Midterm Flashcards
1
Q
When did the concept of attention appear?
A
- Philosophical era (16th and 18th century
- Malebranch on dividing attention
- Leibniz on apperception (consciously aware of what is around us)
2
Q
Attention in the rise of experimental psychology?
A
- 1860-1909
- Helmholtz: direct attention without changing position of gaze (using peripheral vision)
- Structuralism: Wundt & Tichner = analysis of mental experience and how combine together during complex mental activity (attention is voluntary)
3
Q
What is William James (1890) take on attention?
A
- Getting best representation of what were directing our attention too
- Possibility of multiple trains of thought
- Can pay attention to multiple things
4
Q
What is James classification of attention?
A
- Attention is directed to objects of sense (taste, spatial, smell), and ideal/represented objects (symbols, mental representation)
- Attention is directed to immediate or past objects (memory)
- Attention can be passive/reflexive (loud noise diverts attention) or active/voluntary (I divert my own attention cosnciously)
5
Q
What is the ideomotor theory of action?
A
- An action/motor response requires attention
- Mental addition and ball squeeze study (did not squeeze ball as hard when adding math) = attention is needed for action/motor control
6
Q
What was the attention research in the 20th century?
A
- 1910-45: de-emphaisis on attentional mechanism except..
- Jersild: switching attention ( protocol on how well we can switch our attention from one thing to another)
- Stroop: interference (colored words - interference on mental representation)
- Cognitive revolution: WW2 military application and vigilance for paying attention to radar screens
7
Q
What is dichotic listening?
A
- Paying attention to both ears to two signals coming in
8
Q
What were the resource models for visual selective attention in 1970s?
A
- General/unitary resources Kahneman: general attention capacity and pool of attention resources that was limited
- Multiple resources: multiple attention capacities to do two things at same time without dropping our attention on both of them
9
Q
What are visual search research in 1980s to present?
A
- Posner Attentional spotlight metaphor = visual attention is like spotlight, can see more clearly when attention is directed (wtv is outside is less clear)
- Treisman feature integration theory: how we perform visual search look for features
10
Q
What are the selection for action in 1980s to present?
A
- Allport: no capacity limitation, other mechanism such as coordination that limits processing
11
Q
What are the neuroscience approaches in 1980s to present?
A
- Neuroscience (ERP and FMRI, PET) allow to pinpoint neural circuits that are relevant for different tasks
12
Q
What are the assumptions of one taxonomy of attention?
A
- We have limited capacity to process info
- Selection: narrow down options for info processing
- Modulation: manage to channel our processing capacity (modulate auditory environment)
- Vigilance: maintenance of attentional focus over time
13
Q
What are the main takeaways from A taxonomy of attention from Chun et al.,?
A
- Internal attention: task rules, response, LTM, working memory
- External attention: features, objects, sensory modality’s, spatial location, time points
- Goal directed attention can influence both internal and external objects
- Stimulus driven attention only operates on external targets
14
Q
What are the different functions of selective attention?
A
- Perception: restrict features that you are looking for to not over load system bc have many streams (binding problem)
- Awareness: prepare cognitive system for further processing (pre-perception), priming to detect target = efficient to perceive
- Action: Perform certain response to stimulus, effector system (motor/motion) carry one response at a time
15
Q
What is selection?
A
- Implies choice, reduction of possible stimuli, narrowing down processing of incoming information, or possible responses
16
Q
What is early selection?
A
- Implies that selection occurs before perceptual or interpretive analysis
17
Q
What is late selection?
A
- Implies that selection occurs after many stimuli are analyzed to the meaning level/categorical level
18
Q
What are the different components of the Broadbents Filter Theory?
A
- Different messages come into input channels, they go into selective filter, one message goes through to the limited capacity decision channel (interacts with LTM) and then response
- one message goes through further processing
- Filter works on basis of physical features
- Early selection model
19
Q
What are the components of Treismans Attenuation Theory?
A
- Different signals, unattended channels receive more level of analysis than message that reached awareness, non target information gets attenuated but is not completely lost
- Cocktail party phenomena
- Late selection model
20
Q
What are the components of Normans Pertinence model?
A
- Multiple streams of info are let through
- Multiple streams are analyzed with respect to our memory representation
- certain concepts in our LTM that are more pertinent to us and these representations receive extra boost of activation that is more analyzed (goes through filter and comes to awareness)
- Late selection model
21
Q
What is the research of Yantis and Johnson?
