Selective Attention

Question 1

What are the different modes of attention?

Answer 1

active (TOP-DOWN)

passive (BOTTOM-UP)

Question 2

Describe active attention

Answer 2

when attention is used to achieve goals

TOP-DOWN

Question 3

Describe passive attention

Answer 3

when attentional processes directs our attention to stimulating properties in the environment
e.g. loud noises
BOTTOM-UP

Question 4

Describe first ‘pre-attentive’ filtering

Answer 4

simple physical characteristics extracted in parallel

e.g. spacial location (left/right) or male/female voice

Question 5

Describe second ‘attentive’ filtering

Answer 5

more complex psychological properties
~ semantics
~ ‘processor heavy’ –> needs to be limited

Question 6

Broadbent filter theory mechanism (4 + date)

Answer 6

1958 (early selection)

1. first ‘pre-attentive’ filter/parallel stage
2. attention filters what passes the beyond the sensory buffer
3. serial stage = only attended stream is analysed for semantic content
4. semantically processed content is passed to short term memory + can lead to behaviour

Question 7

Evidence for Broadbent’s filter theory

Answer 7

~ explains Cherry’s early findings (1953)
~ B also found that info is grouped based on perceptual features
e.g. numbers played into diff ears, people said the numbers from one ear then the other, not the chronological sequence

Question 8

What does Broadbent’s theory suggest and which study disproved it?

Answer 8

that unattended info does not reach short term memory
(early selection)
~ Corteen and Dunn (1974) study disproves it

Question 9

Late selection theory mechanism (4 + date)

Answer 9

Deutsch + Deutsch (1963)

1. all streams receive full perceptual processing in parallel
2. all streams are analysed for semantic content in parallel
3. filter much closer to response
4. attention selects for awareness, response + memory retention

Question 10

Treisman’s attenuation theory mechanism (5 + date)

gradual

Answer 10

(1960; 1969)
1. processing of physical features in parallel
2. attention is not ‘all or none’ processing
3. some unattenuated info will reach full semantic processing
4. some retained in short term memory
5. more processing and retention of main stream
(parallel throughout)

Question 11

Describe the thresholds for unattended stimuli.

Answer 11

some words have lower thresholds so are processed easier than others
e.g. names have lower thresholds then ‘bread’

Question 12

exogenous

Answer 12

external

Question 13

endogenous

Answer 13

internal

Question 14

Posner Cuing

Answer 14

Posner (1980)
~ Attention can be cued in an exogenous or endogenous manner
~ suggests attention may be thought of as a spotlight

Question 15

Zoom lens theory

Answer 15

(La Berge, 1983)

you can focus your attention from a sharp focus to a broad window

Question 16

Multiple spotlights/split attention theory

Answer 16

you can have multiple attentional ‘spotlights’

(Awh + Pashler, 2000) = supporting study

Question 17

Cherry’s findings

Answer 17

(1953)

1. for effective filtering, we need clear differences in physical characteristics
2. very little info. is picked up in the unattended stream

Question 18

Cocktail party problem

Answer 18

the brain’s ability to focus one’s auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

Question 19

What did Corteen and Dunn’s study show?

Answer 19

~ that there can be some semantic processing without awareness
~ electric shock created a conditioned response to certain words
~ disproves early selection

Question 20

Semantic priming effect

Answer 20

~ semantically related primes may lower the threshold of related words

Question 21

Broadbent theory

Answer 21

1958
~ filters act on perceptual features
~ only attended streams have access to semantic processing
~ disproved by slips in attention

Question 22

Late selection theory

Answer 22

(1963)
~ everything is processed
~ attention determines response + storage

Question 23

Treisman’s attenuation theory

Answer 23

(1960; 1969)

like Broadbent’s theory but with a ‘leaky’ filter

Question 24

Rock and Gutman

Answer 24

(1991)
~ red and green overplayed images
~ told to pay attention to red image
~ poor memory for green images
~ supports early selection

Question 25

Tipper

Answer 25

(1985)
~ negative priming:
- two superimposed images presented
- subject directed to focus on one
- if the ignored-object in the previous image is semantically related to the next one which needs to be named, the naming is impaired
~ supports late and Treisman's theories

Question 26

La Berge

Answer 26

(1983)

~ proved that size of attention spotlight can be manipulated by task demands

Question 27

Awh + Pashler

Answer 27

(2000)
~ attention can be split as long as the stimuli are not directly next to each other
~ supports multiple spotlights