Lecture eight: Attention (CogPsy)

Question 1

We need an attention system that allows us to

Answer 1

1. to select information we need

2. to block out information we do not need

Question 2

Overt attention

Answer 2

attention to information being
looked at (with eye movements)

Question 3

Covert attention

Answer 3

attention not associated with

eye movements

Question 4

Selective attention

Answer 4

• focused on one task
• Attention as filter of information
• attention as a glue to bind features

Question 5

Divided attention

Answer 5

• divided across more tasks

- automatization

Question 6

Where is the filter located in a standard flow model?

Answer 6

between primary sensation and”Meaning;Objects) -> early selection

Question 7

Method: Dichotic Listening

Answer 7

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”

Question 8

Treisman’s attenuation theory

Answer 8

“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

Question 9

so which theory is the most commonly used?

Answer 9

Real late selection is nowadays considered unlikely

Level of selection is task dependent (Treisman, 1960)

Question 10

Divided attention

Nevertheless: how do we deal with more than one task?

Answer 10

the counterpart of selective attention

1. Sequentially: switching from one task to another
2. Tasks execution becomes more automatic as we practice them
3. When automatized, they bypass “central processing”

Question 11

Automatic processing

Some mental processes seem to proceed “automatically”

Answer 11

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?

Question 12

Stroop task

Answer 12

1. Name the color of the ink (ignore the word!)
    strong automatic interference of the color word
2. There is hardly any reversed Stroop effect: when you read the words, the color of the ink doesn’t matter.
3. From this asymmetric interference pattern, we learn: (1) word reading is a highly automatic process (2) color naming is not.

Question 13

Two conditions for automatic detection

Answer 13

1. Consistent mapping: A target on any trial is never used as a distractor on any other trial.
2. Varied mapping: A target on one trial can be used as a distractor on another trial.

Question 14

Two conditions for automatic detection

Answer 14

1. Consistent mapping: A target on any trial is never used as a distractor on any other trial.
2. Varied mapping: A target on one trial can be used as a distractor on another trial.

Question 15

Selective attention: distinctions

Answer 15

Attention is directed to something

feature-based attention: to a physical property of an object, sch as its color or shape

Question 16

Attention is driven by something

Answer 16

1. Top-down attention: goal-driven attention

2. Bottom-up attention: stimulus-driven attention

Question 17

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

Answer 17

An object consists of features

1. Shape: Rectangle
2. Color: green
3. Orientation: 45 degrees

Question 18

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

STAGE 1:

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

Binding problem:

Answer 19

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?

Question 20

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

Stage 2

Answer 20

STAGE 2: Attention serves to bind features into objects

Attention is a serial process; binds features at a location

Question 21

Feature Integration Theory (FIT)

Answer 21

Evidence:
Visual search tasks (in tutorial!)
Experiments suggesting illusory conjunctions:
incorrectly-bound features

Question 22

Patient RM: Balint’s syndrome

Answer 22

Patient RM
Bilateral parietal lesion
Cannot focus attention on a single object
Illusory conjunctions even when objects are shown for 10 s!

Question 23

Selective attention: distinctions

Answer 23

attentionis directed to something

Location based / spatial attention: to a spatial location

Question 24

Covert attention

Answer 24

in the Posner cueing tasks, attention is directed without eye movements

Question 25

Overt attention:

Answer 25

Usually covert attention precedes the behavioral overt expression: eye movements