Selective Attention, Features, and Objects

Question 1

How many conclusions can be drawn from the historical account of research on selective attention with respect to possible functions of attention?

Answer 1

Several

Question 2

What is unlikely in relation to early ideas of attention?

Answer 2

That the idea of attention being necessary to prevent ‘informational overload’ captures the main function of attention.

Question 3

What has gained much support in recent years?

Answer 3

The idea that attention is often selective for action.

Question 4

What are two possible functions of selective visual-spatial attention aside from attention often being selective for action?

Answer 4

The idea that attention is needed to improve visual perception, and the idea that attention is crucially involved in the construction and perception of visual objects.

Question 5

Despite Helmholtz (1867) already noting the fact that the focus of visual attention can be moved voluntarily independently of eye movements, when was this ability systematically investigated?

Answer 5

Only over the last 20 years.

Question 6

What is the most popular paradigm of the ability to voluntarily move the focus of visual attention independently of eye movements?

Answer 6

The spatial cueing paradigm.