent multitaskers

A

People who multitask most often show the greatest deficits in task switching

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36
Q

how many objects can people keep track of concurrently?

A

4-5

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37
Q

what is the most commonly thought of purpose of attention?

A

Pre-activating or readying the processing needed for specific stimuli that are present or about to be present

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38
Q

Posner 1980

A

participants are faster and more accurate at responding to a target stimulus on trials with valid directional cues, compared to invalid cues

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39
Q

feature-integration theory (Triesman)

A

attention is necessary to bind together discrete features of an object into a unified whole

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40
Q

conjunction error

A

a failure to accurately bind together discrete features of an object, caused by a lack of attention

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41
Q

attention might help guide what type of processing?

A

bottom-up

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42
Q

visual search

A

an experimental task in which participants must search for a target object among distractors

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43
Q

feature search

A

a version of the visual search task in which the target is distinguished from the distractors based on a single feature

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44
Q

conjunction search

A

Search for an object that is different from the distractors across many features

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45
Q

results of visual search studies

A

As the amount of distractors increases, the amount of time it takes people to find the target increases linearly because it is necessary to attend to each stimulus in the array

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46
Q

exogenous attentional control

A

control of attention that is driven by factors outside of the individual

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47
Q

endogenous attentional control

A

control of attention that is driven by factors internal to the individual

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48
Q

overt attention

A

selective attention of a location that is accompanied by eye fixation of the same region

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49
Q

covert attention

A

attentional selection and processing of a location while eye fixation is maintained elsewhere

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50
Q

where does the neural mechanism behind attention occur?

A

happens in several locations across the brain depending on what type of stimulus the brain is anticipating

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51
Q

what part of the brain is involved in the perception of motion

A

medial temporal lobes

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52
Q

what part of the brain controls which portions of the brain are paying attention

A

the parietal lobe

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53
Q

Frontal eye fields

A

a portion of the frontal lobes associated with the allocation of overt & covert attention via eye movements

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54
Q

retinotopic map

A

the spatial layout of the retina

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55
Q

what brain areas have a retinotopic map?

A

in the frontal lobe & primary visual cortex (V1)

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56
Q

adhd

A

associated with an inability to stay focused on a central task

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57
Q

how is adhd treated

A

with behavioural management strategies & in some cases, stimulants

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58
Q

adhd is due to failures in which brain regions

A

the frontoparietal networks to control attention and suppress impulses

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59
Q

go/no-go task

A

an experimental procedure used to test cognitive control and the subject’s ability to control impulsive responses

60
Q

adhd participants in go/no-go tasks

A

Children with ADHD completed more errors by responding to the no-go stimulus more often. Control participants had increased activity in the frontoparietal regions when suppressing the no-go stimulus, but those with ADHD didn’t

61
Q

balint syndrome

A

a neurological disorder typically resulting from damage to both parietal lobes that carriers several attention deficits including oculomotor apraxia and simultanagnosia

62
Q

oculomotor apraxia

A

the inability to execute visually guided movements

63
Q

simultagnosia

A

the inability to identify or use more than one object or property in a scene at a time

64
Q

visual/spatial neglect

A

a deficit of attention in which the individual fails to notice or process a particular location in space across all sensory modalities, typically the left visual field due to right parietal lobe damage

65
Q

drawings in patients with visual neglect

A

will often leave out significant details of the left side of objects

66
Q

moray, 1959

A

participants would switch the ears they were listening with if the unattended stream played their name, providing evidence for a late-filter theory

67
Q

what happens when we don’t have attention

A

Spatial (unilateral) neglect
Damage to the parietal lobes
Results in an inability to attend to information in space contralateral to brain damage

68
Q

top-down attention

A

observer guided controlled attention

69
Q

what parts of the brain are responsible for top-down attention?

A

frontoparietal brain regions including the intraparietal sulcus + Frontal eye fields (FEF)

70
Q

bottom-up attention

A

stimuli guided automatic attention

71
Q

what parts of the brain are responsible for bottom-up attention?

