EXAM: Early and Late models of Auditory Attention

Question 1

Auditory attention

Answer 1

The cognitive process of selectively focusing on specific sounds in an environment, while ignoring others

Question 2

INTRODUCTION

Answer 2

• Define auditory attention: the process by which we focus on specific sounds while ignoring others in our environment.
• Introduce the two key models:
  o Broadbent’s Early Filter Model (1958): attention as an early selective filter.
  o Treisman’s Attenuation Model (1964): attention as a volume control mechanism.
• Mention the importance of these models in understanding how we process and filter competing auditory information
• State that the essay will compare, contrast, and evaluate both models critically, considering strengths, limitations, and more recent developments.

Question 3

PARA 1 - BROADBENT - key features

Answer 3

• All sensory input enters a sensory register.
• A filter (bottleneck) selects which information is processed further based on physical properties (e.g., loudness, pitch).
• Only selected input reaches working memory and conscious awareness; the rest is discarded early.

Question 4

PARA 1 - BROADBENT - empirical basis

Answer 4

• Based on Cherry’s Dichotic Listening Task.
• Explains how we can focus on one auditory stream and ignore the rest (e.g., one voice in a crowded room).

Question 5

PARA 1 - BROADBENT - Strengths and weaknesses

Answer 5

• Pioneering theory that introduced the idea of limited attentional capacity.
• Offered a simple, testable explanation of selective auditory attention.

BUT

• Too rigid – doesn’t explain how unattended information, like your own name, can still be noticed (cocktail party effect).
• Assumes that unattended inputs are completely blocked, which is not supported by evidence.

Question 6

PARA 2 - TREISMAN’S LATE ATTENUATION MODEL - key features

Answer 6

• All information is processed to some extent, but unattended input is attenuated, not blocked.
• Attention works like a volume dial – background sounds are quieter but still present.
• Important stimuli (e.g., your name) can break through the attentional filter even if unattended.

Question 7

PARA 2 - TREISMAN’S LATE ATTENUATION MODEL - EMPIRICAL SUPPORT

Answer 7

Explains cocktail party phenomenon – we can shift attention if something meaningful is heard in the background.

Question 8

PARA 2 - TREISMAN’S LATE ATTENUATION MODEL - strengths and weaknesses

Answer 8

• More flexible than Broadbent’s model.
• Accounts for semantic processing of unattended information.
• Fits better with real-world experience and findings

BUT

• The attenuator mechanism is not well defined – lacks clarity on how it works.

Question 9

PARA 3 - COMPARISON - Similarities

Answer 9

Both models aim to explain how attention helps us manage the large amount of information in our environment by selecting what to focus on. They both recognise that attention has a limited capacity and that we need to prioritise certain stimuli over others to avoid overload.

Question 10

PARA 3 - COMPARISON - Differences

Answer 10

They differ in how and when this selection happens:

Broadbent’s model suggests that attention acts as a strict filter very early on, based on simple physical features like pitch or loudness, before the meaning of the information is even processed.

In contrast, Treisman’s model proposes that all information is processed to some degree, but unattended input is simply turned down or weakened rather than blocked completely. This means that selection happens later, after some analysis of meaning, and depends more on the relevance of the information to our goals.

Question 11

PARA 4 - CRITICAL EVALUATION - topdown influences

Answer 11

Ignore top-down influences:

Classic models assume fixed mechanisms (early vs. late), but attention is now seen as flexible and goal-driven

Modern research shows attention depends on context, expectations, and task demands — not fully captured by either Broadbent or Treisman.

Question 12

PARA 4 - CRITICAL EVALUATION - underplays active suppression mechanisms involved in ignoring distractions

Answer 12

These theories mainly focus on how we choose what to pay attention to, but they don’t pay enough attention to how the brain actively shuts down or ignores distracting information we’re not focusing on.

Research (e.g., Horton et al., 2013; Schwartz & David, 2018) shows the brain actively suppresses distractions, not just filters or attenuates them.

Question 13

PARA 5 - CONCLUSION

Answer 13

• Both Broadbent and Treisman made important contributions to understanding auditory attention.

Broadbent offered a foundational but overly rigid model. Treisman provided a more realistic, flexible approach by allowing for semantic processing of unattended information.

However, both models fall short by failing to account for:
o Active suppression of irrelevant information.
o The dynamic, top-down nature of attention.

Newer models have built on these ideas, proposing network-based and flexible systems of attentional control.