PSYCH 240 LEC 7 (ATTENTION)

Stroop task focused vs. divided attention

1. Say the words of colors ~ 6 sec

2. Say the colors + the words corresponds to color ~ 6 sec

3. Ignore words, say the colors ~9 sec

Focused/Selective vs. Divided Attention

• Focused - Party and focus on the person in front of you

• Divided - Talking whilst driving with attention focused more on talking

Auditory attention

• Factors that influence our attention to respond to an auditory message

dichotic listening

• task to shadow (repeat back) to the assigned message and disregard the other unattended message

shadowing

• repeat back

basis for selection

= Auditory

• 1. Location

  • Select your attention to someone close to you

• 2. Physical characteristics

  • Male voice with low freq.

  • Female voice with high freq.

• 3. NOT Meaning

  • Harder if same location + physical characteristics

  • CANNOT use meaning to selectively attend to a channel

unattended message

• Little memory for message

• Not noticed if it’s in another language

• Not aware of meaning

processing of unattended info

ALSO flaws in the early filtering theory

• Galvinic Skin Response to Conditioned Words (Lie Detector)

  • Even if unaware of the words

• Will notice Name

• Bilinguals will notice unattended message in their language so unattended = attended message

Early vs. late selection/filtering

Early = Filters first then recognition occurs

Late = Recognition occurs first then filters out message

Early selection/filtering

• Both messages inputted in each ear

• Both detected then filtered

  • Attended = filtered = shadowed

  • Unattended = not filtered

• Recognition of attended message

late selection/filtering

• Both messages inputted in each ear

• Both get recognized

• Both get filtered

  • Attended = filtered = shadowed

  • Unattended = not filtered

    • i.e. hearing name or word quite later

attenuation

• Both messages inputted in each ear

• Both detected then bypasses attenuator

  • Attended = pass in full strength

  • Unattended = volume decreased

• Recognition of attended and unattended in diff. volumes

Overt vs. covert attention

Overt

• Must MOVE head to look at object

Covert

• Shifts you CANNOT see from the outside

  • eyes locked in center of rm BUT can still look in objects in peripheral

Posner’s spatial cueing task

Example of spatial cuing task was eye fixated on arrow = Covert

• Start with fixation point

• Does/Doesn’t Present the Arrow Cue that point to where rectangle MIGHT show up

• Then response with buttons ASAP when rectangle flashes

Posner’s spatial cueing task results

• evidence suggests we covertly move visual attention to process the area we covert

• relates to the spotlight theory

spotlight/zoom-lens model

• supported by the Posner’s spatial cueing task

  • i.e. Spotlight moves with actors

• there were benefits in the valid cue

• there were costs in the invalid cue

Feature integration theory

• Explains why we cannot pay attention to everything

• Has different features that are processed in the brain in different areas

Feature integration theory flaw

Does not identify where things aren’t paying attention “glue” to

feature vs. conjunction search

Feature Search

• Faster (POP-OUT)

• Autonomic

• ID from # of distractors

Conjunction Search

• Slower, need to move and disengage attention

• Controlled bc need to look around

• Depends on # of distractors

Visuospatial neglect

• Patients with R Partial Lobe Lesions

  • Issues: Fail to pay attention to the LS (Contralateral to the damage)

Neglect Theory: explained as disengage deficit

• Left Neglect = Difficult to disengage attention rom RS of space

Neglect Theory: explained as unbalanced competition between hemispheres

• Hemisphere inhibit each other

  • Processing stimuli on one side, inhibits processing of stimuli on the other side

• Damage to one hemisphere causes other hemisphere to dominate

  • RS stimulus = processed by L hemisphere

  • LS stimulus = processed by R hemisphere

    • If R hemisphere is damage → cannot compete and stimuli on LS gets neglected