A

temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and Ventral frontal cortex (VFC)

72
Q

arousal

A

alertness and awakeness

73
Q

what parts of the brain are responsible for arousal?

A

reticular activating system

74
Q

sustained attention

A

maintain focus on one input for a long period of time

75
Q

why do we have selective attention

A

Required because of limited resources
We must prioritize what to process to act effectively
What you attend to will depend on a given goal

76
Q

congruent trials

A

the stimulus and the cue are the same

77
Q

incongruent trials

A

the stimulus and the cue are different

78
Q

how to measure change blindness?

A

flicker technique paradigm

79
Q

flicker technique paradigm

A

Two highly similar visual images are presented with an interstimulus mask (grey screen). Sometimes, there are small changes in the images. When asked if the two images are the same or what changed, people are often inaccurate

80
Q

sensory buffer

A

short-term area that holds sensory inputs

81
Q

dichotic listening tasks provide evidence for what type of attention model?

A

early selection

82
Q

shadowing tasks provide evidence for what type of attention model?

A

early selection

83
Q

electric shock and unattended messages experiment

A

Participants presented with a word paired with an electric shock. Next, they did the shadowing task with the shocked word in the unattended ear. Participants had increased skin conductance when the shocked word was presented in the unattended ear

84
Q

the stroop effect provides evidence for what type of attention model?

A

late filter

85
Q

stroop effect and hypnotized participants

A

Hypnotized English participants to think colour names were meaningless and found that the Stroop effect was gone

86
Q

load theory

A

Filter placement will depend on how much of your resources are required for your currently attended-to task. If low resource load, we process non-attended information to a later stage in the pipeline (late filter). If high resource load, we process non-attended information only to an early stage of the pipeline (early filter)

87
Q

Central resource capacity view

A

one resource pool from which all attention resources are allocated

88
Q

Multiple resource capacity view

A

multiple sources from which attention resources are allocated; Attentional load depends on the match between the relevant and irrelevant information

89
Q

central resource capacity example

A

driving similar task under two conditions (low–driving with no radio & high–driving with radio) and found that people were more likely to see the elephant with a low load

90
Q

how can spatial neglect be treated?

A

with prism glasses

91
Q

what brain areas are involved in attention?

A

A distributed network of PFC and parietal cortical regions

92
Q

3 main types of attention

A

top-down, bottom-up, arousal

93
Q

types of top-down attention

A

sustained attention, divided attention, selective attention

94
Q

spatial attention

A

focusing on a specific point in space

95
Q

feature-based attention

A

focusing on a specific object

96
Q

measuring spatial and feature attention

A

Give people a cue that would orient their attention toward a particular point, then give them a fixation cross. Next, present them with either a congruent or incongruent stimulus and measure their reaction time to detect the stimulus

97
Q

william james’ account of attention

A

attention is the opposite of distraction; it allows us to focus on something

98
Q

example of change blindness

A

continuity errors in film

99
Q

cell phones and attention study

A

Drivers make more driving errors when talking on a cell phone compared to when talking to a passenger, regardless of whether they are holding the phone or using a hands-free device.

100
Q

Paintings by Guiseppe Arcimboldo are sometimes used to test ____

A

Simultagnosia

101
Q

measuring inattentional blindness

A

participants focus on a task in a space and an unexpected target is presented in that space.

102
Q

cross experiment

A

Crosses with vertical and horizontal “arms” of different lengths are presented very quickly. Participants determine which cross arm is longer. In critical trials, a small black square is included as a “mask”. Participants were later asked if they saw this black square and many said no

103
Q

does inattentional blindness still affect behaviour?

