1102 Flashcards
(138 cards)
1
Q
Theory of mind
A
The appreciation that other people may think
differently, and that what they think will guide
their behaviour, rather than how things really are
2
Q
False Beliefs
A
Basis of deception, manipulation, but also perspective
taking
3
Q
Nature development of theory of mind
A
- Brain maturation -> age threshold
- Relations with language development
- Pretend play
4
Q
Nurture development of theory of mind
A
Social Interactions
* Parental use of mental state language-> parents who explain and discuss
* Quality of parent-child relationship
* Presence of older siblings
5
Q
Attachment styles
A
- Secure: separation distress, reunion terminates,
distress, flexibly resumes exploration [B] - Insecure Anxious-Ambivalent: extreme separation distress, not terminated by reunion, unable to resume exploration
- Insecure Avoidant: limited separation distress,
limited response to mother on reunion, exploration focus - Disorganised: no coherent strategy –confusing/contradictory or bizarre behaviour
6
Q
Attachment characteristics
A
-Proximity maintenance: The desire to be near the people we are attached to.
-Safe haven: Returning to the attachment figure for comfort and safety in the face of a fear or threat.
-Secure base: The attachment figure acts as a base of security from which the child can explore the surrounding environment.
-Separation distress: Anxiety that occurs in the absence of the attachment figure.
7
Q
Parenting styles:
A
-Permissive too soft: lenient with their children, allowing them considerable freedom inside and outside the household. Low use discipline and often shower their children with affection.
- Authoritarian too hard: strict with their children, giving their children little opportunity for free play or exploration and punishing them when they
don’t respond appropriately to their demands. They show little affection toward their
children.
- Authoritative just right: combine the best features of both permissive and authoritarian worlds. They’re supportive of their children but set clear and firm limits.
-Uninvolved. Neglectful parents tend to ignore their children, paying little attention to
either their positive or negative behaviors.
8
Q
Moral Disengagement
A
Enables good people to behave badly
without feeling any self-loathing or
remorse.
9
Q
Kohlberg’s Theory of
Moral Development
A
Moral development proceeds through a
universal and invariant sequence of three broad moral stages; each is composed of two levels
10
Q
Stage 1: Preconventional Morality
A
Focus on satisfying their own needs: avoiding
punishment and obtaining personal awards
Level 1: Avoid punishment
I won’t do it, because I don’t want to get punished
Level 2: Reward
What can I get out of this?
11
Q
Stage 2: Conventional Morality
A
Focus on social approval: Right and wrong are
defined by convention and by what people will
say
Level 3: Gain approval and avoid disapproval of others:
I won’t do it because if I do people won’t like me
Level 4: Rigid codes of “law and order”
I won’t do it, because I don’t want to break the law
12
Q
Stage 3: Postconventional Morality
A
Focus on abstract ideals: Broad principles of
justice and internalisation of personal moral
principles
Level 5: “Social contract” agreed upon for the
public good
I will do it because it is my duty, because I’m obliged to do it
Level 6: Abstract ethical principles that
determine one’s own moral code
I will do it because it is the right thing to do regardless of what others think
13
Q
People other than parents in children’s lives
A
.Sociocultural change – women working more, fathers more involved in
childrearing, same sex parenting, and just… parenting
* Children attend childcare and/or are cared for by grandparents/other family
* Other adult-child relationships can be important – teachers, coaches, mentors
* As children develop attachment evolves to meet new cognitive capacities, and
relations with peers assume more importance
14
Q
Role of father
A
Single parent families: children appear more at risk, but important to consider co-occuring risk factors that characterize single parent families
o Fathers may make unique contributions to self-regulation, risktaking behaviour
o Play and interact differently
15
Q
Same sex parenthood
A
Findings to date categorically support the view that children from same-sex parented families experience comparable outcomes to other children, similar outcomes emotionally, socially and educationally
Main problem: stigma
16
Q
Erikson’s Developmental Tasks
A
- Trust vs mistrust (birth-1yr) → hope
- Autonomy vs shame & doubt (1-3yrs) → will of their own
- Initiative vs guilt (3-6yrs) → purpose
- Industry vs inferiority (6-11yrs) → competence
- Identity vs role confusion (adolescence) →fidelity &
belonging - Intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood) →love
- Generativity vs stagnation (midlife)→ care
- Integrity vs despair (late adult) → wisdom
17
Q
Key changes in adolescence
A
Biological
* Hormonal changes – oestrogens & androgens
* Puberty – sexual characteristics
* Menarche and spermarche
* Timing varies – some genetic contribution, but also
environmental – health, nutrition
Psychological
* Identity
* Cognitive – thinking – Piaget – Formal Operations, Post-Formal thinking – no absolutes – but frontal lobes not fully mature – limited impulse control
Social
* Peers
* Romantic relationships
18
Q
Normative life events
A
- On-time: Events that occur at a typical or expected point
in the lifespan for members of a given population. - “Social Clock” : Shared expectations of age-appropriate behaviour.
