PSYC18 Reporter 1 Flashcards
Active processing of a limited amount of information from the enormous amount of information available through our senses, our stored memories, and our other cognitive processes.
ATTENTION
FUNCTIONS & THEORIES OF ATTENTION
- Signal Detection and Vigilance
- Search
- Selective Attention
- Divided Attention
Detection of the appearance of a particular stimulus.
Signal Detection and Vigilance
Finding signals amidst distracters.
Search
Attending to some stimuli and ignoring others.
Selective Attention
Allocating available attentional resources to coordinate performance of more than one task at a time
Divided Attention
The detection of a crucial stimulus among the mass of stimuli in a certain area.
Signal Detection
A person’s ability to attend to a field of stimulation over a prolonged period, during which they seek to detect the presence of a target stimulus.
Vigilance
theory explains how people detect a target stimuli (signal) when embedded in a wealth of irrelevant, distracting stimuli.
SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY
Four possible outcomes of Signal Detection Theory:
Hit (true +)
False Alarm (false +)
Miss (true -)
Correct Rejections (false -)
Correctly identifies the presence of a target.
Hit (true +)
Incorrectly identifies the presence of a target that is actually absent.
False Alarm (false positive)
failure to observe the presence of a target.
Miss (false negative)
correctly identifies the absence of a target.
Correct Rejections (true negative)
A scan of the environment for particular features.
Search
These are non-target stimuli that divert our attention away from the target stimulus, which makes the search more difficult.
Distracters
2 Two types of Search
Feature Search
Conjunction Search
type of search where it scans the environment for a distinct feature (color or shape).
Feature Search
type of search where it looks for a particular combination of features (color and shape).
Conjunction Search
theory includes the relative ease of conducting feature searches and the relative difficulty of conducting conjunction searches.
FEATURE-INTEGRATION THEORY
theory states that as the similarity between target and distracter stimuli increases, so does the difficulty in detecting the target stimuli.
SIMILARITY THEORY
theory states that all searches, whether feature searches or conjunction searches, involve two consecutive stages
GUIDED SEARCH THEORY
2 consecutive stages of Guided Search Theory:
Parallel Stage
Serial Stage
stage where simultaneous activation of a mental representation of all the potential targets.
Parallel Stage
stage where sequential evaluation of each of the activated features (acc. to degree of activation), and selection of true targets from the activated features.
Serial Stage
Attending to some stimuli and to ignore others.
SELECTIVE ATTENTION
process of tracking one conversation in the face of the distraction of other conversations
Cocktail Party Problem
Filtering of information right after noticing it at the sensory level
BROADBENT’S MODEL
listening to two different messages.
Shadowing
presenting a separate message to each ear.
Dichotic Presentation
model where messages that are of high importance to a person may break through the filter of selective attention. It blocks out most information at the sensory level, but personally important messages burst through the filtering mechanism.
SELECTIVE FILTER MODEL
model where in a later filtering mechanism weakens (attenuates) the strength of stimuli other than the target stimulus.
ATTENUATION MODEL
Attention is limited, but instead of completely blocking out distractions, we turn down the volume on the things we’re not focusing on.
Bottleneck
Allocating available attentional resources to coordinate the performance of more than one task at a time.
DIVIDED ATTENTION
a period where processes requiring attention must be handled sequentially.
Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)
theory states that people have a fixed amount of attention that they can choose to allocate according to what the task requires.
● Two kinds of models: (1) There is one single pool of attentional resources that can be divided freely; (2) There are multiple sources of attention.
ATTENTIONAL-RESOURCES THEORY
theory states that as each of the complex tasks becomes increasingly automatized, performance of each task makes fewer demands on limited-capacity attentional resources.
RESOURCE THEORY
a complex concept and has no single agreed-upon definition.
Consciousness
Characteristics/Definitions of Consciousness: (7)
→ An inherently subjective state.
→ Consciousness seems to be unitary.
→ An emergent property of the brain.
→ A natural process and byproduct of the brain’s nature.
→ Describes awareness of internal and external stimuli.
→ An awareness of one’s surroundings and of what’s in one’s mind at a given moment.
→ The limited portion of the mind of which we are aware at any given moment (global workspace).
theory states that thoughts and perceptions don’t happen in a single place or in a fixed order. Instead, different pieces of information are processed at different times and in different parts of the brain
DENNETT’S MULTIPLE DRAFTS THEORY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Parts of Dennet’s Theory
Parallel Processing
Editing before Awareness
Awareness happens at different stages
TWO DIMENSIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Wakefulness
Awareness
the degree of alertness reflecting whether a person is awake or asleep.
Wakefulness
monitoring of information from the environment and from one’s own thoughts.
Awareness
THREE LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Minimal Consciousness
- Coma
- Vegetative State
- Minimally Conscious State
Moderate Consiousness
- Freud’s Preconscious
- Sleeps and Dreams
Full Consciousness
- Flow State
- Mindfulness
Level of Consciousness where people are barely awake or aware.
Minimal Consciousness
Level of Consciousness where people are in between being fully awake and completely unconscious.
Moderate Consciousness
The person is completely unresponsive, with eyes closed.
Coma
The person’s eyes may be open, but they are not aware of their surroundings (wakeful -ness without awareness).
Vegetative State
The person shows some intentional behavior, (tracking movement with eyes) but cannot fully communicate.
Minimally Conscious State
Thoughts that are not actively thought about but can be recalled when needed.
Freud’s Preconscious.
When we sleep, we are not fully unconscious. We can still hear important sounds while ignoring others. However, there is a mental barrier that blocks most outside sensations.
Sleep and Dreams
This happens when a person is deeply focused on an activity they enjoy and do well.
Flow State
Being fully aware of the present moment.
Mindfulness
