8A - Attention Flashcards
define attention
involves focusing our mental resources on certain information, while blocking out irrelevant info
internal stimuli
info or sensations originating in the body
- examples: feeling hungry or tired
external stimuli
info or sensations originating outside the body
- examples: using our 5 senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste)
what is sustained attention
focusing on one stimuli or task across a prolonged, continuous period of time
- example: completing a simple maths question, watching a youtube video
distractions
internal or external stimuli that draw attention away from the current task
what is divided attention
splitting attention across two or more stimuli at one time, which involves multi tasking. results in decreased performance as your more prone to distractions
- example: talking to a friend whilst driving
what is a disadvantage of divided attention
you are more prone to distractions as you are focusing on more than one stimulus, which decreases your understanding of the task, therefore decreasing performance.
what is selective attention
it involves exclusively focusing attention on a specific stimulus or task, whilst ignoring all other stimuli or tasks.
- example: listening to only one conversation at a loud party, despite being able to hear others.
what does selective attention require from the individual
it requires them to filter out internal and external stimuli to prioritize incoming info according to its importance.
what are the 2 key principles of attentional allocation
- the predictive principle
- the uncertainty principle
what is the predictive principle
focusing on stimuli that are personally meaningful and important to us amongst other less meaningful stimuli.
what is the uncertainty principle
our attention is captured the most by unpredictable or unfamiliar stimuli.
- this is due to the stimuli’s potential to provide useful information about pleasant or dangerous consequences.
