Week 11 - Attention & Executive Function Flashcards
(32 cards)
What is attention in cognitive science?
Attention refers to systems that select, prioritize, and regulate information processing.
What are the three attention networks?
Orienting, Alerting, and Executive Attention.
What does Orienting Attention do?
Directs attention to elements in a scene; develops early and is supported by subcortical structures.
What is Alerting Attention responsible for?
Maintains attentional arousal based on prediction or expectation.
What are the sub-processes of Executive Attention?
Inhibitory Control, Shifting, and Updating.
What is Inhibitory Control?
Suppressing automatic or impulsive responses.
What is Shifting (in EF)?
Switching between tasks, goals, or mental sets.
What is Updating (in EF)?
Keeping relevant info in working memory while discarding irrelevant info.
What does the Attention Network Test (ANT) measure?
Efficiency of alerting, orienting, and executive attention using reaction times.
What is the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task?
Task measuring cognitive flexibility by requiring children to switch sorting rules.
What developmental milestone is seen in the DCCS?
Around age 4, children begin successfully switching between sorting rules.
What does the Marshmallow Test measure?
Delay of gratification and self-regulation.
What predicts later success from the Marshmallow Test?
Better self-regulation at age 4 predicts later academic and social competence.
What is the Representational Complexity Account?
Children fail DCCS because they can’t handle embedded rule structures.
What is the Attentional Inertia Account?
Children get ‘stuck’ on the original rule and can’t shift focus.
What is the Active-Latent Memory Account?
Children can’t maintain the new rule actively in working memory, so revert to habit.
What is the Conceptual Redescription Account?
Children struggle to represent the same object in two ways.
What are the three core Executive Functions?
Inhibition, Shifting, and Updating.
What is the Unity and Diversity Account of EF?
EFs are related but distinct, with a Common EF factor plus domain-specific ones.
What did Friedman et al. (2011) find about EF development?
Low control in toddlers predicted lower Common EF and higher Shifting-specific EF at age 17.
What is proactive vs. reactive control?
Proactive: planful and anticipatory; Reactive: on-the-fly response.
What is counterfactual reasoning?
Imagining what might have happened under different circumstances.
At what age does counterfactual reasoning emerge?
Basic skills around age 4–5; more complex reasoning by 6–7.
What is false-belief understanding?
Understanding that others can hold beliefs different from your own or reality.
