Problem 1 - Attention

Question 1

In-attentional blindness

Answer 1

• failure to notice unexpected objects
• we can only process one stream of information at a time, effectively filtering other information from awareness

Question 2

Dichotic listnening

Answer 2

• two different speech streams = one on left ear, one on right ear.
• selective attention: focusing on only one stream (blocking teh other) = cognitive deafness
• notice large physical changes
• power of attention: filtering extraneous information. Consequences (miss obvious and important signals).
• same pattern observed for vision too.

Question 3

Influences for noticing

Answer 3

1. Bright and large objects
2. Effort

Question 4

Individual differences

Answer 4

• greater working memory capacity = more likely to notice unexpected objects.
• more resources available = spot other aspects of the world.

Question 5

Mistaken intuitions of in-attentional blindness

Answer 5

• 78% think they would notice unexpected events
• explanation: based on our experiences.

Question 6

evolution of our attention

Answer 6

• unexpected events must happen infrequently = there should be no evolutionary change
• most events dont require our immediate attention = it delays our ability to notice the events = consequences are minimal but present now more than back then.

Question 7

Conclusion for in-attentional blindness

Answer 7

• no magical elixir that will overcome the limits of attention.
• mitigating the consequences: recognize false intuitions, maximize attention, pay attention to things others may not notice.

Question 8

Selective attention: cocktail party phenomenon

Answer 8

• process of tracking one conversation in the face of the distraction of other conversations.
• selective attention is salient in these settings

Question 9

Factors for selective attention

Answer 9

1. Distinctive sensory characteristics of the target’s speech
2. Sound intensity
3. Location of the sound source

Question 10

Advantages of attending to physical properties (Selective attention)

Answer 10

1. Avoid being distracted by the semantic content
2. The louder the better
3. Turning our heads towards the source

Question 11

Filter/bottleneck theories of selective attention (early):

Answer 11

• filter theories: blocks some of the information passing through
• bottleneck theories: slows down information passing through

Question 12

Filter/bottleneck theories of selective attention (early): broadbent’s model

Answer 12

• filter attention right after we notice it at a sensory level.
• multiple channels of sensory input reach an attentional filter (distinguished by characteristics)
• filter permits only one channel to reach processes of perception

Question 13

Filter/bottleneck theories of selective attention (early): moray’s model

Answer 13

• the selective filter blocks out most information at the sensory level but important messages are so powerful and break through the filtering mechanism.

Question 14

Filter/bottleneck theories of selective attention (early): attenuation model (anne treisman)

Answer 14

• instead of blocking stimuli out, the filter merely weakens the strength of the stimuli other than the target stimulus.

Question 15

Filter/bottleneck theories of selective attention (late): deutsch’s model

Answer 15

• stimuli are filtered out only after they have been analyzed for both physical properties and their meaning.
• allows people to recognize information entering the unattended ear.

Question 16

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: abstract

Answer 16

• human cognitive system is fundamentally limited in deploying attention over time = attentional blink (impaired ability to identify the second of two visual targets presented in close succession).
• attentional blinks ameliorates when engaged in distracting mental activity.

Question 17

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: introduction

Answer 17

• attention is limited
• report shows the benefits of task-irrelevant mental activity on performance of a task that does not involve automated procedural skills but instead relies on paying attention to visual input.
• attentional blink: processing of stimuli 1 (T1) takes up limited attentional resources and so either resources for T2 are denied or T2 is so vulnerable that is easily suffers from interference from temporally surrounding distractor letters.

Question 18

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: conditions

Answer 18

1. Control: concentrate and report as many targets correctly as possible
2. Free-association: while doing the task, they should think about their recent holiday/shopping requirement for a party. Increase in T2 is expected (due to distraction task)
3. Listening to music: performing the task while listening to music
4. Reward: payment according to performance

Question 19

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: methods

Answer 19

• 66 pp
• stimuli and task was the same for all conditions.
• task: identify T1 and T2

Question 20

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: results

Answer 20

1. Control: suffered considerable across all lags (except lag 1 sparring)
2. Free-association: T1 did not deteriorate, shift of attentional resources to T2.
3. Music: dramatic improvement
4. Reward: no significant improvement (motivation doesn’t influence performance)

Question 21

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: discussion

Answer 21

• attention improves when the task is accompanied by task-irrelevant mental activity

factors:
1. Arousal: modulates attentional focusing (low arousal = better performance)
2. Positive affective state: improves performance for broad, flexible and operating mode tasks.
3. Additional task: induced a more distributed state of attention.

Question 22

Beneficial effect of concurrent task-irrelevant mental activity on temporal attention: conclusion

Answer 22

• distraction causes considerable improvements in detecting visual targets in a rapidly presented stream of items.
• implications for future research: how this interacts with general mental state.