A

yes! Participants were more likely to complete the word stem with what was presented during a period of inattentional blindness, suggesting that they aren’t conscious that they’re processing it, but it’s still affecting behaviour

104
Q

posner’s attentional spotlight theory

A

attention is about focusing on space and ignoring what is located outside of the focused space

105
Q

what is the function of attention according to Posner

A

pre-activating processing shifts

106
Q

posner cueing task

A

Fixation display: fixate on the centre of a screen
Cue display: a space cue directs attention to an area
Target display: reaction time to detect the target is measured

107
Q

Stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)

A

Duration between the cue and target

108
Q

what is a short vs. long SOA

A

Short time interval (SOA) < 200 ms
Long time interval (SOA) ~ 300 ms

109
Q

Inhibition of return (IOR)

A

“Been there, done that” effect: attention is inhibited from going to a recently attended space after a long duration between space cue and target (SOA)

110
Q

results of the Posner cueing task

A

People were slower to respond to invalid cues with a short SOA because of the effect of attention. People were slower to respond to valid cues with a long SOA because of the IOR

111
Q

pre-attention phase

A

Object features are separately coded, automatically

112
Q

what kind of processes guide pre-attention

A

bottom-up

113
Q

focused attention phase

A

Object features are integrated together to guide a search

114
Q

what kinds of processes guide focused attention?

A

top-down processing

115
Q

what kind of processes guide feature searches?

A

bottom-up processing

116
Q

does the number of distractors change reaction time in a feature search?

A

no

117
Q

what kind of processes guide conjunction searches

A

top-down

118
Q

does the number of distractors change reaction time in a conjunction search?

A

More distractors= longer reaction time

119
Q

where’s waldo is an example of a

A

conjunction search

120
Q

pop-out effect

A

The time needed to find a target that is different by one feature from distractors is independent of the number of distractors (set size)

121
Q

what type of features does the pop-out effect exist for?

A

for features processed automatically in the visual cortex

122
Q

embodied attention

A

links mental activities to our physical bodies

123
Q

cultural differences in visual attention study

A

Found that east Asian people were relatively more fixated on the background and Western people were relatively more fixated on the object

124
Q

Vigilance decrement

A

a decrease in sustained attention over time

125
Q

sustained attention in lectures study

A

Students mind-wandered more in the second half of the lecture. When they were tested on the lecture material, students did more poorly on the second half

126
Q

two explanations for mind-wandering in the second half of a lecture

A

overload & underload theory

127
Q

overload theory

A

increase attentional demands with time

128
Q

underload theory

A

boredom -> mind-wandering -> divided attention

129
Q

what type of processes are involved in task-switching

A

top-down processes

130
Q

mental set

A

a method of organizing information based on the goals of a task

131
Q

switch cost

A

decline in performance after switching tasks

132
Q

reaction time in switch vs. non-switch trials

A

slower reaction times during switch trials compared to non-switch trials

133
Q

mind-wandering

A

A shift in mental resources away from the primary task and toward external thoughts

134
Q

action slips

A

mental thoughts bleeding into external tasks

135
Q

what type of processing is involved in endogenous attention?

A

top-down processing

136
Q

what brain area is responsible for endogenous attention?

A

Intraparietal sulcus (IPS)

137
Q

what type of processing is responsible for exogenous attention?

A

bottom-up

138
Q

what brain area is responsible for exogenous attention?

A

temporo-parietal junction (TPJ)

139
Q

attentional capture

A

Bottom-up cues that are automatically processed

140
Q

what things do we pay the most attention to?

A
  • Information that is important for survival is automatically processed
  • Personally relevant stimuli (ex. name)
  • Addictive stimuli (ex. Cigarettes capture the attention of smokers)
  • Fearful stimuli
141
Q

task design of a go/no-go trial

A

a signal is superimposed on different types of visual stimuli (faces, objects, nothing)

142
Q

go vs. no-go trial

A

Go trial: when the signal is green, indicate if the vertical line is on the left or right
No-go trial: when the signal is red, press a task neutral button

143
Q

results of the go/no-go experiment

A

The presence of human faces slowed down attentional processes for the go/no-go task because they capture the attention

144
Q

semantic analysis

A

processing information for meaning

145
Q

what senses is spatial neglect present for?

A

present across all sensory modalities

PSYC 213 (14 decks)

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