Attention - Models

Question 1

What are the main components of attention ?

Answer 1

1.Information is selected for processing

2.Some information is suppressed or not processed

Question 2

What is the structural limit of attention?

Answer 2

The brain filters out information that is irrelevant and does not process it - this is a structural feature

Question 3

What is early attention selection?

Answer 3

Early on the brain focuses on certain aspects of the stimuli and filters out info that you do not attend to and it is not possessed and therefore not remembered.

Question 4

What is the Dichotic input study?

Answer 4

getting two inputs with one intended and one that is supposed to be ignored focus on attended and that’s what you will recall, They have to repeat what is going into the attended ear.

Question 5

What of the unattended speech in the Dichotic experiment can be remembered?

Answer 5

Can remember gender whether the sound is a voice or noise. Basic physical traits.

Question 6

What of the unattended speech in the Dichotic experiment can NOT be remembered?

Answer 6

cant give meaning or context. No semantics. language, whether it has been reversed. Since it has not been processed. Selection is prior to processing

Question 7

What is channel selection?

Answer 7

input from only one channel is processed at one time switching channel takes time and means information is lost.

Question 8

Broadbent’s Model argues for …

Answer 8

structural limits and early selection

Question 9

Describe the flow of Broadbents model

Answer 9

Sensory store —> Filter (selection of what will be attended to) —> Processing is limited to attended to material.

Question 10

When we focus on one channel what do we process?

Answer 10

no real processing beyond basic physical elements

Question 11

Broadbent believes in what kind of processing?

Answer 11

All or nothing

Question 12

Broadbent argues that dual processing is actually …

Answer 12

Dual tasking is actually doing one thing and then switching to another - because you can only attend to one channel at one time.

Question 13

Limitations of Broadbents model

Answer 13

• Around 30% of people of name notice their name in an unattended channel - this is semantic information
• Physiological response (sweating) to words in non-attended channel that were pre-associated with electric shocks. even though they couldn’t recall the word

Question 14

Treismans model challenged what aspect of Broadbents model

Answer 14

Proposed evidence of processing in unattended channel

Question 15

what is Treismens challenging evidence?

Answer 15

• people follow sentences when starts in attended and then unattended channel suggesting some semantic processing otherwise you wouldn’t suggest - Tresiman - its not an all or nothing filter - just info in unattended is turned down / reduced
• strong signals dont need to be attenuated to like your name

Question 16

what is late selection?

Answer 16

All in-coming information is processed to the “highest level” and irrelevant information is filtered out. It is named and categorised.

Question 17

Kahneman, 1973

Answer 17

the meaning of all current stimuli are extracted in parallel and without interference

Question 18

is late selection a structural or capacity model?

Answer 18

structural - Everything goes through processing, Selection/Filtering happens after processing., New bottleneck is prior to response, Still a structural model

Question 19

How can the stroop task be used as evidence for late selection?

Answer 19

even though you are focusing on colour name of word is being processed and supports idea that all info is processed - both elements are encoded, word and colour - automatic response (reading) - controlled response - ( naming or counting)

Question 20

Leaky information

Answer 20

Is the unattended information remembered because…

1.the filter is leaky

• Unattended Information is identified/processed - we are asuming people are focusing on the attended information - your attention can be grabed by things - it could be that you attention is slipping on ONE thing

Question 21

slippery information

Answer 21

the filter is slipping

• The attention system “slips” and attends to material (and processes) it shouldn’t - most research suggests that
• 2. is compatible with early selection
• Lachter, et al 2004 says that evidence for 1 comes from experiments that did not ensure this information was truly unattended.

Question 22

capacity model

Answer 22

Cognitive system has a limited amount of attentional energy for a task

Cognitive system has limited amount of processing capacity

Question 23

what is capacity dependent on?

Answer 23

capacity depends on difficulty of task, individual expertise

Question 24

what is performance dependent on?

Answer 24

• enduring dispositions (habits and preferences)
• momentary (need right now)
• evaluation of demands on capacity

Question 25

too much arousal

Answer 25

educed focus, more irrelevant details noticed

Question 26

too little arousal

Answer 26

no real motivation

Question 27

is there drop in performance when dual tasking according to capacity?

Answer 27

yes - drop in performance when doing task one and two together rather than take one/two separately

Question 28

can practice improve dual tasking?