A
- research question: are unattended stimuli processed to identification (if yes = favor late selection model)
- Method: circular display of letters, presented spatial cue (directing attention), varied location of redundant target
- Results: proximal redundant targets facilitated RT => attended regions of space are processed to identification (late selection)
22
Q
How do we see visual attentions as a spotlight?
A
- enhances efficiency of detection within beam of light/attention
- Harder to process info around edges (spatially defined)
23
Q
Can the spotlight of attention change size?
A
- Spotlight can change in scope depending on the task
- Research where they changed instruction and so attentional spotlight changed size depending on task
24
Q
What is the global precedence effect?
A
- Navon research question: is it easier to ignore global or local features?
- Methods: identify global or local letter, varied congruency (congruent = global F composed of small F, incongruent = global F composed of smaller T)
- Results: found no effect of congruency for global trials but significant congruency effects for local trials = we process global properties before finer grained properties
25
For visual search, what is parallel/feature search?
- Participants know what the target is in an array of non targets
Feature search is associated with target are very distinct from features that make up the non target
26
For visual search, what is serial/conjunction search?
- Need to combine more than one kind of visual search (two features together), i.e; find orange AND square
27
Is there a set size effect (number of objects in display)?
- Inefficient search = conjunction search (target B and other target look like letter B (letter P, so not distinct to target)
- Efficient search = feature search
- Looked at search time
- Results: can analyze to identify level your stimuli in parallel and it is very fast (almost flat function), whereas conjunction search takes longer to search when the set size is bigger
28
What are the aging effects of conjunction and feature search?
- Methods: tested people age 8 to 80, all unfilled dots and sqaures = conjunction, find filled dot among all unfilled dots = feature
- Results: Conjunction search: regardless of age group showed increase with age => as we age takes longer to search for items in conjunction search, whereas feature search RT is not affected by age
29
What are the components of the feature integration theory?
- feature map: for each type of feature we have map
- Attention: acts as glue to integrate the features in order to search for compound stimuli
- Master map of location: temporary representation of feature conjunctions based on spatial location
- Object files: combined features observed at each location
- object frame: where each object file is compared to object frame which is stored in memory
- When object frame and file match the participants arrive at yes decision
30
What is the argument against FIT-attentional engagement theory?
- Duncan and Humphrey
- Accounting for pop out of some conjunction search targets
- Search time depends on target distractor similarity and distractor heterogeneity (non target are varied, many different distractors)
- Pop out can still occur for conjunction if teh distractors can be easily regrouped
31
What are the computational theories of visual search
- Guided search theory
- All search processes undergo two stages of evaluation
- Parallel stage: simultaneous activation of all potential targets
- Serial stage: sequential evaluation of all potential targets with that sub-set according to degree of activation
Now, it is a combination of parallel and effortful mechanism and not tow stage
32
What are the components of orienting visual attention?
- Covert: no saccade, info from periphery
- Overt: move eyes to new location
- Exogenous: reflexive, external event capture attention (peripheral)
- Endogenous: voluntary, driven by motive (centrally)
33
Endogenous vs exogenous orienting?
- Posner et al.,
- Research question: how does orienting facilitate target detection? are exogenous and endogenous orienting different?
- Methods: location cue provided centrally at fixation, a position cue is provided, respond to asterix stimulus which is either on left or right side with keypress, DV=RT
- Exogenous condition: central fixation, cue appears in periphery, respond with left or right key
- Endogenous condition: central fixation and cue appears foveally (middle fo display), respond with left or right
- Results: Longer RT for invalid cues compared to neutral or valid trials = distinction between endogenous and exogenous control of attention
34
What are the anterior and posterior systems?
- Posterior system: for covert orienting, parietal lobe damage, unilateral visual neglect cant detect events on one side of space
- Anterior system: overt orienting, frontal love and motor area for eye movements, controls detection of events
35
What is the dichotic listening technique?
- Wearing headphone and subjects need to shadow (told before which side to pay attention too) and so after hearing in one ear SS need to repeat, DV= measuring errors
36
What is the split span technique?
- Divide attention between two ears, simultaneous presentation of items in all channels, free recall, DV = measure of error
37
What were the early selection research evidence for dichotic listening study?
- Cherry: did not notice changes from english to german or speech played backwards (dichotic listening task)
- Moray: SS recognized own names in unattended ear (dichotic listening), argued against bottom up model like Broadbent
38
What was Treismans study on dichotic listening attenuator model?
- Treisman had listeners shadowing stories part way through spliced the tape so that the story flipped to unattended channel, observed that SS flipped attention to unattended channel
- Attenuator model: allowed for information to unattended channel to be processed to level of meaning (cross over),
39
What was Corteen and Woods study?
