Week 7 - Attention

Question 1

Describe a difference between processing visual VS verbal imagery

Answer 1

We can read words quicker when they are side by side. Suggests that visual representations may also be more somatic: the eaxmple of reading “triangle, circle, square” - both side by side and not. VS reading the same configuration of shapes but in visual form. Opposite effects in reaction times for shapes VS words.

Question 2

What is change blindness?

Answer 2

Inability to notice any changes in a visual scene.

For example, the video where you have to watch a car, and you don’t notice the scene changing in the background.

Question 3

What is boundary extension? Provide an example of a study discussed.

Answer 3

A wider-angle memory of a scene. When we memorise a visual scene, a wider-angle view of the scene tends to be stored in memory.

For example, the changing images of a teacher in a classroom. We noticed when the object changed because it didn’t fit in with the meaning of the classroom. When the changing object did not effect the meaning of the scene, only small percentage of students’ detected difference.

Question 4

What two representations are formed when we perceive a visual scene?

Answer 4

~ Meaning of the scene
~ Surface properties (visual details, colour)

The meaning of the scene is very well represented, whereas surface properties are not.

Question 5

What does “bottleneck” mean with reference to attention?

Answer 5

There is a path from sensation to action at which people filter through information processed.

Question 6

Describe the early-selection filter theory.

Answer 6

Proposed that only some of the sensory information is selected for further processing. This occurs early on.

Blocking filter occurs at the sensation stage. However, some non-semantic aspects of the message (i.e. if voice was male or female), are remembered later, which does not support the filter theory.

Question 7

What is the late selection theory?

Answer 7

Filter occurs after the perceptual stimulus.

All stimuli are processed at same level of deep analysis and the most important stimuli are selected for further processing.

Question 8

What are the two types of attention? Describe them briefly.

Answer 8

Voluntary attention = top-down, goal-directed

Reflexive attention = bottom-up, stimulus driven

Question 9

What is inhibition of return?

Answer 9

Reflexive attention system has built in mechanisms to prevent reflexively directed attention from being stuck at a location for too long.

Inhibition of return (IOR) refers to the relative suppression of processing of (detection of, orienting toward, responding to) stimuli (object and events) that had recently been the focus of attention