Psyc 330 Chapter 5: Attention

selective attention

the act of restricting cognitive processing to a subset of environmental stimuli over space or time

dichotic listening

a task in which people wearing headphones hear different messages presented to each ear

shadowing

a task in which the individual is asked to repeat an auditory message as it is presented

inattentional blindness

a failure to notice or recognize an unexpected stimulus in plain sight

change blindness

a failure to notice a discrepancy between two visual scenes presented side-by-side or sequentially

early selection

the theory that attentional filtering of sensory information occurs prior to perceptual analysis and acquisition of meaning

late selection

the theory that attentional filtering of sensory information occurs only after perceptual analysis and acquisition of meaning has occurred

biased competition theory

the idea that attention causes neurons to be primed to the inputs to which they are sensitive (and other neurons to be less primed)

stimulus-based priming

priming that is produced by the stimuli that you have recently or frequently encountered; which is automatic and requires no attention

expectation-driven priming

priming that is based on what you are expecting to happen; which is deliberate and effortful, and can also have a cost

spatial cuing task

a task in which an observer must quickly indicate the location (e.g., left/right of fixation) of a target stimulus, which is sometimes indicated by a spatial prime

spatial priming

a type of priming, in which attention is directed by a cue to a particular location in advance of the appearance of a target stimulus

cue validity

refers to whether a spatial cue correctly indicates the location of a subsequent target stimulus

validity effect

in a spatial cuing task, the finding that, compared to no cue, a valid cue speeds responses to a target and an invalid cue slows responses

spotlight model

the idea that attention can be allocated to particular locations in the visual field (not necessarily where the eyes are fixated) to facilitate processing of information in that location

identity cuing

a type of expectation-based priming, in which participants are given information about a target (such as the fact that it is a letter) that facilitates its detection

limited capacity system

a description of attention emphasizing the fact that it is a finite cognitive resource

mental resources

Some process or capacity needed for performance

orienting system

an attentional system that reacts to events in the environment and is used to shift cognitive resources from one object or location to another

alerting system

an attentional system responsible for achieving and maintaining an alert state in the brain, helping one stay focused on a task

executive system

an attentional system in the cortex responsible for controlling voluntary action and inhibiting inappropriate responses

exogenous attention

attention that is automatically attracted by a sudden visual or auditory stimulus (bottom-up)

endogenous attention

attention that is directed voluntarily (top-down)

unilateral neglect

a failure of exogenous attention to stimuli on the left side of space following damage to the right inferior parietal lobe

visual search task

task in which one is asked to determine whether a target stimulus is present or absent in a visual display

distractors

items in a visual search array that are not the target stimulus

set size

the number of items appearing in a visual search display

feature search

a search task in which the target has a unique salient feature (e.g., a color or orientation) that differs from all distractors

conjunction search

a search task where the target has a unique combination of features that are also present among the distractors

feature integration theory (FIT)

the idea that focused attention is not required to detect the individual features that comprise a stimulus, but is required to bind those features together

preattentive stage

the first stage of feature integration theory in which individual visual features are detected automatically

attentive stage

the second stage of feature integration theory, in which features are bound (or "conjoined") together by focused attention

divided attention

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

resource specificity

The mental resources and processes that are used to set goals, choose task priorities, and avoid conflict among competing habits or response

task-specific resources

cognitive processes that are only used for certain functions

task-general resources

cognitive processes that are used for many different functions, such as executive control

perseveration

persistent repetition of the same word or idea in response to different questions

goal neglect

relying on habitual responses that are contrary to the aims of a particular task

automaticity

a state achieved when a well-practiced task can be performed with little or no attention

Stroop effect

the experimental finding that word meaning interferes with color naming more than vice-versa