psyc2050 lecture 6

These flashcards cover the key concepts and findings related to attention as discussed in the PSYC2050 lecture notes.

What are the early vs. late selection issues in attention?

The early selection theory proposes that stimuli are filtered before perceptual analysis, while the late selection theory argues that all stimuli are processed for meaning before any selection occurs.

What is visual search?

Visual search refers to the process of looking for a target object among distractors in a visual environment.

What is attentional blink?

Attentional blink is the phenomenon where the second of two targets cannot be perceived or recalled during a brief interval after the first target is detected.

What does Feature Integration Theory propose?

Feature Integration Theory suggests that attention is required to bind different features of an object (like color and shape) into a unified perception.

What is change blindness?

Change blindness is the failure to notice large changes in a visual scene, often due to a lack of attention during a visual disruption.

What is dichotic listening?

Dichotic listening is a psychological test wherein different auditory messages are presented to each ear and the participant is instructed to attend to one message and ignore the other.

What is the cocktail party effect?

The cocktail party effect refers to the ability to focus on a specific conversation in a noisy environment while filtering out other auditory stimuli.

What factors affect visual attention?

Factors include the suddenness, intensity, and unexpectedness of stimuli, as well as the individual's goals and what they are searching for.

What is Bálint's syndrome?

Bálint's syndrome is a condition resulting from bilateral occipital/parietal lobe damage, causing difficulties in perceiving more than one stimulus at a time.

What did Broadbent's filter theory suggest?

Broadbent's filter theory posited that sensory inputs are filtered early in the process, allowing only attended information to proceed to further processing.

What is the significance of Kahneman's processing capacity theory?

Kahneman's theory emphasizes that attention limits are about how resources are allocated to tasks rather than the structural limitations of the cognitive system.

What characterizes a feature search in visual attention?

A feature search is characterized by a parallel processing of items where the target 'pops out' due to its distinct features, leading to a flat search slope irrespective of the number of distractors.

What distinguishes a conjunction search from a feature search?

A conjunction search requires individuals to identify a target that shares features with distractors; it is serial and results in a steeper search slope as set size increases.