- Off-time: Events that occur at a nontypical or
unexpected point in the lifespan for members of a given
population.
19
Q
Ageing
A
Losses – biological fertility, visual and hearing acuity, lung capacity,
response time
Gains – crystallised intelligence accumulated knowledge and
experience – wisdom
- hardiness/resiliency
- financial security – up to a point!
20
Q
Major theories of development
A
- Psychoanalytic theory: Freud and Erikson
- Cognitive developmental theory: Piaget and
Kohlberg - Social Cognitive Theory: Early behaviourist
theories through to Bandura - Ethological theory: Attachment theories of
Ainsworth and Bowlby - Stages of Psychosocial Development: Erikson
21
Q
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
A
Children’s minds are not miniature
versions of the adult mind – there are
profound differences – qualitative as
well as quantitative
* The child is active/not passive – constructs an understanding of the world through exploration
and experience
22
Q
Developmental progress
A
A process – equilibration – balance
between new experiences and what we
already know or think we know
* Assimilation – new information
“assimilated” into existing schemas
* Accommodation – schemas updated
to accommodate new information
23
Q
Piaget: Four main stages of
intellectual growth
A
- Sensori-motor intelligence (birth-2 years)
o Object permanence - Pre-operational period (2-7 years)
o Mental representations, but pre-logical/egocentric, conservation a challenge - Concrete operations (7-11 years)
o Mental operations, but only for physical/concrete materials - Formal operations (11yrs…)
o Hypothetical reasoning –mental operations on abstract concepts
24
Q
representational thought
A
- Emerging capacity from 18-24
months
o One object can represent another - this capacity allows deferred
imitation and make-believe
play - Preschool years (age 2-6)
- Further gains in mental
representation - Symbols represent the
concrete world - Drawing
25
Object permanence
* Infants < 8 months: Out of sight, out of mind – no
effort to retrieve hidden object
* Infants ~ 9 months-12 months: Search… BUT where last
found – A not B effect – object does not exist independent of child’s actions
* Infants 12-18 months – breakthrough: Understand not only that objects continue to exist (independent of the
child’s interaction with them), but that they can be moved while out of sight – invisible displacements
26
Piaget’s theory
Strengths
* Landmark theory – not just miniature adults – fascinating aspects of pre-logical thinking
* Learning as an active process – influences on education
* Processes cross domains – e.g., conservation of liquid, mass, area
Critiques (more next year)
* Stages too rigid/prescriptive
* Under-estimated children’s abilities
o Methodological issues – task demands/language
* Universality?
o Western bias? Children learn what is useful in their cultural
setting
o Many don’t reach higher levels
o Context not sufficiently considered
27
Health psychology
Bidirectional relationships between psychology (thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, motivations…) and health
28
History of Health
* Hippocrates’ Humoral Theory of Illness
* Plato (and other Greek philosophers): body separate from mind
* Galen (2nd Century A.D): localization of illness in the body
* Middle Ages: Church exercised control over medicine
* Renaissance: Descartes’ breakthroughs
― Body is a machine
― Mind and body can communicate through the brain
― Life ends at death
* 18th and 19th centuries: great advances in
technology, science, physiology
29
Effects of stress
Physiologically:
― Increases blood pressure
― Changes blood composition
― Release of stress hormones
― Suppression of immune system
Behaviourally:
― Less sleep / rest
― Less exercise
― Less healthy food eaten
― Increased physical tension
― Less social support
30
Early experience
Zygote - Egg & Sperm – genes from mother and
father combine
* Blastocyst – cluster of cells start to divide and
multiply (days 5-9)
* Embryo – early stage: formation of body
structures, tissues, organs (to 8 weeks)
* Fetus – the unborn offspring: has major body
organs, though not fully developed
31
Teratogen
any agent that can cause a birth defect and
disrupt development
32
attitudes formed
Classical conditioning
* Operant conditioning
* Imitation
33
Bem’s Self-Perception Theory
– We attribute our own behaviour to either an external (situation) or internal (attitude) source
– Attitude inferences if behaviour is freely chosen
(not coerced)
– Holds best for weak attitudes
34
Functions of attitudes
Cognitive consistency: people try to maintain an internal consistency, order and agreement between their beliefs
* We like people who think like us, and act like us
* Balance theory: relationship between 3 elements
(triads)
– P — person
– O — other
– X — attitude object
* Odd number of positive relationships = balanced triad
35
Attitudes
* Implicit attitudes (true attitudes?)
