Exam 2 Flashcards
Attention
the ability to focus on specific stimuli or locations in our environment
Selective Attention
attending to one thing while ignoring others
- do not attend large portion of environmental info; filter out some and promote other info for further processing
Distractor
a stimulus that competes for attention and interferes with the processing of another stimulus
Divided Attention
paying attention to more than one thing at a time
Attentional Capture
a rapid shift in attention caused by a salient stimulus
Dichotic Listening Study
- different messages presented to each ear; participants shadow message of attended ear
- reported attended ear accurately; could not report unattended message
- unattended processed at some level; noticed change in speaker
Visual Scanning
shifting eye movements across a visual scene
Broadbent’s Attention Model
- early-selection model
- messages > sensory memory > filter > detector > memory
Broadbent’s Filter
selects the attended message based on physical characteristics (tone, pitch, speed, accent) and filters out other messages
Broadbent’s Detector
processes higher-level characteristics of the attended message such as meaning
Treisman’s Attenuation Model
- early, two-stage selection model
- messages > attenuator > dictionary unit > memory
Treisman’s Attenuator
- allows for separation of messages using physical properties, language, and meaning
- analysis proceeds only as far as necessary to identify attended message
- unattended messages are weakened but not completely blocked
Treisman’s Dictionary Unit
- final stage where message analysis occurs
- contains words which each have a threshold for being activated; more common/important = lower threshold
- allows for detection of significant words in unattended messages
Late Selection
- selection of stimuli for final processing doesn’t occur until after info is analyzed for meaning
- findings show both early and late selection can occur depending on: task being performed, and type of stimuli presented
Processing Capacity
amount of info a person can handle
Perceptual Load
relates to task difficulty (how much capacity is being used up)
Stroop Test
- cognitive test examining interference in reaction time between congruent and incongruent stimuli
- participants name color of the ink a word is printed in (word is different color)
Overt Attention
shifting attention by moving the eyes; looking at what you are paying attention to
Saccades
rapid movements of the eyes from one place to another
Fixations
short visual pauses on points of interest
Stimulus Salience
- bottom-up determinant of eye movement
- depends on characteristics of stimulus
- color and motion are highly salient
Top-Down Determinants of Eye Movement
- scene schema
- expecting stop signs to be at intersections
- eye movements precede motor actions; task-related movements
Attention to Location
- Michael Posner
- square then valid/invalid arrow cue
- info processing is more efficient where attention is physically directed; spotlight/zoom lens
Same-Object Advantage
attending to one part of an object enhances processing for other parts of the same object
Attention Affects Perception
- makes objects clearer and more vivid
- attended objects perceived as faster, more colorful, and w/ better contrast
Attention Affects Physiology
- attention to objects increases activity in corresponding object-related areas
- attention to locations increases activity in corresponding retinotopic areas
Cell Phone (Distractor)
- causes slower reaction time
- major factor in car accidents; in 80% driver was inattentive 3 sec prior to crash
Divided Attention
- practice enables people to simultaneously do 2 things that were difficult at first
- possible for easy, well-practiced tasks but becomes difficult w/ harder tasks
Internet (Distractor)
- linked to lower academic performance and internet addiction
- operant conditioning w/ intermittent reinforcement encourages continued use
- leads to continuous partial attention
Mind Wandering (Distractor)
- can hinder performance (ex. mindless reading)
- aids in future planning and creativity
- default mode network (DMN)
Inattentional Blindness
failure to notice visual stimuli due to lack of attention
Inattentional Deafness
- occasional auditory tone while performing visual task
- participants less likely to notice tone the more difficult the task
Change Blindness
failure to notice significant change in a visual scene when it is presented w/ a visual disruption (flicker/movement)
Binding
process by which features such as color, form, motion, and location are combined to create our perception of a coherent object
- Binding Problem: how are different object features “bound together” given that they are processed by different neural populations?
