Final Test!!!

Question 1

Bradley’s definition of attention

Answer 1

Salient event
External or internal
Processed vs. ignored

Question 2

James’ definition of attention

Answer 2

Voluntary component
Limitations
External or internal 
Focus
Selection vs. withdrawal

Question 3

What does attention imply?

Answer 3

Vision is not a passive process, it is active
Selection of information to process further
Inhibition of other information

Question 4

Selective or focused attention

Answer 4

Ability to focus on a task/type of information while ignoring others

Question 5

Divided attention

Answer 5

Ability to manage several tasks at the same time

Question 6

Sustained attention

Answer 6

Ability to perform a task for a long period of time (significant drop after 30 min)

Question 7

Selective Attention

Three Elements

Answer 7

Orienting to sensory events
Detecting signals for focussed processing
Maintaining a vigilant or alert state

Question 8

Cocktail party effect

Answer 8

Selective auditory attention, ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment

Question 9

Dichotic listening paradigm: shadowing procedure

Answer 9

No memory for the content of the ignored ear (even if repetitions or reversed message)

Question 10

Early selection theory

Answer 10

Physical features of sensory information are registered, inputs analysed according to these features

Question 11

Late selection theory

Answer 11

Physical features and meaning of inputs are processed before selection takes place

Question 12

Attenuation theory

Answer 12

Relevant information can pass through the filter
Some highly important words (first name, ‘ fire! ’) or very likely words in a given context (ex. ‘drum’ after ‘instrument’) have a lower detection threshold

Question 13

Spotlight metaphor

Answer 13

Attention highlights an area; which is processed more efficiently - Selection
Attention moves – Displacement
cost of invalid trials
the spotlight can’t be split in 2
its size is fixed

Question 14

Zoom metaphor

Answer 14

Attention can cover an area varying in size
For large areas: gross information (low spatial resolution)
For narrow areas: detailed information (high spatial resolution)

Question 15

Endogenous

Answer 15

-> top down cue
e.g. directional arrow which can be ignored
Shift of attention is voluntary and slow

Question 16

Exogenous

Answer 16

-> bottom up cue
e.g. flashing box which cannot be ignored
Shift of attention is automatic and fast

Question 17

Object-based attention

Answer 17

your attention has spread within the object following the cue
People have spread their attention over the whole display
Better performance if answer concerns one object rather than two

Question 18

Head-up displays

Answer 18

Help detecting the runway, but not unexpected events! Actually worse!

Question 19

Change blindness

Answer 19

Flicker paradigm
Mudsplashes
Blink (Rensink et al., 1998)
Gradual changes
→ Disruption or gradual aspect suppress bottom-up / exogenous signal

Question 20

Failures of attention: Top-Down Modulation

Answer 20

Change the height of barrier vs. change height of fence. Better at detecting changes that are relevant
Inattentional blindness (IB)

Question 21

Sources of limitations

Answer 21

Peripheral vision: But failures exist in central vision too!
Quantity of information: Bottleneck analogy (Pashler & Johnston, 1998)
Dual-task interference: Same or different modality

Question 22

Parallel or disjunctive search

Answer 22

We can see the whole field and the target pops out at us
Pre-attentive, bottom-up, exogenous
Not affected by the number of distractors
Orientation, colour, movement, size, depth

Question 23

Serial or conjunctive search.

Answer 23

If the target isn’t present you will respond after inspecting all, if present you will find after inspecting half.
Focal attention, top-down, endogenous
Affected by the number of distractors
Slower RTs if the target is absent (x 2)

Question 24

Parallel vs. Serial processing

Answer 24

Parallel processing: Distributed over the whole visual field, Automatic, the zoom is large
Serial processing: Focused, Attention moves sequentially from area to area, Cf. spotlight metaphor, Smaller zoom because we need to extract details, move spotlight around the display

Question 25

Search Asymmetry

Answer 25

Parallel search then serial search. Search asymmetry is the presence or absence of a feature in the search

Question 26

Feature integration theory

Answer 26

Features extracted pre-attentively
Different modules for different features (colour, orientation etc.)
Feature maps within each module
Unique feature -> unique activity in a separate map
Conjunctive search: Combines activity in different maps, focal attention, detects presence of features faster than their absence