– Automatic, non-conscious, difficult to change
* Explicit attitudes
– consciously controlled, easier to change (social
desirability)
36
Theory of planned behaviour
Ajzen & Fishbein (1980):
* Attitude-behaviour link is stronger once we
take account of all the influences on the
attitude-behaviour link
* Forming attitudes towards performing a
particular behaviour is a fairly rational process
* So, attitudes guide intentions
37
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
Leon Festinger (1957)
– Cognitive dissonance is a feeling of discomfort
caused by performing an action that is
inconsistent with one’s attitudes
– We strive to reduce dissonance
– Rationalisation shapes attitudes
38
The Ben Franklin effect
an individual who has done someone a favor is more likely to do that person another favor
39
DISSONANCE EFFECT
paintings that were initially liked were
liked more on the subsequent evaluation; disliked were
disliked even more
40
The Message-Learning (Yale) approach to
persuasion
Attitude change follows a series of stages:
1. attend to the message,
2. comprehend the message, and
3. accept the message
* Incentives of new message > old
41
Factors influencing persuasion
– source variables
– message variables (incl. medium/channel
variables)
– target/audience variables
42
Source variables
* Attractiveness
– Physical appearance
– Likeability
– Similarity to the
audience
* High vs. Low credibility
– Fast talkers seem more
credible
43
Message variables
– Vivid information is
generally more
persuasive
* Except when it interferes
with the comprehension
of the message
– Fear appeals
* Inverted U function
– Humour
* Relevance to message
- Repetition
- Medium
44
Audience variables
* Self-esteem
* Mood
-Sadness increases
buying prices and
reduces selling prices
45
Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM)
* Two routes to persuasion:
– Central route (able & motivated)
– Peripheral route (unable or unwilling)
* Attitude change can occur without
comprehension
46
Nudges
behavioural interventions that encourage desirable behaviour without restricting choice or changing economic incentives.
47
Enhancing compliance
* Social Proof and uncertainty: changes in something make ppl comply
* Flattery will get you everywhere (Drachman et
al., 1978)
* Scarcity: We want what we can’t have
Consistency
– Foot-in-the-door: A small request followed by a
large request
– Low-ball technique: After initial agreement to a
request hidden costs are revealed
48
Conformity
change in behaviour or belief in accord with others
49
normative social influence
Social norms
50
Asch’s conformity studies
Length of lines
51
factors affecting conformity
* Group size
* One dissenter
* previous exposure to
non-conformity
* Anonymity
* Overall, interesting
results because no
explicit punishment or
rewards
52
Hugo Munsterberg's theory
Selection system that choose people who are effective and have high attention to the task designated
-Attempted to design a system to eliminate ‘accident-prone’ drivers during selection Initiative to improve safety ->Attention(Response to Threats) -> Crude Simulation
53
James Cattell
-Quantitative and objective assessment of individual differences: Reaction Time, Time Estimation, Memory
-Weakness was an absence of theory(Reasoning) to Expectation of a data driven approach(statistics)
54
Frederick Taylor (Taylorism)
Principles of Scientific management
- development of a true science of work
- scientific selection of employees
- scientific training and development of employees
- friendly cooperation between management and employees
Time and motion study: identifying gaps that create inefficiency in order to remedy these gaps
- creates efficiencies by changing the behaviour of the environment *you can change individuals or you can change behaviour
55
Walter Dill Scott
Issue: rapid production
Interested in recruitment of conscripts ad working conditions
Interested in the factors that lead to improvement (culture, motivation and productivity)
56
Walter Bingham
developed the applied psychology division of the APA - developing theoretical perspectives for improvement of performance
57
Hawthorne Studies
-Goal to test the relationship between work productivity and light intensity
-idea is that the nature of the psychological contract with other employers impacts efficiency
-Hawthorne effect is the placebo effect - test of 12000 cardiovascular disease prone patients
58
Psychomotor testing
Selecting people on the basis that htey are quick learners by developing a number of tests for selection of pilots
Battery of tests were predictive of performance in initial flight training but less so for more advanced flight training
59
Leadership - A trait
* Predisposition towards a style of leadership
* Leadership can be evaluated
* Leadership style is relatively stable
60
Leadership – A State
Style of leadership is governed by the demands of the situation
* Leadership should be evaluated in terms of a particular situation
* Leadership style is relatively unstable
61
Human factors and system design
Optimising the relationship between users and the tools and
systems with which they interact.
