Chapter 7

Question 1

attention

Answer 1

Any of the very large set
of selective processes in the brain. To deal with the impossibility of handling all inputs at once, the nervous system has evolved mechanisms that are able to bias processing to a subset of things, places, ideas, or moments in time.

Question 2

selective attention

Answer 2

The form of attention involved when processing is restricted to a subset of the possible stimuli.

Question 3

reaction time (RT)

Answer 3

A measure of the time from the onset of a stimulus to a response.

Question 4

cue

Answer 4

A stimulus that might indicate where (or what) a subsequent stimulus will be. Cues can be valid (giving correct information), invalid (incorrect), or neutral (uninformative).

Question 5

exogenous cue

Answer 5

In directing attention, a cue that is located out (exo) at the desired final location of attention.

Question 6

endogenous cue

Answer 6

In directing attention, a cue that is located in (endo) or near the current location of attention.

Question 7

stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)

Answer 7

The time between the onset of one stimulus and the onset of another.

Question 8

inhibition of return

Answer 8

The relative difficulty in getting attention (or the eyes) to move back to a recently attended (or fixated) location.

Question 9

visual search

Answer 9

A search for a target in a display containing distracting elements.

Question 10

target

Answer 10

The goal of a visual search.

Question 11

distractor

Answer 11

In visual search, any

stimulus other than the target.

Question 12

set size

Answer 12

The number of items in a visual display.

Question 13

feature search

Answer 13

Search for a target defined by a single attribute, such as a salient color or orientation.

Question 14

salience

Answer 14

The vividness of a stimulus relative to its neighbors.

Question 15

parallel search

Answer 15

Search in which multiple stimuli are processed at the same time.

Question 16

serial self-terminating search

Answer 16

A search from item to item, ending when a target is found.

Question 17

guided search

Answer 17

Search in which attention can be restricted to a subset of possible items on the basis of information about the target item’s basic features (e.g., its color).

Question 18

conjunction search

Answer 18

Search for a target defined by the presence of two or more attributes (e.g., a red, vertical target among red horizontal and blue vertical distractors).

Question 19

scene-based guidance

Answer 19

Information in our understanding of scenes that helps us find specific objects in scenes (e.g., objects do not float in air, faucets are near sinks).

Question 20

binding problem

Answer 20

The challenge of tying different attributes of visual stimuli (e.g., color, orientation, motion), which are handled by different brain circuits, to the appropriate object so that we perceive a unified object (e.g., red, vertical, moving right).

Question 21

feature integration theory

Answer 21

Anne Treisman’s theory of visual attention, which holds that a limited set of basic features can be processed in parallel preattentively, but other properties, including the correct binding of features to objects, require attention.

Question 22

preattentive stage

Answer 22

The processing of a stimulus that occurs before selective attention is deployed to that stimulus.

Question 23

illusory conjunction

Answer 23

An erroneous combination of two features in a visual

scene—for example, seeing a red X when the display contains red letters and Xs but no red Xs.

Question 24

rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP)

Answer 24

An experimental procedure in which stimuli appear in a stream at one location (typically the point of fixation) at a rapid rate (typically about 8 per second).

Question 25

attentional blink (AB)

Answer 25

The tendency not to perceive or respond to the second of two different target stimuli amid a rapid stream of distracting stimuli if the observer has responded to the first target stimulus 200-500 ms before the second stimulus is presented.

Question 26

fusiform face area (FFA)

Answer 26

A region of extrastriate visual cortex in humans that is specifically and reliably activated by human faces.

Question 27

parahippocampal place area (PPA)

Answer 27

A region of extrastriate visual cortex in humans that is specifically and reliably activated more by images of places than by other stimuli.

Question 28

response enhancement

Answer 28

An effect of attention on the response of a neuron in which the neuron responding to
an attended stimulus gives a bigger response.

Question 29

sharper tuning

Answer 29

An effect of attention on the response of a neuron in which the neuron responding to an attended stimulus responds more precisely.
For example, a neuron that responds to lines with orientations from –20 degrees to +20 degrees might come to respond to ±10-degree lines.

Question 30

visual-field defect

Answer 30

A portion of the visual field with no vision or with abnormal vision typically resulting from damage to the visual nervous system.

Question 31

parietal lobe

Answer 31

In each cerebral hemisphere, a lobe that lies toward the top of the brain between the frontal and occipital lobes.

Question 32

neglect

Answer 32

In reference to a neurological symptom, in visual attention: 1. The inability to attend or respond to stimuli in the contralesional visual field (typically, the left field after right parietal damage). 2. Ignoring half of the body or half of an object.

Question 33

contralesional field

Answer 33

The visual field on the side opposite a brain lesion. For example, points to the left of fixation are contralesional to damage in the right hemisphere of the brain.

Question 34

extinction

Answer 34

In reference to visual attention, the inability to perceive a stimulus to one side of the point of fixation (e.g., to the right) in the presence of another stimulus, typically in a comparable position in the other visual field (e.g., on the left side).

Question 35

ipsilesional field

Answer 35

The visual field on the same side as a brain lesion.

Question 36

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Answer 36

A quite common childhood disorder that can continue into adulthood, symptoms of which include difficulty focusing attention and problems controlling behavior.

Question 37

ensemble statistics

Answer 37

The average and distribution of properties like orientation or color over a set of objects or over a region in a scene.

Question 38

spatial layout

Answer 38

The description of the structure of a scene (e.g., enclosed, open, rough, smooth) without reference to the identity of specific objects in the scene.

Question 39

change blindness

Answer 39

The failure to notice a change between two scenes. If the gist, or meaning, of the scene is not altered, quite large changes can pass unnoticed.

Question 40

inattentional blindness

Answer 40

A failure to notice - or at least to report - a stimulus that would be easily reportable if it were attended.