Lecture 4 Flashcards
Attention as a central process
Attention is a capacity for conscious processing of information. The capacity is limited. Capacity is required for: \+Semantic analysis of perceptual information \+Reasoning and decision making \+Planning \+Response selection \+Response inhibition
We have used one pool of cognitive resources that has a limited capacity…
The pool of resources is attention/central execution
Used flexibly across all tasks
If demand of task exceeds capacity then performance suffers
Kahneman (single resource theory)
Attention is limited, but flexible
Motivation and arousal increase cognitive resources
Attention is only needed when we consciously control behaviour
Evaluation of single resource theories
+ explains why dual tasking can lead to poor performance
- no independent assessment of central capacity
experimental evidence is consistent with multiple resource theories
Tasks in the same modality are more disruptive than tasks in different modalities
Attention and multiple resource theories
Different pools of attentional resource
Similar tasks compete for the same resources, but dissimilar tasks do not
Criticisms of multiple resource theories
Does not address touch
Ignores co-ordination problems for dual tasks
Some disruption for dual tasks in different modules
Baddeley & attention
Integrated model of modules and central processes. The focus is on processing and not responses or modalities
Divided attention & dual tasks
These can give insight to the limits of human information processing and limits of the attentional resource
Factors affecting dual task performance:
similarity
practice
difficulty
How can we try to differentiate between attention and similar tasks?
How similar is the input (Stimulus modality)?- try doing two visual tasks at once
How similar is the output (response modality)?- left hand response to task A and right hand response to task B
Is performance better or worse when tasks are similar?
worse
What happens when tasks become harder?
They require more information processing- require more attention
They require extra co-ordination - the processing requirement is more than the sum of the two tasks
What happens when you practice a dual task?
Performance becomes better
Spelke, Hirst & Neisser
Practice
Taught students to read stories and take dictation
Initially had poor handwriting and reading speed
6 weeks of training- reading speed was normal and handwriting improved
Why does practice reduce interference?
People develop effective new strategies to minimise interference
People reduce the amount of cognitive resources the tasks need (the tasks become easier)
Practice reduced the number of different cognitive processes required
Automatic processing
Practised tasks become automatic and do not require attention.
Automaticity: fast does not disrupt other tasks unconscious reflexive (always occur when the appropriate stimulus is present)
Shiffrin and Schneider
Fully automatic processing is controlled by schemas (sport stacking)
Contention scheduling- chooses between simultaneously active schema. Biased by goals and desires but does not require attention.
Deliberate control by supervisory attention system- system for over-riding automatically generated behaviours (doing things for the first time)
Action slips
In 35 healthy participants a diary study of 35 neurotypical people was kept.
Average 1 action slip per day:
put something away in the wrong place
go the wrong way in a familiar environment
add ingredients in wrong order
use wrong implement
Typically occurs when attention is elsewhere (daydream, tired)
Evaluation of attention slips
+ describes properties of automatic processes, very influential
- descriptive and does not always explain why or how practice makes tasks automatic.
Practice could speed processing or it could change processing
Instance theory (Logan)
Each encounter with a stimulus produces a separate memory trace
Repeated encounters produce a greater store of information about the stimulus and how to process it.
This increase in knowledge means retrieval of relevant information about the stimulus is fast
Automaticity occurs when the stimulus directly triggers the retrieval of a past solution from memory.
In other cases the solution must be arrived using conscious strategies or heuristics.