62
Goal-Setting Theory
-Having a conscious specific goal in mind is the most important factor in explaining motivation
-Feedback, Setting Specific Goals, Setting Difficult Goals
->Improvement in Performance
-You need the skill to do something before setting goals for it.
-Rewards can boost how well you do.
-Making decisions together or getting goals from others doesn't affect outcomes much.
-Believing in yourself helps you succeed (self-confidence).
63
Person – Organisation Fit
refers to how aligned a person’s core values, beliefs, ethics and purpose are to those of the organization they work for.
64
Job Analysis
-Job Description: Position, Title, Duties, Reporting Lines, Workplace
-Job specification: Education, Work Experience, Skills Required, Roles and Responsibilities, Training Expectations, Personal Qualities, Emotional Capabilities
65
Transformational Leadership Theory
-Influence followers
* High job performance
* High job satisfaction’
* High organisational commitment
* Low intention of resigning
66
Consequences of Occupational Accidents
-Immediate: Casualty management, Casualty transportation, Injuries during recovery, Loss of infrastructure
-Short-Term: Recovery from injuries, Management of fatalities, Psychological debriefing, Social costs
-Long-Term: Loss of confidence, Workplace labour losses, Quality of life costs, Compensation costs, Insurance premiums
67
Occupational Safety in Developing Countries
-Not many work in official jobs.
-Limited health records.
-Challenges in using data from developed countries.
-Incomplete employer cost information.
-Unpaid family care not considered valuable.
68
Human Error
Perception (Attention Error)->Decision(Decision Error)
->Response (Action Error)
69
Error Taxonomies
-Identifying Errors
-Pros: Gathers data efficiently, Shows problem areas.
-Cons: Based on preconceived ideas, Simplifies complicated events, No time element.
70
Accident Statistics
Provides an analysis of trends that can be helpful in
establishing the outcomes of interventions
71
Accident Proneness
-Characteristics of one’s personality that predisposes involvement in an accident/ incident
-Identify predisposing factors -> Screen for factors ->Select workers with a low disposition
72
Employee Attitudes
-Subjective perceptions of a range of issues
* Training
* Procedures
* Safety promotion
-Different attitude -> different behaviour
73
Risk Perception
-Selection of individuals with low risk tolerance
-Training to assess risk accurately
74
Managing Error In Industrial Systems
- Selection
-Training
-Job design
75
Occupational Health and Safety
-Most jurisdictions have legislation that is designed explicitly to protect the welfare of workers.
-Joint Responsibility between employer and employee
76
The diagnosis phase
-Staff surveys
-Observing staff as they work
-Interviewing staff
77
Uncertainty and Role Ambiguity
lack of information and therefore missing
clarity in a specific job position- >uncertain about their role, job objectives, and associated responsibilities
78
Role Conlfict
a person is confronted with two or more conflicting or opposing role expectations and the corresponding role demands of others
-ORDERS OR TASKS
-PROFESSIONAL VALUES
79
Problem formulation
1) Possible inter-group conflict
2) Distorted thinking (e.g., over-generalisation)
3) Concerns about job insecurity
4) Uncertainty and loss of control
5) Conflict with professional values
80
The intervention phase
* Group-based training (e.g., resilience training)
* Coaching (e.g., one-on-one sessions to facilitate employee development)
* Facilitating discussion among employees
* Organisational-level interventions (e.g., modifying workplace practices that increase stress, encouraging role negotiation and job crafting)
81
Transduction
The process of converting sensory stimuli into neural impulses.
82
illusion of motion
optical illusion in which a static image appears to be moving due to the cognitive effects of interacting color contrasts, object shapes, and position
83
Apperceptive agnosia
inability to recognise objects, their visual perception and consequent discrimination are not functioning, and they cannot draw or copy an object
84
associative agnosia
has intact perception but cannot recognise objects
85
Psychophysics
scientific study of the subjective experience of perception, it is about the relationship between physical stimuli and psychology
86
Adaptive Coping Strategies
1. Self-comforting
2. Problem solving
3. Information seeking
4. Accommodation
5. Negotiation
6. Support seeking
87
Non-adaptive Coping Strategies
1. Delegation
2. Helplessness
3. Escape
4. Submission
5. Opposition
6. Social Isolation
88
Feature Integration Theory
Certain basic features (e.g., colour, orientation) are
processed quickly in parallel (preattentively)
* Attention serves to bind simple features together
* This binding process is slow and serial
89
five basic tastes
sweet
sour
salty
bitter
umami
89
Smell glossary
-Anosmia: Partial or total loss of the sense of smell.
