attention 2

What is the main focus of the lecture on visual attention?

The distinctions in attention, including bottom-up vs. top-down processes.

What is 'choice blindness'?

A phenomenon where participants fail to detect mismatches between their intentions and outcomes, often making up reasons for choices they did not actually make.

What are the two types of attention discussed?

Bottom-up (exogenous) and top-down (endogenous) attention.

How does bottom-up attention function?

It is controlled by peripheral stimuli, such as a loud noise or flashing light that grabs attention.

What is top-down attention?

A deliberate shift of attention based on goals or intentions.

What is overt orienting?

The movement of sensory receptors (like eyes) to the location of an external stimulus.

What is covert orienting?

Prioritizing a part of the visual field without moving the eyes.

What is the 'spotlight' metaphor in attention?

Attention acts like a spotlight that enhances the detection of events within its beam.

What is the Posner spatial cueing task?

A task designed to test the orienting of attention using valid and invalid cues to measure response times.

What is an exogenous orienting cue?

A stimulus in the environment that grabs attention, also known as bottom-up attention.

What is an endogenous orienting cue?

A cue where the individual decides what to attend to, also known as top-down attention.

What happens during valid trials in the cueing task?

Attention facilitates processing, leading to faster responses.

What happens during invalid trials in the cueing task?

Attention slows processing, leading to slower responses.

What is the significance of attention in visual search?

Attention is a limited resource that prioritizes information for deeper processing and action.

What is an example of a visual search task mentioned?

Finding the letter 'T' or a red square in a visual array.

What is the difference between parallel and serial visual search?

Parallel search is fast and occurs when a target 'pops out', while serial search is slow and involves checking items one by one.

What is an illusory conjunction?

A type of attentional failure where features from different objects are incorrectly combined.

What is unilateral neglect?

A condition where individuals fail to attend to one side of their visual field.

What does the term 'inattentional blindness' refer to?

The failure to notice a fully visible but unexpected object because attention is engaged elsewhere.

How does attention influence information processing?

Information within the spotlight of attention is processed faster than information outside of it.

What is the nature of visual search in the wild?

It can be a serial process where targets with unique features are easier to find than those with shared features.

What is the difference between parallel search and serial search?

Parallel search allows for easy detection of unique features, while serial search involves scanning through visual space, becoming harder with more distractors.

What evidence supports the role of attention in perception?

Dichotic listening experiments, perception of ambiguous figures, and spatial cueing tasks.

What are common symptoms of unilateral neglect?

Patients may ignore one side of their body, fail to groom or eat from that side, and bump into objects on the neglected side.

What does Treisman & Gelade's Feature Integration Theory suggest?

Attention binds separate features of an object into a single perceived entity; without attention, features may remain unbound.

What is inattentional blindness?

The failure to notice events in a scene due to attention being focused elsewhere or cognitive overload.

What factors increase the likelihood of inattentional blindness?

High attentional load, time pressure, strong top-down goals, unexpected events, brief duration, peripheral location, and low contrast.

How can the risk of inattentional blindness be reduced?

By lowering cognitive load, increasing the salience of unexpected events, and implementing check-back scans.

What is the difference between inattentional blindness and change blindness?

Inattentional blindness involves missing unexpected events while change blindness involves missing changes across frames.

What is the significance of attention in visual perception?

Attention is selective; unexpected events may be invisible if they do not fit current goals.

What is the role of the parietal cortex in feature binding?

It is critical for binding features into coherent objects, as shown in studies with patients having parietal lesions.

What does the term 'binding problem' refer to?

The challenge of correctly associating features of an object (like color and shape) during perception.

What happens when the attentional spotlight is damaged?

Features may remain unbound, leading to illusory conjunctions or errors in binding.

What is the primary focus of the spatial cueing task?

To assess how attention can enhance perception by directing focus to specific locations.

What is the impact of cognitive overload on attention?

It can lead to inattentional blindness, where individuals fail to notice important events due to divided attention.

What does the example of Bill in the bathroom illustrate?

It demonstrates unilateral neglect, where he neglects the left side of his body and environment.

What is the relationship between attention and perception?

Attention is necessary for perception; without it, important features may be overlooked or misbound.

What is the conclusion drawn from studies on attentional failures?

Attention is crucial for effective perception, and deficits can lead to significant perceptual errors.

What does the term 'top-down goals' refer to in the context of attention?

The expectations or objectives that guide where attention is focused during a task.

What is the significance of the 'master map' in Feature Integration Theory?

It represents the spatial layout of features that attention selects from to bind into coherent objects.

How does attention function as 'glue' in perception?

It binds together features of objects, allowing for coherent perception of singular entities.

What is the primary task in the visual search experiments mentioned?

To identify specific features (like letters and numbers) while assessing attentional focus and binding.

What is the impact of unexpected events on attention?

They can go unnoticed if they do not align with the current attentional focus or goals.