PSYC18 Reporter 1

Question 1

Active processing of a limited amount of information from the enormous amount of information available through our senses, our stored memories, and our other cognitive processes.

Answer 1

ATTENTION

Question 2

FUNCTIONS & THEORIES OF ATTENTION

Answer 2

1. Signal Detection and Vigilance
2. Search
3. Selective Attention
4. Divided Attention

Question 3

Detection of the appearance of a particular stimulus.

Answer 3

Signal Detection and Vigilance

Question 4

Finding signals amidst distracters.

Answer 4

Search

Question 5

Attending to some stimuli and ignoring others.

Answer 5

Selective Attention

Question 6

Allocating available attentional resources to coordinate performance of more than one task at a time

Answer 6

Divided Attention

Question 7

The detection of a crucial stimulus among the mass of stimuli in a certain area.

Answer 7

Signal Detection

Question 8

A person’s ability to attend to a field of stimulation over a prolonged period, during which they seek to detect the presence of a target stimulus.

Answer 8

Vigilance

Question 9

theory explains how people detect a target stimuli (signal) when embedded in a wealth of irrelevant, distracting stimuli.

Answer 9

SIGNAL DETECTION THEORY

Question 10

Four possible outcomes of Signal Detection Theory:

Answer 10

Hit (true +)
False Alarm (false +)
Miss (true -)
Correct Rejections (false -)

Question 11

Correctly identifies the presence of a target.

Answer 11

Hit (true +)

Question 12

Incorrectly identifies the presence of a target that is actually absent.

Answer 12

False Alarm (false positive)

Question 13

failure to observe the presence of a target.

Answer 13

Miss (false negative)

Question 14

correctly identifies the absence of a target.

Answer 14

Correct Rejections (true negative)

Question 15

A scan of the environment for particular features.

Answer 15

Search

Question 16

These are non-target stimuli that divert our attention away from the target stimulus, which makes the search more difficult.

Answer 16

Distracters

Question 17

2 Two types of Search

Answer 17

Feature Search
Conjunction Search

Question 18

type of search where it scans the environment for a distinct feature (color or shape).

Answer 18

Feature Search

Question 19

type of search where it looks for a particular combination of features (color and shape).

Answer 19

Conjunction Search

Question 20

theory includes the relative ease of conducting feature searches and the relative difficulty of conducting conjunction searches.

Answer 20

FEATURE-INTEGRATION THEORY

Question 21

theory states that as the similarity between target and distracter stimuli increases, so does the difficulty in detecting the target stimuli.

Answer 21

SIMILARITY THEORY

Question 22

theory states that all searches, whether feature searches or conjunction searches, involve two consecutive stages

Answer 22

GUIDED SEARCH THEORY

Question 23

2 consecutive stages of Guided Search Theory:

Answer 23

Parallel Stage
Serial Stage

Question 24

stage where simultaneous activation of a mental representation of all the potential targets.

Answer 24

Parallel Stage

Question 25

stage where sequential evaluation of each of the activated features (acc. to degree of activation), and selection of true targets from the activated features.

Answer 25

Serial Stage

Question 26

Attending to some stimuli and to ignore others.

Answer 26

SELECTIVE ATTENTION

Question 27

process of tracking one conversation in the face of the distraction of other conversations

Answer 27

Cocktail Party Problem

Question 28

Filtering of information right after noticing it at the sensory level

Answer 28

BROADBENT’S MODEL

Question 29

listening to two different messages.

Answer 29

Shadowing

Question 30

presenting a separate message to each ear.

Answer 30

Dichotic Presentation

Question 31

model where messages that are of high importance to a person may break through the filter of selective attention. It blocks out most information at the sensory level, but personally important messages burst through the filtering mechanism.

Answer 31

SELECTIVE FILTER MODEL

Question 32

model where in a later filtering mechanism weakens (attenuates) the strength of stimuli other than the target stimulus.

Answer 32

ATTENUATION MODEL

Question 33

Attention is limited, but instead of completely blocking out distractions, we turn down the volume on the things we’re not focusing on.

Answer 33

Bottleneck

Question 34

Allocating available attentional resources to coordinate the performance of more than one task at a time.

Answer 34

DIVIDED ATTENTION

Question 35

a period where processes requiring attention must be handled sequentially.

Answer 35

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

Question 36

theory states that people have a fixed amount of attention that they can choose to allocate according to what the task requires. ● Two kinds of models: (1) There is one single pool of attentional resources that can be divided freely; (2) There are multiple sources of attention.

Answer 36

ATTENTIONAL-RESOURCES THEORY

Question 37

theory states that as each of the complex tasks becomes increasingly automatized, performance of each task makes fewer demands on limited-capacity attentional resources.

Answer 37

RESOURCE THEORY

Question 38

a complex concept and has no single agreed-upon definition.

Answer 38

Consciousness

Question 39

Characteristics/Definitions of Consciousness: (7)

Answer 39

→ An inherently subjective state. → Consciousness seems to be unitary. → An emergent property of the brain. → A natural process and byproduct of the brain’s nature. → Describes awareness of internal and external stimuli. → An awareness of one’s surroundings and of what’s in one’s mind at a given moment. → The limited portion of the mind of which we are aware at any given moment (global workspace).

Question 40

theory states that thoughts and perceptions don't happen in a single place or in a fixed order. Instead, different pieces of information are processed at different times and in different parts of the brain

Answer 40

DENNETT’S MULTIPLE DRAFTS THEORY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Question 41

Parts of Dennet's Theory

Answer 41

Parallel Processing Editing before Awareness Awareness happens at different stages

Question 42

TWO DIMENSIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Answer 42

Wakefulness Awareness

Question 43

the degree of alertness reflecting whether a person is awake or asleep.

Answer 43

Wakefulness

Question 44

monitoring of information from the environment and from one’s own thoughts.

Answer 44

Awareness

Question 45

THREE LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Answer 45

Minimal Consciousness - Coma - Vegetative State - Minimally Conscious State Moderate Consiousness - Freud's Preconscious - Sleeps and Dreams Full Consciousness - Flow State - Mindfulness

Question 47

Level of Consciousness where people are barely awake or aware.

Answer 47

Minimal Consciousness

Question 48

Level of Consciousness where people are in between being fully awake and completely unconscious.

Answer 48

Moderate Consciousness

Question 50

The person is completely unresponsive, with eyes closed.

Answer 50

Coma

Question 51

The person’s eyes may be open, but they are not aware of their surroundings (wakeful -ness without awareness).

Answer 51

Vegetative State

Question 52

The person shows some intentional behavior, (tracking movement with eyes) but cannot fully communicate.

Answer 52

Minimally Conscious State

Question 53

Thoughts that are not actively thought about but can be recalled when needed.

Answer 53

Freud’s Preconscious.

Question 55

When we sleep, we are not fully unconscious. We can still hear important sounds while ignoring others. However, there is a mental barrier that blocks most outside sensations.

Answer 55

Sleep and Dreams

Question 56

This happens when a person is deeply focused on an activity they enjoy and do well.

Answer 56

Flow State

Question 57

Being fully aware of the present moment.

Answer 57

Mindfulness