-Hyposmia: Reduced ability to smell and detect odours.
-Parosmia: Inability of the brain to correctly identify certain smells
-Cacosmia: Type of parosmia where smells get distorted to be perceived as intensely foul odours
-Phantosmia: Smelling an odour that is not there.
90
The Semicircular canals
provide information about angular (rotational) accelerations of our head in all three dimensions, allows us to maintain balance, as well as provide the signals to drive reflexive eye movements which keep the visual world stable despite movements of our head
91
Six degrees of freedom
_ X-axis: backward-forward roll
_Y-axis: left-right pitch
_Z-axis: up-down yaw
92
The utricle and saccule
93
sound waves enter the ear canal
This causes the tympanic membrane (eardrum) to vibrate, and this causes the ossicles (malleus, incus & stapes) to vibrate and move the basilar membrane (inside the cochlea) up and down. The basilar membrane movement causes hair cells to fire nerve impulses along the auditory nerve.
93
cochlear
Sound waves travel from the basal end to the apical end. The basal end of the membrane is stiffer and narrower than the apical end. High-frequency (high-pitched) sounds induce the maximal vibration at the stiffer and narrower end of the basilar membrane, whereas low-frequency (low-pitched) sounds cause maximal vibrations of the basilar membrane at the apical end where the basilar membrane is wider and softer.
94
Sound localisation
interaural time differences (ITDs), interaural intensity differences (IIDs), and the alterations to sound waves caused by the shape of our external ears, known as pinnae, provide us with relative distance information from each ear to the source, they cannot pinpoint sounds directly in front, behind, or above us
94
cone of confusion
Various locations could produce the same intensity/time difference.
95
Spatial resolution
he smallest distance that two objects can be separated and still be distinguished from one another
96
Temporal resolution
the ability of our visual system to resolve rapid changes in light intensity over time or resolve fast-moving objects
97
Rods
allow us to see in low light, such as moonlight, see only black, white and shades of grey in dim light because the rods do not provide colour vision
97
cones
-get stimulated and produce colour vision when exposed to brighter light, blue cones are sensitive to blue light, green cones are sensitive to green light, and red cones are sensitive to red light
-One type for short wavelengths, the blue or S-cones, another for medium wavelengths, the green or M-cones, and one for long wavelengths, the red or L-cones
97
Stereopsis
the perception of depth produced by the reception in the brain of visual stimuli from both eyes in combination and it helps us overcome the disadvantage of the blind spot
97
Visual receptive fields
specific regions of the visual field (the area that you can see) that trigger the activation of individual neurons in the visual system, determine how each neuron responds to different visual stimuli, like light and patterns
98
on-centre receptive field
most active when the centre of their field is exposed to light
99
Centre-surround antagonism
how sensory neurons respond differently to stimulation in the centre of their receptive field than stimulation in the surrounding area
99
off-centre receptive field
most active when the centre is in darkness
100
lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN)
located within the thalamus, a central part of the brain, a relay station for visual information received from the eyes before it is transmitted to the visual cortex
100
Sensory memory
Preserves information briefly (.5 – 2 seconds) in its original sensory format
* Allows the sensory information to linger briefly after the sensory stimulation is over
* Sensory memory decays rapidly: cannot be maintained by rehearsal
101
Short term memory
* Information re-coded into verbal (speech) format
* Information in immediate consciousness (being attended)
* Duration
* Decays within 20-30 seconds if unrehearsed
* Can be maintained longer by rehearsal (repeating to oneself)
* Capacity
* 7 ± 2 items (memory span)
102
Long term memory
Memory that can be retrieved after attention has been diverted
* Duration: Minutes to years
* Capacity: unlimited
103
Distinction between primary memory vs. secondary memory
Primary memory: information held in immediate consciousness ≈ short-term memory
* Secondary memory: Vast store of memory which gets called back into primary memory ≈ long-term memory
104
Serial position effect
-Recency effect: recalled from STM
-Primacy effect: rehearsed more and hence more likely to
be transferred to LTM
105
Chunking
* Grouping (chunking) elements into meaningful units improves performance
on short-term memory task
* “Short-term memory” is affected by meaning information (e.g., HSC, CIA) in
long-term memory è argues against strictly serial organization from STM to
LTM
106
Encoding
processing at the time of learning
