Cog Psych Attention Unit 2

Attention

The taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought

Selective attention

The capacity to focus on certain things while filtering out other things, recognizing that our capacity of attention is limited

Inattentional blindness

The failure to notice something when paying attention to another demanding task

Dichotic listening task

An experimental task where participants wear headphones and hear different inputs in each ear, told to focus on only one (attended channel) and ignore the other (unattended channel)

Shadowing

A technique where participants repeat the attended message like an echo during a dichotic listening task

Cocktail party effect

The phenomenon where you can attend to a specific conversation at a party and filter out other background conversations

Top-down attention

Attention that is relevant to current behavior and voluntary

Bottom-up attention

Reflexive, involuntary, exogenous attention where salient stimuli attract attention even without the person's intention

Overt attention

Physically directing the eyes to a stimulus

Covert attention

A mental shift of attention without physical movement or looking directly at the stimulus

Spatial attention

Paying attention to specific regions using a mental spotlight

Bottleneck theories

Theories stating that a filter selects one message to process, and selection occurs early before meaning is processed

Broadbent's filter theory

An early selection model where information passes through a sensory register and a selective filter into short-term memory

Treisman's attenuation theory

A theory where unattended messages are not completely blocked but turned down (attenuated), and selection is based partly on meaning

Late selection hypothesis (Deutsch and Deutsch's theory)

The theory that all inputs are analyzed, and selection occurs after meaning analysis

Spotlight model

A model of attention (Posner) where attention acts like a narrow, focused beam that moves flexibly across space

Zoom lens model

A model where the spotlight of attention can expand or contract, trading breadth for resolution

Multiple spotlights model

A model proposing that attention can split across non-adjacent regions simultaneously

Object-based attention

Selection of whole objects rather than just spatial locations

Feature-based attention

Selection of specific features

Dual-tasking

Trying to perform two tasks simultaneously, where overlap in resources leads to interference

Capacity models

The theory that there is one limited pool of attention, like a mental fuel tank

Multiple resource theory

The theory that there are separate pools of attention for different processing stages, codes/responses, and modalities

Executive control

The mechanism that keeps goals active in the mind, organizes behavior into steps, and allows flexible shifting

Automatization

The process of making a system, action, or behavior operate automatically with little to no direct conscious effort

Feature integration theory

The theory that features are registered automatically in parallel, but focused attention is required to bind them together

Binding problem

The challenge of combining separate features into a coherent object, which requires focused attention

Illusory conjunctions

Miscombined features that occur under conditions of divided attention

Guided search model

A model of visual search proposing it is neither fully parallel nor strictly serial, but guided by bottom-up salience and top-down knowledge

Biased competition model

The model where multiple objects in a scene compete to drive neurons in the visual cortex, biased by top-down signals

Alerting network

A brain network responsible for achieving and maintaining an alert state needed to pay attention

Dorsal attention network

A top-down, goal-driven brain network involving the IPS/SPL and FEF

Ventral attention network

A bottom-up, stimulus-driven brain network involving the TPJ and VFC

Executive control network

A brain network responsible for resolving conflict and regulating attention

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