LECTURE 22 - attention Flashcards
what test is used to measure attention ?
the gradual change test
what is the gradual change test ?
a scientific method used to investigate the effects of gradual changes in an independent variable on a dependent variable.
what happens in the gradual change test ?
the independent variable is changed gradually over time, and the effect of each change on the dependent variable is measured
what do researchers observe during the gradual changing test ?
how the dependent variable responds to small, incremental changes in the independent variable, and to identify any threshold levels or tipping points at which the response changes dramatically
what happens in the “gradual change test video” ?
- rock/bush flashing (only thing that changes in the video)
what is our attentional system better / worse at detecting in regards to changes ?
attentional system is very good at detecting unexpected/large changes whereas not so much for settle small change
what do Danial J. Simons’ videos depict ?
that were not very good at detecting our gradual scene change and the fact that the attentional system probably has a limited or a fixed capacity
describe the “monkey business illusion” video by Danial J. Simons :
- “how many times the people in white pass the ball”
- “did you spot the gorilla”
- gorilla walking through
- curtain changing colour
- one individual exits
how many times does the ball get passed in the “monkey business illusion” video ?
16 passes
“focalization and imitation of information processing resources” was said by who ?
schmidt and wrisberg
what is attention ?
refers to the ability to focus on a specific thing or task, while ignoring distractions
what’s defined attention ?
refer to attention that is intentionally directed to a specific task or goal.
the following is an example of what ?
“you are trying to solve a math problem”
defined attention (to block out distractions and focus solely on the problem at hand)
what is attention as a single resource ?
a concept in cognitive psychology that suggests that attention is a limited resource that we use to perform various cognitive tasks
what two factors do we have in attention as a single resource ?
- amount of attention supply required for TASK B
- amount of attention supply required for TASK A
what does it mean when you exceed the fixed capacity associated with your attentional system ?
that you are attempting to process more information than your attentional system can handle at a given moment
when is the amount of attention supply required for TASK A way larger in comparison to the amount of attention supply required for type B ?
when you are preforming a task that tales a lot of control
give an example of when there is a result of exceeded fixed capacity (TASK A > TASK B):
TASK A = driving while snowing with lots of traffic
TASK B = mom calling you in regards to when you will be home, desired food for dinner, etc.
give an example of when there is a not a result of exceeded fixed capacity (TASK A = TASK B):
TASK A = driving with no problems
TASK B = getting a call on hands free setup
describe the attention as a single resource : early theory
proposes that the bottleneck in our attentional system exists prior to our stimulus identification stage of information processing
what is the cocktail party phenomenon ?
is the ability to focus on a particular aspect of the environment while ignoring others.
how does the cocktail party phenomenon occur ?
It is thought to occur because the brain has the ability to identify the spatial location of a sound and use that information to selectively attend to one particular auditory stimulus while filtering out other stimuli.
the cocktail party phenomenon is an example of what ?
selective attention
describe the psychological refractory period ?
the period after response to a stimulus during which response to a second stimulus, presented shortly after the first, is delayed
how many stimulus are sent in (through the bottleneck) during the early theory ?
1 until hits bottleneck
how many stimulus are sent in (through the bottlekneck) during the late theory ?
multiple until hits bottleneck
how do the early and late theory differ ?
differs in the sense that it proposes that the filter or the the bottleneck occurs between stimulus identification and response selection
what does bottleneck theory suggest ?
that individuals have a limited amount of attentional resources that they can use at one time
what does PRP stand for?
psychological refractory period
what is PRP?
refers to a delay in responding to the second of two closely spaced stimuli, when they are presented in rapid succession
when does a PRP occur ?
this delay occurs because the brain is still processing the first stimulus, and it cannot fully process the second stimulus until it has completed processing the first one
what happens in the attention as a single resource : psychological refractory period ?
- delay in responding to the second of two stimuli presented in rapid succession
- interference in selection and organization of response
how do both stimulus’s move during the PRP attention as a single resource ?
- stimulus 1 can get in
- delay in second response
- number 1 to go through first
what experiment is done in regards to attention and automaticity ?
“putting practice to the test” (Leavitt, 1979)
what happens during the “attention and automaticity” experiment by Leavitt ?
six age groups (6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 19) performing in each of four experimental conditions :
- skating only
- skating and geometric figures
- skating and stickhandling
- skating, stick handing and geometric figures
what is a goal of the “attention and automaticity” experiment by Leavitt ?
to become essentially autonomic in the primary component before introducing the secondary component
during the “attention and automaticity” experiment by Leavitt what time leads to better results ?
shortest time = better results
during the “attention and automaticity” experiment by Leavitt, what are the age groups and their skill set ?
- 6 to 8 = house league players
- 10, 11 to 14 = rep players
- 19 = OHL players
in regards to attention and coordination what are the two phases ?
inphase and antiphase
what is antiphse ?
refers to a particular type of coordination between two or more rhythmic movements or stimuli, in which the movements are timed such that when one is at its peak, the other is at its trough, and vice versa
what is inphase?
refers to a particular type of coordination between two or more rhythmic movements or stimuli, in which the movements are timed such that they reach their peaks and troughs at the same time.
what is studied during attention and ‘slips’ of attention ?
biased-competition models of attention
what is the biased-competition models of attention?
seeks to explain how attention operates in the brain
how does the biased-competition models of attention work ?
the model proposes that attention is a mechanism by which different sensory inputs or cognitive processes compete for representation in the brain, and that this competition is biased towards the most relevant or salient stimuli
what are congruent global and local properties?
- this paradigm focuses on using stimuli that have global and local properties that are either congruent or incongruent
what are congruent global properties ?
refer to the overall shape or structure of a visual stimulus
what are congruent local properties ?
refer to the individual parts or components of the stimulus.
what is the stimulus that participants are faced with in the congruent global/local properties ?
stimulus = large “H” made up f a bunch of small H’s (in this ex, both global and local properties are H)
when is a stimulus incongruent ?
when the global and local are different letters (a.k.a greater risk for increased number of errors)
what type of stimulus’s do individuals take longer to identify?
local features for a stimulus that has incongruent global/local features
what did Weismann et al look at ?
neural correlated of slips of attention
describe what neural correlates of attentional slips mean ?
certain regions of the brain can tune or change the level of activity associated with sensory processing regions
which region of the brain has more effect in regards to fine tuning and changing the level of activity associated with sensory processing regions ?
frontal region
what was the particular task that Weismann et al were interested in ?
congruent local and global properties
what are the three areas of reduced activation in neural correlated of attentional slips ?
- inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)
- middle frontal gyrus (MFG)
- anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)
describe the (IFG) in regards to neural correlated of attentional slips :
stimulus-triggered orientation of attention
describe the (MFG) in regards to neural correlated of attentional slips :
maintaining task goals in working memory
describe the (ACC) in regards to neural correlated of attentional slips :
conflict monitoring/resolution
can you have attention without awareness ?
yes
what did Ulric Neisser do ?
- presented a series of 100 words
- saw it 100x
- 30 words has a shock associated
- participants came back 6 months later
- saw the sam words without the shock
- was measuring galvanic skin response
- words associated with shock led to increase galvanic skin response
- demonstrated that consciousness doesn’t always need to be present
what is galvanic skin response ?
measure of arousal
what are the three default attention networks ?
- posterior cingulate cortex
- precuneus
- middle temporal gyrus
what does DAN stand for ?
default attentional network
what does ST stand for ?
stimulus triggered
which particular trials is it that are associated with reduced activity of 3 very specific regions of the brain ?
trials with very long reaction times