Answer 28

with practice they can do two very different things at the same time since the capacity to do these two tasks had grown. when one is visual ana done is auditory they had less of a bad effect compared to visual and auditory dual tasks since they access different brain areas

Question 29

PLT theory

Answer 29

- The system is limited (as in early selection) - you can only focus on a certain amount of stimuli But will process everything until it runs out of capacity

Question 30

Acording to PLT, when percepton is low

Answer 30

more is processed including distractors

Question 31

does PLT argue for early or late selection?

Answer 31

BOTH - Early (when its complex) and Late selection (when its simple)

Question 32

Lavies study to support PLT

Answer 32

x is being processed even though you are not supposed to be focusing on it - If irrelevant stimuli (distractors) are processed - Prediction from the model… - Increased load should decrease effect because you are have more stimuli to focus on

Question 33

What does Lavie's interference score measure?

Answer 33

Interference Score = RT (Incongruent) – RT (Congruent) Higher score = more interference from distractors Lower score = less/no interference Indicates how much the distractor affects attention and response time

Question 34

does perceptual load make a difference to inattentional blindness?

Answer 34

- Increased load —> reduced participants noting irrelevant element of stimuli - Simple task —> more likely to see the square - higher perceptual load = more focus on what you are supposed to attend to **Perceptual load reduces the compatibility effect and increases Inattentional Blindness**

Question 35

what is inattentional blindess?

Answer 35

Inattentional blindness is a psychological phenomenon where you fail to notice something fully visible in your environment because your attention is focused elsewhere.

Question 36

what is the compatibility effect?

Answer 36

The Compatibility Effect refers to faster and more accurate responses when the stimulus and the response are naturally or spatially aligned (compatible), and slower or less accurate responses when they are not (incompatible).

Question 37

example of compatibility effect?

Answer 37

Light on the left → press left button = ✅ Faster (compatible) Light on the left → press right button = ❌ Slower (incompatible)

Question 38

What is the Single Resource Model of attention?

Answer 38

One fixed pool of attentional resources for all tasks and modalities. Tasks compete for the same finite resource. Performance on tasks declines when attention is split across multiple tasks (known as dual-task decrement). No distinction between different types of tasks (e.g., visual vs. auditory); they all draw from the same pool.

Question 39

what is a multiple resource model?

Answer 39

Multiple pools of attentional resources exist, one for each type of task or modality (e.g., visual, auditory, motor). Tasks compete for resources within their respective pools, but resources don’t overlap across modalities. Less interference between tasks from different modalities (e.g., performing a visual task and an auditory task simultaneously). Dual-task performance can be maintained if tasks use separate resource pools.

Question 40

What happens under low perceptual load in Lavie’s study?

Answer 40

High interference: RT for incongruent > RT for congruent Attention is spread broadly Distractors are processed Result: Strong compatibility effect

Question 41

What happens under high perceptual load in Lavie’s study?

Answer 41

Little to no interference: RT for incongruent ≈ RT for congruent Attention is narrowly focused on the task Distractors are not processed Result: Reduced or no compatibility effect

Question 42

What does Lavie conclude about attention and perceptual load?

Answer 42

High load = full use of attentional resources → no spare capacity for distractors Low load = spare capacity available → distractors are processed Perceptual load determines whether irrelevant stimuli are processed

Question 43

What is an incongruent distractor in Lavie's study?

Answer 43

A distractor that is associated with a different response than the target (e.g., target = "X", distractor = "Z").

Question 44

Why do incongruent distractors slow down reaction times?

Answer 44

They trigger a conflicting response, causing response competition and delaying the correct answer.

Question 45

Under what condition is distractor interference strongest in Lavie's theory?

Answer 45

Under low perceptual load, because there is spare attention capacity to process irrelevant stimuli like distractors.

Question 46

Why is there less interference under high perceptual load?

Answer 46

The task uses up all attentional capacity, so there’s no processing of irrelevant stimuli, including incongruent distractors.

Question 47

: What determines whether irrelevant stimuli are processed in Lavie’s model?

Answer 47

Whether the perceptual load is low or high — low load allows processing of irrelevant stimuli; high load prevents it.

Question 48

Why are reaction times typically slower for incongruent trials in tasks studying the compatibility effect?

Answer 48

Because incongruent trials have distractors associated with a different response than the target, causing response conflict. This conflict requires extra processing to resolve, leading to slower reaction times.

Question 49

what is selective attenition?

Answer 49

“the ability to focus on that which is important to the task at hand while ignoring or suppressing task- irrelevant information”

Question 50

what stimuli is louder than others

Answer 50

* Primed stimuli such as your name * Words associated with electric shoc

Question 51

What is the evidence for Late Selection Models?

Answer 51

Tasks like the Stroop effect show that both word and color are encoded and processed, even if one is unattended.