* Levels of processing
* Organization: Schemas
* Flashbulb memory
107
Retrieval
processing at the time of recovering memory from storage
* Retrieval failure
* Reconstructive processes
108
Levels (Depth) of processing
Memory is a by-product of type of operations performed at encoding
* Orienting task
* Subjects later given unexpected test of memory
108
Schemas
When encoding complex material (e.g., prose or everyday events),
existing knowledge is used to impose organization
* Schema/scenario: conceptual framework about events
108
Flashbulb memory
-Extremely vivid and permanent memory of how one learned about a public event that produced high level of emotion/arousal
-Is not necessarily accurate
109
Consistency
Memory for detail decayed over time equally for everyday and flashbulb memories
* Consistent details decreased and inconsistent details increased
* This is true for both flashbulb memories and everyday
memories
110
Own belief
* Subjects’ own belief in their memory or “reliving” quality of memory remained high for flashbulb memory
* “I could see it in my mind”; “Can’t be persuaded that memory was wrong”, etc
* “Meta-memory” processes (monitoring own memory performance)
111
Retrieval failure
* Not loss of information, but failure of access
* Due to mismatch in format between retrieval
and encoding context
112
Reconstructive process
memories that add details not part of the actual event or omit details that were.
112
Confabulation
a patient generates a false memory without the intention of deceit
112
Anterograde amnesia
* Impaired learning of information since onset of amnesia (vs. Retrograde amnesia: Loss of information learned prior to onset)
-Causes
* Surgical lesions.– damage limited to limbic system (hippocampus)
* Head injury (motor accidents)
* Degenerative diseases
* Korsakoffs: Caused by chronic alcoholism/vitamin B1 deficiency
* dementia of Alzheimers type
* Encephalitis
* Vascular disorders (stroke)
113
Priming
a technique in which the introduction of one stimulus influences how people respond to a subsequent stimulus
113
Filter Model of Attention
* Attention restricts information available
for further processing
* Information selected based on physical
characteristics (preattentive processing)
114
Problems with Filter Model
* Hearing one’s own name will grab
attention (Moray, 1952)
* Participants shift in information received between
ears when it makes more (semantic)
sense (Treisman, 1960)
* Preattentive Semantic Analysis
– Information can be selected on the basis of
non-physical/sensory features
115
Early Selection
* Attention can filter information on the basis of physical
features (e.g., colour or motion)
116
Late Selection
All stimuli are processed to the level of
meaning
* Relevance determines further processing
and action (i.e., whether they become the
focus of attention)
117
Capacity Theory of Attention
* Attention is a capacity/resource, NOT a filter
– Attention = Mental Effort
* Attention related to task demands
– Demanding: controlled processing
* Requires attentional resources
– Undemanding: Automatic Processing
* Requires no attentive effort
* Result of extensive practice
118
Biased Competition Model
of Attention
* Neurally-based theory
* Processing of relevant information is
enhanced, while processing of irrelevant
information is inhibited.
* Competition can be biased by bottom-up or
top-down processes
119
Top-down vs bottom-up
attention
– Bottom-up selection - Stimulus properties that capture
your attention (e.g., a flash of light, loud noise)
– Top-down selection - Goal-driven selection of
information (e.g., finding your keys on a cluttered desk,
searching for Wally)
120
Change Blindness
- a result of a failure to retain and/or compare information
across time or views.
- Abrupt changes in the visual scene quickly grab our attention.
- Continuous disruptions, like flickering, make it difficult to notice sudden changes.
- Consequently, we have to actively search for these changes.
- This search requires us to store and compare various visual features in our memory.
- Due to the limited capacity of our short-term memory, this task becomes notably challenging
121
Inattentional Blindness
* A failure to notice a fully-visible, but unexpected event/object when attention is
engaged on another task.
122
Covert attention
selectively processing something without moving your eyes to it
123
Overt attention
selectively processing something by directing your eyes to it
124
Spatial neglect
- after damage to one hemisphere of the brain, a deficit in
attention to the opposite side of space is observed
– patient with neglect will behave as if the one side of sensory space is nonexistent
– most commonly right parietal lobe damage will cause neglect of the left space.
125
Simultagnosia
- inability to perceive more than a single object at a time
– patients may collide with multiple objects in a room as they are unaware of them.
– Result of lesion to parietooccipital junction.
