Introduction to Cognitive and Biological Psychology - Attention

Flashcards summarizing key concepts related to attention in psychology, including theories, phenomena, and experimental findings.

Attention

A key psychological mechanism that allows individuals to deal with large amounts of information.

Dichotic listening task

A task where two different messages are transmitted to each ear and the participant is asked to shadow one message while ignoring the other.

Cocktail party phenomenon

The ability to notice important stimuli, like one's name, among unattended messages in a noisy environment.

Broadbent's filter model

A model suggesting that attentional selection functions like a filter that allows only one stream of information to pass through for further processing.

Treisman's attenuation model

An alternative to broadbent's model where unattended information is not entirely blocked but filtered based on its importance and context.

Early selection theories

Theories positing that attention filters out information before it is processed for meaning.

Late selection theories

Theories suggesting all sensory information is processed nonselectively up to the level of meaning before attention is applied.

Negative priming

A phenomenon where participants take longer to respond to a previously ignored stimulus, indicating that ignored information is actively suppressed.

Capacity theory

The idea that attention is limited in capacity and that the ability to perform multiple tasks depends on task demands and available attentional resources.

Automaticity

The phenomenon where complex tasks become automatic and require less attentional control as proficiency increases.

Selective Attention

The process by which a person focuses on one or a few stimuli while ignoring others.

Sustained Attention

The ability to maintain focus on a task or stimulus over an extended period.

Divided Attention

The capacity to attend to multiple tasks or stimuli simultaneously.

Visual Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on visual stimuli while ignoring irrelevant or distracting information.

Auditory Selective Attention

The capability to filter out background noise and focus on specific auditory information.

Attentional Resource Allocation

The process of distributing cognitive resources to various tasks or stimuli.

Signal Detection Theory

A theory explaining how individuals differentiate between information-bearing signals and noise in the environment.

Attentional Bias

The tendency of individuals to pay attention to certain stimuli more than others, based on personal relevance or emotional impact.