- Train electric shocks paired with city names
- Measure galvanic skin response during dichotic listening
- GSRR effect for primed names and other city names in unattended channel = generalizing
- Shows that there s an extent to which unattended auditory info s processed
40
What was Gray and Wedderburn study on split span?
- Presented a mixture of numbers and letters to each ear
- Found that SS reported all items from the same category before reporting the rest
- consistent with pertinence and either late selection model
- semantic features and probability change over time
- Shows that there s an extent to which unattended auditory info s processed
41
What was Conway, Cowan and Bunting study?
- Compared high and low memory span SS
- Tested for cocktail party phenomena
- Found greater effect for low span SS
- Suggest individual differences in attentional control
- Shows that there s an extent to which unattended auditory info s processed
42
What is Lavies perceptual load theory?
- Lavie proposed that attentional control may be moderated by perceptual load
- Manipulated: set size, feature vs conjunction based identification, simple detection vs size and location judgment
- Distractor interference was found under low-load condition and not high load condition
- Method: compared incompatible (person respond just to middle zone, Z key) to neutral condition (the distractor info, other letter), then compared neutral vs compatible condition (if pay attention to distractor then helps speed response bc same as target)
- result = interference effect under low perceptual load
43
How do we orient to target information for audition?
- Frequency and location
44
What is the probe signal paradigm for selection using frequency information?
- two phases, first in learning phase where people have to be used to tone at certain frequency and pitch (target signal) then test phase (second phase) people receive two short presentation that there is noise either white noise (one of two samples contain target signal), participant have to say 1 or 2 which indicates which two presentation has target signal
- result: detection accuracy drops sharply for signals of differing frequency
45
What is the difference between interaural time difference and interaural level difference?
- ITD: offset of info reaching each ear
| - ILD: offset of volume reaching each ear
46
What is the auditory attention study in virtual world?
- Q: how do young and older adults differ in this ability during everyday life?
- Method: simulated street crossing used to study listening and walking, spatial hearing task (fixed sentence structure = "ready (Hopper = call sign), go to color and number", hear from three different locations, at the same time people walking on treadmill, condition listening and condition walking and condition listening and walking, predictable and unpredictable
- results: if just listening there is age difference, in unpredictable everyone's performance goes down for listening, unpredictable and walking and listening there is a decrease in older adults
- older adults more vulnerable for dividing attention
47
How are inhibitory processes heterogenous?
- Access: suppress distracting info from entering WM
- Deletion: suppress no longer or previously processed info
- Restraint: suppression of pre potent or automatic responses
48
What is the Stroop task?
- Name color of each item (block or word), DV = RT
- SS try to ignore or downregulate to say word itself as in opposition of color of ink
- Result: people are efficient at inhibiting the inhibition (deletion and restraint)
- Did this with words that were similar to color = small slowing down of RT
49
What is the Flanker Test?
- Look at display that has central item and on either side there are flankers (other objects), instruction is to attend to target item so other stimuli need to be ignored
- compatible trial = flankers pointing same direction as target
- incompatible trials: flankers pointing opposite of target
- Compared bilingual and monolingual and found bilinguals were better at inhibition than monolinguals
50
What was the study of Inhibiton of return?
- cued and uncued location
- The eyes want to go to a new location and not same location, if show a cue here and they look here then when target appears in same location, they eyes (attention) don’t want to go there so want to go to novel location, more adaptive to go to another location
- Bias towards novelty
51
What is negative priming and hwo do you measure it?
- Sequential
- Selecting one piece of info and by sheer act of selecting one thing we are down regulating or inhibiting the non target competitors
- Measure negative priming: Stage 1 = what is target and distractors (prime trial = distractor inhibited)
Probe trial = target is same as prime trial distractor
- response to probe trial is slower because of residual inhibition of prime trial distractor
52
What is backward inhibition?
- For every display there is a new instruction
Each task is getting you to focus on different characteristics/features of display
- Need to inhibit previous relevant instruction (WM)
- Longer RT
- Deletion of instruction
53
What was Wegners take on thought suppression?
- Two processes: state that we want to promote and second process monitors failed control (activate things we want to suppress
54
What was Wegners research on mood suppression?
- subjects recounted happy or sad event
- told to feel happy, not told, or told to not feel happy
- half had a cognitive load = 9 digits
- cognitive load resulted in opposite mood states
55
What was found for Directed forgetting?
