L8: Divided Attention

Question 1

Outline dual task cost

Answer 1

-basically difference in performance between performing tasks A and B separately compared to performing them simultaneously

Question 2

Name the factors that determine your ability to simultaneously perform 2 different tasks.

Answer 2

• task similarity
• task difficulty
• practice

Question 3

Outline task similarity in relation to factors that influence performance in dual task scenarios

Answer 3

• sense modality is important. If the tasks are of different modality (e.g. Auditory and visual) then performance is better than If the two tasks had the same modality (even if the separate modality task was more difficult)
• maybe you have different attentions? One for visual and one for auditory etc, however this probably isn’t the case

Question 4

Outline practice in relation to factors that influence performance in dual task scenarios

Answer 4

-basically what it says on the tin. If you practice certain dual task scenarios you can get to the stage where you are almost as good at doing them simultaneously as you are separately

Question 5

Outline task difficulty in relation to factors that influence performance in dual task scenarios

Answer 5

Look at this, couldn’t be arsed to work it out at the time

Question 6

Outline central capacity theory

Answer 6

• we have a single central capacity for attention that can be divided for different tasks
• of course there are limited resources
• splitting an already limited attentional capacity when performing dual tasks
• the dual task costs will emerge when two tasks exceed the total resource available

Bourke

-found that we are not totally in control of our attentional resources. The most demanding task interferes the most even when the other task was told to be the most important

Question 7

Evaluate central capacity theory

Answer 7

Strengths
-notion of central capacity is consistent with many findings (e.g. Bourke et al, brain imaging studies)

Limitations

• danger of circular reasoning
• interference could also be caused by other things (e.g. Response selection or task similarity)
• some data can be explained by multiple resources

Question 8

Cognitive neuroscience of dual task (driving and mobile)

Answer 8

• classic, driving and talking (simulator, both mobile and hands free and listening to radio)
• detect when car in front brakes
• slower to respond when on mobile than on radio

Why????

• could be a central processing bottleneck, forcing tasks to be performed serially
• a form of innattentional blindness
• just et al. Half the sum activation when performing dual task than independently (follows central capacity)

Question 9

Which part of the brain appears to be very important in regards to dual task

Answer 9

F

Question 10

How do we distribute out limited capacity?

Answer 10

• prefrontal cortex very important in deciding where your attention gets assigned
• seems that the sum of the single tasks and the sum of the dual tasks are equal in regards to prefrontal activity, unlike the findings of just et als driving experiment

Question 11

TMS studies have shown that the DLPFC plays a vital role in dividing attention.

Answer 11

Just so you know