Question 27

Guided search theory

Answer 27

Items analysed by features

Salience map from bottom-up + top-down factors, Search guided by salience – Some items have more weight

Question 28

Visual search in practice

Answer 28

People are a bit slower when they must look for something new. Training is quite difficult to get benefits.
Scanning strategy does not improve with practice (target not fixated more often)
Target recognition improves (stimulus specific)
Training should focus on perceptual organisation and object recognition

Question 29

Visual neglect from damages

Answer 29

Unilateral visual neglect
Inability to process information in half of visual field
If there is competition for information then one side will be neglected

Question 30

Three-stage model of attention

Answer 30

Disengagement (parietal cortex): Very slow RTs for trials with invalid cue in the ipsi-lesional field and target in the contra-lesional field
Movement/Shift (superior colliculus): Slow RTs to cued targets in the contra-lesional area
Engagement (pulvinar in the thalamus): Slow RTs for targets in the contra-lesional area (valid & invalid trials)

Question 31

Blindsight

Answer 31

Idea of allowing judgements but not awareness
Other evolutionary ancient pathway, Before the optic nerve gets to the LGN it branches off to the superior colliculus, connects mostly to parietal, somewhat temporal

Question 32

Backwards Masking

Answer 32

Stimulus then mask over time, time between Inter-stimulus interval (ISI)
Masking Effectiveness Depends on:
- Timing (ISI)
- Stimulus intensity/contrast
- Stimulus content (e.g., emotional)
- Individual differences and criteria (later) - liminal, point of being able to see it

Question 33

Metacontrast Masking

Answer 33

The mask does not appear in the same place as the stimulus
ISI determines effectiveness of metacontrast masking
Intermediate ISI -> works alright
Works really well at short or long ISI’s
Difference in subjective awareness

Question 34

Binocular Rivalry

Answer 34

The image is stable and unchaining and yet something in our brain is choosing what to become aware of at any time

Question 35

Saccades are influenced by a variety of cognitive processes

Answer 35

Attention
Working memory
Long term memory
Learning
Decision making

Question 36

Fixation and object manipulation

Answer 36

Fixations precede object manipulation (~ 560 ms)
Move on to the next object ~ 610 ms before manipulation completed
A third of fixations on objects have one of four monitoring functions:
Locating objects for later use
Directing (hand or object) to a new location
Guiding the approach of an object to another
Checking the state (e.g. water level)

Question 37

Muscle positions in eyes

Answer 37

Primary position: eye is central in the socket
Secondary position: single horizontal or vertical rotation
Tertiary position: all other oblique directions
Muscles move the eyes but also keep them still!
Eye will move faster in a simple up/down motion or sideways

Question 38

3 components of a shift of (covert) attention

Answer 38

Disengagement (parietal cortex)
Shift/Movement (superior colliculus)
Engagement (pulvinar in the thalamus)

Question 39

Define Saccard

Answer 39

rotation of the eyes to bring a target into fovea
The 2 eyes turn in the same direction
30 - 40 ms
Up to 3 or 4 per seconds (> 150,000 a day)
A few degrees in size, larger during active tasks (18-20°) – See Land et al. (real world task)
Fast, stereotyped movements

Question 40

Visual grouping

Answer 40

Figure ground segregation
Law of proximity
Law of similarity
Law of good continuity
Law of closure

Question 41

Depth Cues

Answer 41

Aerial – atmospheric perspective: decrease of contrast as a function of distance
Relative size
Light and shadow
Colour -> far away is bluer
Texture Gradients
Interposition (or occlusion)
Linear Perspective

Question 42

Depth cues in prehistory

Answer 42

Relative size, some perspective

Question 43

Egyptian art

Answer 43

Elevation, occlusion, people’s size may depend on social status

Question 44

Greek art

Answer 44

Some linear perspective

Question 45

Renaissance

Answer 45

Linear perspective

Question 46

Brightness constancy challenge

Answer 46

Perceived brightness is identical regardless of the lighting, We use the context to estimate the reflectance of the object in terms of brightness