9A – Divided Attention Practice Flashcards

30 vocabulary flashcards covering foundations of biological and cognitive psychology, specifically focused on divided attention, capacity theories, and automaticity.

Divided Attention

The attempt to multi-task or perform two tasks at once with some level of success.

Redelmeier & Tibshirani (1997)

Research findings suggesting that hands-free mobile phone use is not any safer than handheld phone use while driving.

Sullivan (1976)

Conducted a dichotic shadowing task where making the primary task more difficult (less predictable) resulted in fewer targets being detected in the non-attended message.

Perceptual Load theory

A theory mentioned in relation to the findings of Sullivan (1976) regarding task difficulty.

Treisman & Davies (1973)

Found that two tasks interfered much more when both tasks were in the same modality (e.g., both visual or both auditory).

McLeod (1977)

Showed that response similarity is important, finding that manual responses in a motor tracking task were more likely to interfere with other manual button presses than with spoken responses.

Sensitivity

A measure referring to how bright or loud a stimulus needs to be for detection; high sensitivity means tiny amounts could be detected.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

A central cognitive bottleneck where reaction times to a second target are substantially lengthened the closer it occurs in time to a first target.

Pashler et al. (2001)

Proposed that the response to a second stimulus is slowed during PRP because the participant is still processing the first stimulus.

Spelke, Hirst & Neisser (1976)

A study where two participants, Diane and John, practiced reading short stories while writing dictated words for $5\,hrs$ per week over $4\,months$.

Central Capacity Models

Theories assuming a limited central resource (e.g., central executive) where interference occurs if multiple tasks require more resource than total capacity allows.

Bourke et al. (1996)

Used four tasks (random letter generation, pattern learning, manual task, and tone detection) to demonstrate that the task most heavily loading central capacity interfered the most.

Multiple Resource Models

Theories (e.g., Wickens, 1984) suggesting separate capacity sources specialized for encoding, central processing, and response stages.

Encoding

The perceptual processing stage in multiple resource models involving visual or auditory inputs.

Central Processing

A stage in multiple resource models involving spatial or verbal codes.

Response Stage

The final processing stage in multiple resource models which can involve vocal or manual outputs.

Automatic Processing

Processes that are fast, require no attention, occur in parallel, are unavailable to consciousness, and are unavoidable.

Controlled Processing

Processes that are slow, require attention, use processing capacity, are serial, and are available to consciousness.

Stroop Effect

The interference observed when the automatic process of reading a word competes with the primary task of naming the color of the ink.

Shiffrin & Schneider (1977)

Researchers who distinguished between automatic and controlled processing using consistent and varied mapping conditions.

Consistent Mapping

A condition where the distinction between items (like consonants and numbers) is well-learned, allowing for automatic, parallel-like processing.

Varied Mapping

A condition requiring controlled, serial processing because the task demands change.

Norman & Shallice's Supervisory Attentional System (SAS)

A model distinguishing three levels of automaticity: fully automatic, partially automatic, and deliberate control for new or complex tasks.

Fully Automatic

A level in the SAS model where actions are controlled by schemas or organized plans.

Contention Scheduling

A level of automaticity in the SAS model that resolves conflicts between schemas without deliberate direction or conscious control.

Deliberate Control by SAS

Used for new tasks, planning, problem-solving, conflict monitoring, or when a strong habitual response must be inhibited.

Dysexecutive Syndrome

A set of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms often associated with frontal lobe damage, including difficulty planning and controlling action.

Utilization Behaviour (Lhermitte, 1983)

A condition associated with medial frontal lesions where patients grasp and use any object presented, even if the behavior is inappropriate.

RSVP Stream

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation, which is used in Attentional Blink studies but not typically in Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) studies.

Homunculus Problem

The theoretical issue of "what chooses" or "what does the controlling" in systems of executive function and supervisory attention.