Question 52

In the Stroop task, what are the two competing responses?

Answer 52

Automatic response: Reading the word Controlled response: Naming or counting the color

Question 53

According to Late Selection Models, what happens to the two elements of stimuli (word and color)?

Answer 53

Both are encoded and compete for response selection.

Question 54

the slipping filter supports what theory

Answer 54

The attention system “slips” and attends to material (and processes) it shouldn’t * 2. is compatible with early selection

Question 55

kahmens capaicty model

Answer 55

Attention is a limited resource. Task difficulty and arousal affect how much is needed. Moderate arousal leads to best performance. We choose how to allocate attention, but some things (like our name) grab it automatically. Experts need less effort for familiar tasks.

Question 56

capacity models

Answer 56

he brain has a limited amount of processing capacity (like a mental “energy” or “resource”) available at any time. Paying attention means allocating this limited capacity to different tasks or stimuli. When the total demand exceeds the available capacity, performance suffers (e.g., slower reaction times, more errors). Capacity models focus on how much attention you have, rather than where or when information is filtered.

Question 57

What does dual task evidence suggest about performing two tasks simultaneously?

Answer 57

Individuals can learn to do two things at once with practice.

Question 58

Individuals can learn to do two things at once with practice.

Answer 58

Reading prose while writing to dictation.

Question 59

How long did it take for participants to become competent at doing two tasks simultaneously in Spelke, Hirst, and Neisser’s (1976) study?

Answer 59

6 weeks

Question 60

What tasks did Treisman and Davies (1973) have participants monitor in their study?

Answer 60

Two visual screens Two auditory inputs (one in each ear) One visual and one auditory input

Question 61

What was the main finding regarding performance in the dual task conditions in Treisman and Davies’ (1973) study?

Answer 61

All conditions showed a dual task decrement (worse performance).

Question 62

Which dual task conditions showed larger performance decrements in Treisman and Davies (1973)?

Answer 62

Conditions 1 (two visual) and 2 (two auditory) showed larger dual task decrements compared to condition 3 (one visual, one auditory).

Question 63

What concept is suggested by the finding that dual task decrements are larger when tasks share the same modality?

Answer 63

: Modality-specific resources.

Question 64

How does arousal level affect attention in Kahneman’s model?

Answer 64

Moderate arousal increases available resources and improves attention; too much arousal (stress) reduces capacity.

Question 65

What are "enduring dispositions" in Kahneman’s model?

Answer 65

Automatic tendencies or habits that direct attention without conscious effort (e.g., a pilot’s trained responses).

Question 66

What are "momentary intentions" in Kahneman’s attention model?

Answer 66

The pilot’s current goals or priorities that consciously direct attention to specific instruments.

Question 67

How do task demands influence attention according to Kahneman?

Answer 67

More complex or difficult tasks (like flying in a storm) require more cognitive effort, reducing available attention.

Question 68

What is “effort allocation” in Kahneman’s model?

Answer 68

The process of deciding how to distribute limited cognitive resources among competing demands. Cognitve rescoures are pulled from one pool supporting a single rescourse mdoel.

Question 69

How does perceptual load relate to compatibilitye effect and inattentional blindness?

Answer 69

Perceptual load reduces the compatibility effect and increases Inattentional Blindness

Question 70

What differentiates the low and high working memory (WM) load conditions?

Answer 70

Low WM load: fixed sequence (e.g., 0,1,2,3,4) High WM load: different sequence each time.

Question 71

: After memorizing digits, what categorization task do participants perform?

Answer 71

Categorize faces as Pop Star or Politician.

Question 72

What types of name conditions are used during the face categorization task?

Answer 72

Congruent names (matching category) and incongruent names (mismatched).

Question 73

What additional task are participants asked to do after categorizing faces?

Answer 73

Report a "probe digit" from the digit set they memorized.

Question 74

According to Load Theory, how does high WM load affect interference from incongruent stimuli?

Answer 74

High WM load increases the impact of incongruent pictures/names, causing larger reaction time differences.

Question 75

What is the effect of overloading the active system (working memory) on interference?

Answer 75

It increases interference.

Question 76

what is the passive system?

Answer 76

Perceptual processing resources (automatic, bottom-up attention). When perceptual load is high (lots of visual detail or complexity), these resources get used up fully, so there’s less "leftover" capacity to process irrelevant distractors—thus reducing interference.

Question 77

active system

Answer 77

Working memory and executive control (top-down attention). When the active system is overloaded (high working memory load), it reduces the ability to control attention, which increases interference from distractors.