Attention
Is attention a limitless resource?
No
Describe Broadbent's filter theory
Attention acts like an on/off switch. Unattended information is not processed and has no impact on behavior
Describe late selection theories
Selection of stimuli for final processing does not occur until after information has been analyzed for meaning.
What is ironic about cognitive load and selection?
Sometimes, under low-load you can be more
distracted since information can ?break through?
What is inattentional blindness versus change blindness?
Inattentional blindness: failure to notice an unexpected event or object in clear view
Change blindness: failure to notice changes in a visual scene
What are the two theories of attention?
Early filter theories and late filter theories
Describe the dichotic listening task and how Broadbent's filter theory applies to it.
Participants are instructed to listen to to words in one ear and ignore the other ear where different words are played. According to Broadbent, the changes in the unattended ear should not be perceived at all.
How does the dichotic listening task work according to late selection theories?
Even though the word in the unattended ear wasn’t heard consciously, its meaning still affected the listener - so its meaning must have been processed.
Does multitasking work? Why or why not.
No, because people don't 'multitask,' they just split their attention between several tasks (task switching).
What experiments exemplified inattentional blindness versus change blindness respectively? Describe them.
The gorilla studies (double-dutch players and the lung node study)
The door study
How does attention act as a gatekeeper?
Selects some information for conscious thought and other information is inhibited or ignored
Describe Treisman’s attenuator model.
No filters, only attenuators. Attenuator analyzes for
physical characteristics, language, and meaning.
A “leaky filter” model
Describe the capacity theory of attention
Cognitive resources are finite. Attention is the process of allocating these resources to various “inputs.”
How does non-academic internet use in classrooms affect grades?
It is negatively related to classroom learning
What is overt attention and how do bottom-up and top-down processes affect overt attention?
Shifting attention from one place to another by
moving the eyes.
Top-down processing: your knowledge, interests, goals, expectations, task demands, etc. can affect where you look
Bottom-up processing: automatically noticing a visual stimuli because it is salient compared to what is around it (ex., a red flower among blue ones)
What were the early filter theories of attention?
Broadbent’s filter theory and Treisman’s attenuator model
How does the Cocktail Party experiment support Treisman’s attenuator model.
People were still able to hear information that had meaning to them despite not paying direct attention to it.
What is an automatic process?
Happens automatically and requires few cognitive
resources
Is texting and driving safe according to what we know about attention?
No
What is covert attention? How can we know if someone’s covert attention has shifted?
Shifting attention from one place to another
without moving one’s eyes.
What is a late filter theory of attention?
Capacity theory
Differentiate between words with low attenuation thresholds and high attenuation thresholds.
Bonus: what are these units called?
Words with lower thresholds will make it into your awareness even if the message has been attenuated down.
Dictionary units.
What is a low-load task versus a high-load task and which theory of attention does each align with?
Low-load: easy tasks requiring few resources
Late selection
High-Load: hard tasks requiring lots of resources
Early selection
Is talking on a phone hands-free while driving safer than texting and driving?
Bonus: how can inattentional blindness impact driving while using a cellphone?
No!
Increases the likelihood of missing crucial details
What methods do people use to search for things visually?
Feature search: searching for something based on its distinctive feature (ex., a red flower among blue ones)
Bottom-up
Conjunctive search: searching for an object using two or more features.
Top-down