Lecture eight: Attention (CogPsy) Flashcards
We need an attention system that allows us to
- to select information we need
2. to block out information we do not need
Overt attention
attention to information being looked at (with eye movements)
Covert attention
attention not associated with
eye movements
Selective attention
- focused on one task
- Attention as filter of information
- attention as a glue to bind features
Divided attention
- divided across more tasks
- automatization
Where is the filter located in a standard flow model?
between primary sensation and”Meaning;Objects) -> early selection
Method: Dichotic Listening
Cocktai-party effect:
Result (e.g., Cherry, 1953)
No evidence for savings of
the unattended message
But, participants would notice their own name on the unattended ear
Also, participants are inclined to follow the meaning of a message: The “dear aunt jane effect
“Dear aunt Jane” instead of “Dear 7 Jane”
Treisman’s attenuation theory
“Leaky filter model”:
Where selection occurs depends on the task
(e.g., primary sensations / semantic level)
Filter is attenuator (not all or none)
Unattended messages not fully filtered out
so which theory is the most commonly used?
Real late selection is nowadays considered unlikely
Level of selection is task dependent (Treisman, 1960)
Divided attention
Nevertheless: how do we deal with more than one task?
the counterpart of selective attention
- Sequentially: switching from one task to another
- Tasks execution becomes more automatic as we practice them
- When automatized, they bypass “central processing”
Automatic processing
Some mental processes seem to proceed “automatically”
No awareness: We don’t know how we do them
No intention: they occur even when we do not plan them
Reading: when you direct your eyes to text, reading occurs without intention
Cycling: automatized motor process. Do you know how you ride your bike?
Stroop task
- Name the color of the ink (ignore the word!)
strong automatic interference of the color word - There is hardly any reversed Stroop effect: when you read the words, the color of the ink doesn’t matter.
- From this asymmetric interference pattern, we learn: (1) word reading is a highly automatic process (2) color naming is not.
Two conditions for automatic detection
- Consistent mapping: A target on any trial is never used as a distractor on any other trial.
- Varied mapping: A target on one trial can be used as a distractor on another trial.
Two conditions for automatic detection
- Consistent mapping: A target on any trial is never used as a distractor on any other trial.
- Varied mapping: A target on one trial can be used as a distractor on another trial.
Selective attention: distinctions
Attention is directed to something
feature-based attention: to a physical property of an object, sch as its color or shape
Attention is driven by something
- Top-down attention: goal-driven attention
2. Bottom-up attention: stimulus-driven attention
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
An object consists of features
- Shape: Rectangle
- Color: green
- Orientation: 45 degrees
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
STAGE 1:
To detect features, no attention is needed:
You automatically detect all features in a display
You do so in parallel, you detect all features simultaneously
Note: consistent with how the brain detects features
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
Binding problem:
But, when we see this display, we see objects rather than “free-floating features”
Binding problem: how does the mind create objects? How does it know, which features belong to which object?
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
Stage 2
STAGE 2: Attention serves to bind features into objects
Attention is a serial process; binds features at a location
Feature Integration Theory (FIT)
Evidence:
Visual search tasks (in tutorial!)
Experiments suggesting illusory conjunctions:
incorrectly-bound features
Patient RM: Balint’s syndrome
Patient RM
Bilateral parietal lesion
Cannot focus attention on a single object
Illusory conjunctions even when objects are shown for 10 s!
Selective attention: distinctions
attentionis directed to something
Location based / spatial attention: to a spatial location
Covert attention
in the Posner cueing tasks, attention is directed without eye movements
Overt attention:
Usually covert attention precedes the behavioral overt expression: eye movements