Chapter 9

Question 1

attention

Answer 1

characteristics associated with consciousness, awareness, and cognitive effort as they relate to performance

Question 2

central-resource theories of attention

Answer 2

attention-capacity theories that propose one central source (i.e. CNS) of attention resources for which all activities requiring attention compete

Question 3

arousal

Answer 3

general state of excitability of a person, involving physiological, emotional, and mental systems.

Question 4

multiple-resource theories

Answer 4

theories of attention proposing that there are several attention resource mechanisms, each of which is related to a specific information-processing activity and is limited in how much information it can process simultaneously

Question 5

dual-task procedure

Answer 5

an experimental procedure used in the study of attention to determine the amount of attention required to perform an action;

assessing the degree of interference caused by one task when a person is simultaneously performing another task

Question 6

attentional focus

Answer 6

the direction of attention to specific characteristics in a performance environment, or to action-preparation activities

includes width and direction of focus

Question 7

action effect hypothesis

Answer 7

the proposition that actions are best planned and controlled by their intended effects.

Question 8

action effect hypothesis and attentional focus (Prinz, 1997)

Answer 8

this hypothesis proposes that the learning and performance of skills are optimized when the performer’s attention is directed to the intended outcome of the action rather than on the movements themselves

Question 9

automaticity

Answer 9

indicates that a person performs a skill, or engages in certain information-processing activities, with little or no demands on attention capacity

related to amount of practice

Question 10

selective attention

Answer 10

the term used to refer to the detection and selection of performance-related information in the performance environment

Question 11

visual search

Answer 11

the process of directing visual attention to locate relevant info in the environment that will enable a person to determine how to prepare and perform a skill in a specific situation.

Question 12

Filter Theory

Answer 12

aka bottleneck theory

difficulty doing multiple tasks simultaneously because of inability to serially process multiple stimuli

Question 13

Resource capacity theories

Answer 13

difficulty doing multiple tasks simultaneously because of limited availability of resources needed to carry out tasks

Question 14

Kahneman’s Attention theory (KAT)

Answer 14

is an example of central resource capacity theory

equates attention with cognitive effort

proposed flexible attention capacity limits

Question 15

KAT states the amount of attention capacity available is related to

Answer 15

arousal level

Question 16

KAT: 3 rules people use to allocate attention resources when performing multiple tasks

Answer 16

1. ensure completion of at least one task
2. enduring dispositions: (involuntary allocations, meaningfulness of the event)
3. momentary intentions (allocate attention according to instructions)

Question 17

specific information needed to multiple resource theory

Answer 17

sensory input (visual, proprioceptive)

response output (verbal, motor)

type of memory code (spatial, verbal)

Question 18

dual task procedures (primary and secondary)

Answer 18

primary tasks: task of interest

secondary: the basis to make inferences about the attention demands of the primary task

Question 19

width of focus

Answer 19

focus can be broad to narrow

Question 20

direction of focus

Answer 20

focus can be external or internal

Question 21

attention switching

Answer 21

the changing of attentional focus

Question 22

automaticity in relation to Kahneman’s theory

Answer 22

relates to evaluation of task demands

Question 23

Different brain areas are active when tasks are not (Poldrak, 2005)

Answer 23

automatized

Question 24

ex. of visual selective attention

Answer 24

bowling.

using visual attention to search and locate relevant information (cues)

Question 25

how to record a person’s visual selective attention

Answer 25

eye movement recordings

tracking a person’s ‘point of gaze’ (locus of central vision)

Question 26

relationship between eye movements and visual selective attention

Answer 26

no it is proven attention can focused on something that is in the periphery.

although a change in eye tracking (central focus) comes with a change in attention

Question 27

visual search and intended actions

Answer 27

looking for regulatory conditions that will allow you to complete the intended action

visual search patterns differ based on action goal

Question 28

visual search information influences what 3 aspects of action preparation

Answer 28

action selection

constraining of the selected action

timing of the action initiation

Question 29

the quiet eye

Answer 29

final fixation just before movement initiation

directed to critical location

stable fixation of gee

onset occurs before 1st movement

duration is longer in elite performers

demonstrated in close and open skills

Question 30

is there a relationship between successful visual search and visual acuity

Answer 30

none to very little relationship

visual search success is based on experience in specific performance situations