tutorial Cognitive Psychology

Question 1

attention

Answer 1

process of actively singling out information that interests us whilst ignoring other info

Question 2

is attention conscious or unconscious?

Answer 2

both!
- conscious when I’m trying to write down this flashcard
- unconscious when I remember where I sat in KWC for lunch or when I notice my breathing

Question 3

conscious attention purpose

Answer 3

1. monitor actions with environment
2. link past to present to give continuity
3. helps control + plan

Question 4

functions of attention

Answer 4

1. signal detection + vigilance
2. search
3. selective attention
4. divided attention

Question 5

vigilance definite

Answer 5

attention over long periods of time

Question 6

signals detection theory

Answer 6

1. hits = identify signal in environment correctly
2. false negatives = don’t identify signal that is in environment
3. false alarms = incorrectly assume signal is there in environment
4. correct rejections = see that signal is not there in environment

Question 7

vigilance works best when

Answer 7

1. stimulus happens within expectations
2. emotional stimuli -> amygdala plays important role

Question 8

activation states of vigilance

Answer 8

1. burst = brief, high vigilance state
2. tonic = baseline level of vigilance

Question 9

display-size effect

Answer 9

how the amount of distractors slows down search process

Question 10

feature search

Answer 10

look for item based on one particular feature

• looking for white carton when looking for milk

Question 11

conjunction search

Answer 11

done when item doesn’t have standout features

• look for two things integrated -> looking for T by looking for horizontal line on top rather than bottom (like L)

Question 12

feature-integration theory

Answer 12

we have feature maps in head that detects when feature arrives

• this is why it’s way easier + faster to see features rather than conjunctions

Question 13

similarity theory

Answer 13

the more similarities target and distractor shares the more difficult it is to search for target

• disagrees with feature-integration theory

Question 14

guided search theory

Answer 14

1. parallel stage -> mental representation of all potential targets
2. sequential evaluation -> choose target from activated elements

Question 15

brain lobe that is activated more in youth when searching

Answer 15

occipito-temporal cortex

Question 16

cocktail party problem

Answer 16

difficulty focusing on one convo when there’s other convos happening around you

Question 17

dichotic presentation

Answer 17

two diff messages heard from right and left headphone

Question 18

when to listen to diff convo

Answer 18

1. when name mentioned
2. diff pitch or intensity
3. location of sound

Question 19

Broadbent’s model of selective attention

Answer 19

attentional filter at sensory level

• some things never make it to perception (like one dichotic message switching from English to German)

BUT what about perking up when you hear your name mentioned ?

Question 20

Selective Filter Model of Selective Attention

Answer 20

message of high important to listener (own name) break through Broadbent’s attentional filter

Question 21

Attenuation Model of Selective Attention

Answer 21

unattended messages not eliminated but weakened

• some bilinguals noticed language switching to German

Question 22

Later-Filter Model of Selective Attention

Answer 22

messages unattended after physical properties (pitch) and meaning analysis

Question 23

Syntheiss of early and late filter

Answer 23

• preattentive process -> notice physical of unattended messages
• attentive controlled process -> mental representations of messages (BUT takes resources)

Question 24

divided attention good when

Answer 24

1. practiced
2. automised
3. people are intelligent
4. tasks in diff modalities (one speaking and one doing something with hands)

Question 25

resources of attention theory best to describe what kind of tasks

Answer 25

complex divided attention

Question 26

factors influencing attentional ability

Answer 26

1. anxiety
2. arousal
3. task difficulty
4. skills -> more skills = more attention

Question 27

3 subfunctions of attention

Answer 27

1. alerting = preparing
2. orienting = selecting stimuli to attend to
3. executive action = monitoring + resolving conflicts that arise in internal conflicts

Question 28

intelligence and attention

Answer 28

1. inspection time -> inspect and make decision on item
2. reaction time

Question 29

change blindness

Answer 29

inability in detecting changes of objects or scenes that are being looked at

Question 30

inattentional blindness

Answer 30

people not able to see things that are actually there

Question 31

spatial neglect

Answer 31

people unable to see half of visual field

Question 32

2 factos influencing habituation

Answer 32

1. internal variance -> changes in rhythm of music
2. subjective arousal

Question 33

automatic process

Answer 33

1. no conscious awareness
2. unintentional
3. no effort

• quick
• multiple at same time

Question 34

controlled process

Answer 34

1. conscious awareness
2. sequential
3. long to execute

Question 35

automatisation

Answer 35

when controlled processes turn automatic due to practice

Question 36

Stroop effect

Answer 36

hard to say colour of word when word is spelling out different colour bc automatisation

Question 37

Oopsies in Automatic processes

Answer 37

1. mistakes = error in choosing objective
2. slips = errors in carrying out means to objective

Question 38

when do slips occur?

Answer 38

1. when deviating from normal routine
2. when automatic processes interrupted

Question 39

preconscious processing

Answer 39

info outside of conscious awareness but still available for conscious processing

• combing hair whilst thinking about the mistakes you’ve made in your life

Question 40

tip of tongue phenomenon

Answer 40

information available to us but not entirely accessible

seen in
- blind people
- old people
- disabled people

Question 41

blindsight

Answer 41

traces of visual perceptual ability in blind areas

blind person able to correctly guess image more than chance