LEC 8

These flashcards cover concepts related to attention in cognitive psychology, including eye tracking, attentional processes, and relevant experiments.

What is the purpose of eye tracking in cognitive psychology?

To collect data related to attention by measuring where someone is looking.

What are saccades?

Rapid eye movements that occur as we shift our gaze from one point to another.

What does fixation duration refer to?

The length of time that eyes pause on a particular point of interest.

Define attentional capture.

It is when salient properties of stimuli cause rapid, involuntary shifts of attention.

How can context influence salience?

An object that stands out in one context may not stand out in another based on its surroundings.

What is the attentional spotlight metaphor?

It describes how attention is focused on specific locations in space.

What did Posner et al. (1978) discover about spatial attention?

Participants respond more quickly to targets when attention is precued to valid locations.

What is the difference between space-based and object-based attention?

Space-based attention refers to attention directed at locations, while object-based attention refers to attention directed at specific objects.

What is change blindness?

A phenomenon where differences between versions of stimuli are not perceived.

What is the purpose of using eye-tracking in web design?

To understand user behaviors and improve user experience on websites.

How does practice affect divided attention?

Practice can help individuals perform two difficult tasks simultaneously with greater ease.

What is inattentional blindness?

When a stimulus that is not attended to is not perceived at all, even if someone is looking directly at it.

What is a potential risk associated with driving while using a cell phone?

The risk of accidents increases four times when using a cell phone while driving.

What can pupil dilation indicate?

It provides an index of autonomic activity, reflecting cognitive load or arousal.

How do scene schemas affect visual attention?

They are prior knowledge about typical scenes that influence scanning behavior and meaning extraction.

Define automatic processing.

A form of processing that occurs without intention and may not involve conscious awareness.

What is meant by 'semantic regularity' in visual searches?

Expectations based on prior knowledge affect where people look in a scene.

What is the significance of fixation patterns in driving studies?

They reveal how attention is directed based on learned expectations about where signs are typically placed.

What did Schneider and Shiffrin (1977) find about memory tasks?

Participants improved their performance over time through practice and automatization.

What is the relationship between attention and decision-making?

Attention influences planning and decision-making by dictating what information is processed.