Chapter 9: Attention as a limited capacity resource

What are the three stages of cognitive motor processes

• Stimulus Perception

• Response Selection

• Response Programming

Attention

Refers to characteristics associated with Consciouness, awareness, and cognitive effort as they relate to the performance of skills

Limitations in attention is associated with these characteristics on the

Simultaneous performance of multiple skills and Detection of revelant information in the performance environment

When is multitasking sometimes easy?

When you’re doing something that you know/used to

• Driving a car and eating

When is multitasking sometimes hard?

When one of the tasks requires more attention than the other

• Driving a car through construction while eating. You will stop eating and focus on driving

What environmental information captures our attention and why?

Easier to capture your attention for exciting or interesting things vs a boring professor

Filter Theories (bottleneck theories)

A person has difficulty multitasking simultaneously because the human information-processing system performs each of its functions in serial order, and other functions only one at a time.

Alternative Theories (Resource capacity theories)

Information processing functions could be carried out in parallel rather than serially, but attention limits were the result of the limited availability of resources needed to carry out those functions

Central-Resource Capacity Theories

Propose one central source of attentional resources for which all activities requiring attention compete

What is the diagram showing in regards to the Central-Resource Capacity Theory?

Each circle by itself fits inside the larger circle. Problems arise when we try to fit into the large circle more circles than will fit

Kahneman’s Attention Theory

Attention is a cognitive effort and is presented as a central pool of resources that has a flexible capacity.

• Amount of available attention that a person can give can vary depending on certain conditions (individual, task, or the situation)

Arousal level

The factor that influences the amount of attention capacity for a specific performance situation

When is maximum amount of attention available?

Only available when arousal level is optimal for the situation

Attention demans or requirements

Determines whether the amount of available attention capacity is sufficient for performing the multiple tasks

Kahnemans Rule 1

Ensure completetion of at least one task

• An activity may not be performed successfully if there is not enough capacity to meet the activites demands

Kahnemans Rule 2

Allocate attentional resources accourding to our enduring dispositions

• Novel for the situation

• Meaningfulness of the event

Kahnemans Rule 2: Novel for the situation

Typically involuntary direct our attention elsewhere, even when attending to something else at the time

• Distracted by a ball rolling into the road while driving, or something dropping during a lecture

Kahnemans Rule 2: Meaningfulness of the event

Involuntarily direct your attention to the event that is personal to you

• Cocktail party phenomenon: At a party talking to a group of people and you hear your name mentioned across the room. Redirect your attention to the other group wondering why you were mentioned, etc.

Kahnemans Rule 3: Momentary intentions

Person allocates attention according to their specific intentions

• self directed or instructional (told to do something and paying attention to that motion/moment)

Multiple Resource Theories

An alternative to theories proposing a one central resource. Proposes that we have several sources for attention and each source has a limited capacity of resources, each related to a specific information preocessing activity

Multiple resource theories: Multiple sources are available ffrom three different sources

1. Sensory in/output (vision, limbs, speech, proprioception)

2. Stages of information processing (perception, memory encoding, response output)

3. Codes of processing information, types of memory code (Verbal codes, spatial codes)

Using the multiple resource theory what happens when two tasks must be performed simutaneously and share a common resource?

They will be performed less well than when the two tasks compete for different resources

• Driving a car while talking to a passenger with light traffic vs with heavy traffic

  • Resource demand increases from input-output and stages of information processing as both contribute to carrying a conversation so you end up focusing more on driving.

Is it easier to perform a task that requires attention from 2 different modalities?

Yes

• If one task requies a hand response and one requires a vocal response, you should have little difficulty performing them simultaneously

Dual task procedure during experiments

Determines the attention demands and charaterisitics of the simultaneous performance of two different tasks

• Primary task and Secondary task

Primary task during experiments

Task of interest. Performance experimenters are observing in order to assess attention demands

• The performer may or may not need to maintain consistent primary attention when performing it alone vs with a secondary task

Secondary task during experiments

Performance is the basis to make intereferences about the attention demands of the primary task

Width of focusing attention HERE AND DOWN READ BOOK!!!

Focus can be broad or narrow

Example of broad focus

Driving with no traffic is an example. This is because once a “good” driver you don’t have to hyper focus on the road or light traffic. “Open lane highway”

Example of Narrow focus

Driving with heavy traffic or a lot of construction. You can no longer focus on other things, you focus on staying in your lane and not crashing

Direction of your focus/attention

Can be external or internal

• Focus on attention on “intended outcome” of movements rather than on movements themselves

• Internal or external

Internal direction of focus example

Focusing on your hand not shaking, or standing on one leg with your eyes closed (more difficult)

External direction of focus example

Making sure not to spill anything, or standing on one leg with your eyes open looking at a target. Focus is no longer on your body

Switching your focus/attention

Changing of attention focus characteristics in a situation that allows successful performance

Automaticity - skill level example

Driving and suddenly you’re home. How automated does the performance of complex skills become?

Visual search

The process of directing visual attention to locate relevant information in the environment

What is commonly used to investigate visual selective attention?

Eye-movement recordings

Is it possible to direct attention to an environmental feature without directly looking at it?

Yes eye-movement recordings identify focal vision not peripheral vision

Is it possible to make an eye movement without also making a shift in attention

No

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