- Zacks et al.,
- Test young vs old adults, 24 words, green =remember, red = forget, test phase = recall only remember words
- Results: more forgotten words recalled by older adults than young adults
- Implication: in aging the mental process that seem to be sensitive to cognitive aging is inhibitory processes
56
What is the stop signal paradigm?
- Participants have to watch computer screen and have one button to press and when seeing stimulus you press the button as fast as possible
- An auditory cue is played that indicates you should not press key
- Get practice from motor response, pre program muscles to press key fast, point of not return bc hand is practically on key
57
What is selecting for attention?
- Effortful
- Require to ignore temporarily
- Control of action works against bottoms up choices
58
What is executive control?
- Non specialized at any one task or process
| - coordinates and imposes priority on several sub goals
59
What is the supervisory attentional system?
- Go along sensory info coming in, perceptual system processes things to level of identity and here are multiple streams of info, the trigger databases of different responses
- Those responses are in the SAS where it focuses on one response that comes out of effector system (motor)
- SAS is important for when system has to do something novel
60
What is the attention switching paradigm to study executive control?
- Present stimuli that are bivalent (two kinds of instructions with one stimulus), then instruct SS to witch from one tast set to another
61
What was Jersild finding for alternation cost?
- List of number shown and SS are asked to subtract two from each number shown
- The n second task asked to subtract two and add 6
- Takes longer to do the switch condition than non switch
= cost of switching or alternating attention
62
What was Monsell explanation of task set reconfiguration for explaining cost?
- Reason for slow down = having to disengage from first task and do new task into WM
- evidence for this = univalent stimuli produce small task switch cost
- evidence: lengthening response stimulus interval (RSI) reduces switch costs
- alternating runs paradigm (Rogers and Monsell) = reduce memory load between pure block and alternating blocks
63
What was found for switch cost for Rogers and Monsell research?
- Rt are longer for switch trials than repeat trials
- blocks of switch repeat, switch, repeat, upper half was instructed to say number and bottom half was count the numbers = memory load is constant
- Despite lengthening RSI there is still switch cost
64
What is the task set inertia hypothesis by Alport et al.,)
- Counter Monsell observation on switch cost even with lengthening RSI
- Stroop task: easy task: word, hard task: color name
- Stage 1: all neutral
- Stage 2: color, neutral
- Stage 3: all stroop
- Result: In stage 3, now both tasks have interference, but the switch costs are greater for the word reading task than for the colour naming task.
- That is, the switch costs are great when you need to switch AWAY from the hard task, presumably because you needed to suppress the strong tendency to word read. Compare that to stage 2, where there was no need to suppress the strong tendency to word read.
- Slow down is due to suppression of dominate task set, returning to easy task requires overcoming carry over inhibition of task set
65
What was tested for attentional capacity?
- Dual task methodology
- Do task A of memorizing
- Do task B of skipping
- Do both task A and B together
- Find dual task cost (DTC)
66
What are the factors influencing dual task cost?
- data/resource limits
- Expertise/practice
- Automatic vs effortful processing
- Stimulus response compatibility
67
What was the research for data and resource limitations?
- Task A: sentence completion
- Task B: Standing balance
- Compare single and dual task performance
- Use age and attention interactions which was exaggerated with comparing fallers (sensorimotor compromised)
- Age related decline in attentional capacity
68
What was the research for expertise/practice?
- Does expertise reduce dual task cost?
- Task A: color identification
- Task B: identify if stimulus is a B or C
- Task C: mix pure A+B task together
- 5 session of training in all three conditions
- Greatest improvement was in dual mixed trails supporting idea that practice improves dual task
69
What was the research for automatic vs effortful processing?
- What stages of processing are automatic versus effortful
- Task A: visual task yes or no (do you see matching letters Bb)
- Task B is auditory tone
- Waiting period up until SS here tone where they have to press key (tone varies)
- If tone played before presentation of second letter, tone detection was slow
- Within a task you can see variable needs for attentional capacity and so it is not uniform it depends on stage processing
70
What was the research for stimulus response compatibility?
- Did the same experiment as automatic vs effortful, but instead of pressing key when hearing tone, you just say "bip" (remove competition)
- Found no dual task cost
- Implies a response bottleneck
71
What is the bottleneck effect?
- When doing two tasks at the same time, when can you truly do it at the same time and when can you only do one and not the other
- Stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) = time interval between onset of S1 and S2
- short SOA leads to slow down in task 2 performance
- Attentional bottleneck is in decision phase (3 phases = input, decision and response)
-
72
What phase if processing has capacity limits?
- Middle phase-decision making that has greatest attentional limitations
- McLead said that if take away attention the bottleneck would be at processing stage
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