Feature Integration Theory
object > preattentive stage > focused attention stage > perception
Preattentive Stage
- occurs before attention is focused on an object
- features of objects (colors, form, motion) are processed separately and unconsciously
- automatic, unconscious, and effortless analysis of different features in different brain areas
Focused Attention Stage
- attention is directed toward an object
- separate features are integrated, leading to conscious awareness of the object
- attention “binds” features into a single, coherent object
Ventral Attention Network
responds to stimulus salience (physical properties of stimuli)
Dorsal Attention Network
governs attention based on top-down processes (like task demands or scene schema)
Effective Connectivity
the ease of activity flow along specific brain pathways
- attention involves changing effective connectivity in neural networks
Attentional Synchronization
- key mechanism of connectivity
- synchronization in brain waves occurs when attention is focused on something
- leads to more effective communication and attention processing
Executive Attention Network
- manages attention control and conflict resolution in responses
- illustrated by tasks like stroop test
- active in decision-making and resisting temptations
- related to cognitive control, inhibitory control, and willpower
Modal Model of Memory
input > sensory memory > short-term memory <> long-term memory
Sensory Memory (Modal Model)
initial stage that holds virtually all incoming info for fractions of a second
Short-Term Memory (Modal Model)
holds 5-8 items for about 15-20 seconds
Long-Term Memory (Modal Model)
can hold a large amount of info for years or even decades
Control Processes
- active processes that can be controlled by the person
- ex. rehearsal, strats to make stimuli more memorable, strats of attention to focus on specific stimuli
Sensory Memory (Sperling)
- measured capacity and duration of sensory memory; flashed letters on a screen
- participants report as many as possible (whole report): 4.5/12
- heard tone telling them a row to recall (partial report): 3.3/4
- tone delayed after letters went away (delayed partial report): 1/4
Working Memory vs. Short-Term Memory
- STM holds info for brief period of time
- WM also used in processing and manipulation of info; active during complex cognition
- WM processes different types of info simultaneously; struggles w/ similar info at once
Phonological Loop
- part of working memory
- holds verbal and auditory info for a few seconds
- articulatory rehearsal process
- essential for tasks liek remembering names and phone numbers
- used for understanding spoken language
Phonological Similarity Effect
letters or words that sound similar are confused
Word Length Effect
lists of short words are easier to remember than lists of long words
Articulatory Suppression
speaking prevents one from rehearsing items to be remembered
- reduces memory span
- eliminates word length effect
- reduces phonological similarity effect for reading words
Visuospatial Sketchpad
- part of working memory
- Visual Imagery: creation and manipulation of visual images in the mind in the absence of physical visual stimulus
- measured reaction times for mental rotation task; greater rotations took longer
Central Executive
- part of working memory
- acts as control center; coordinates phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
- controls attention
- linked to executive attention; damage to frontal lobe impairs function
Perseveration
- sticking to a rule or action even when it’s no longer appropriate
- caused by damage to frontal lobe/central executive subsystem
Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)
- associated w/ personality, planning, and various mental functions
- allows for switching between tasks and adjusting strats
- essential in working memory tasks and attention
Delayed Response Task
- monkeys trained to remember location of food reward
- removal of PFC significantly reduced performance
- “out of sight, out of mind”/object permanence caused by underdeveloped PFC in infants
Single Cell Studies
- recorded cells in monkey PFC during delayed-response task
- neurons responded to stimulus flashed in specific location and during delay
- info remains available via these neurons as long as they continue firing
WM Individual Capacity
- participants in groups by high and low WM capacity; shown either simple or complex stimuli
- high capacity participants better at ignoring distractors
Cognitive Control
- involves regulating behavior and attention and resisting impulses
- linked to tuning out distractors, not just focusing on relevant stimuli
- strongly connected to WM; those w/ high WM capacity often have better cognitive control
Primacy Effect
- enhanced recall for items at the beginning of a list
- a serial position effect
Recency Effect
- enhanced recall for items at the end of a list
- a serial position effect
Visual Coding
- STM: holding image in the mind to reproduce a visual pattern that was just seen
- LTM: visualizing what the Lincoln Memorial in DC looked like when you saw it last summer
Auditory Coding
- STM: representing sounds of letters in the mind just after hearing them
- LTM: repeating a song you’ve heard many times over and over in your mind
Semantic Coding
- coding as meaning
- STM: used category-based word lists; switching categories improved recall
- LTM: retains general meaning rather than exact wording
Proactive Interference
previously learned information interferes w/ new information
Double Dissociation (H.M. & K.F.)
when one retains only short-term or long-term memory while the other is impaired
H.M.
- hippocampus removed to treat severe epilepsy
- retained STM but unable to transfer into LTM; unable to form new LTMs
Episodic Memory
- involves reliving past events w/ vivid recollection
- self-knowing or remembering
Semantic Memory
- involves knowledge about the world (not personal experiences)
- facts, vocab, numbers, concepts
- knowing w/o recalling a specific event
Double Dissociation (K.C. & L.P.)
when one retains only semantic or episodic memory and the other is impaired
Semantic & Episodic Brain Imaging
fMRI demonstrates that retrieval of episodic and semantic memories activates different areas of the brain
Remember/Know Procedure
- distinguish between familiarity and recollection
- “remember” (have specific recollections of) or just “know” (feel familiar with)
Memory & the Future
- link between ability to remember past and imagine future scenarios
- pts w/ impaired episodic memory struggle to imagine personal future events
Constructive Episodic Simulation Hypothesis
proposes that episodic memories are recombined to construct future event simulations
Explicit Memory
- conscious
- episodic and semantic memory
Implicit Memory
- unconscious
- procedural memory
- priming
- conditioning
Procedural Memory
- skill memory; memory for actions
- perform procedures w/o being consciously aware of how to do them
- people who cannot form new LTMs can still learn new skills
Expert-Induced Amnesia
when an expert performs a highly practiced skill automatically and then has trouble recalling specific details of their actions
Priming
presentation of priming stimulus changes person’s response to test stimulus
Repetition Priming
- test stimulus similar/the same as priming stimulus
- seeing a stimulus causes faster responses to the same stimulus
- person may or may not remember original presentation of priming stimuli (implicit memory)
Propaganda Effect
- more likely to rate statements read or heard before as true
- involves implicit memory bc it can occur when people are not aware of previously hearing/seeing statement
- implications for advertisements
