Cognitive Psychology: Attention Processes, Effects, and Metaphors Lecture 7: Attention

What is attention in cognitive psychology?

A cognitive process responsible for selectively concentrating on specific stimuli or information.

What are some common metaphors used to define attention?

Attention as an information filter, a limited resource, and a feature binder.

How does attention function as an information filter?

It filters out irrelevant stimuli, allowing only relevant aspects of the environment to remain in consciousness.

What is the cocktail party effect?

The ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment while filtering out other sounds.

What is the shadowing task?

A demonstration where subjects repeat one message while ignoring another, showing that non-repeated messages are filtered out.

What does the spotlight metaphor illustrate about attention?

It compares consciousness to a spotlight that can highlight specific sections of the environment for focused awareness.

What is meant by mental capacity in the context of attention?

The limited amount of cognitive resources that must be shared among all cognitive processes occurring at a given time.

What is the dual-task method?

A method that compares performance on two tasks at once versus one task alone, showing decreased performance with added tasks.

What is attention as a feature binder?

A multi-stage process where features of stimuli are encoded and combined to identify objects later.

What is inattentional blindness?

The failure to notice the existence of an unexpected item when attention is focused on a task.

What is change blindness?

The failure to notice a change in the environment due to focused attention on other aspects.

What is change blindness blindness?

The phenomenon where individuals believe they are immune to change blindness after learning about it.

What is the Simon effect?

Interference in responses due to inconsistency between the response and the stimulus, making it harder to respond correctly.

What is the Stroop effect?

A delay in response time when there is a mismatch between the meaning of a word and its print color.

What is the difference between automatic and controlled processing?

Automatic processing does not require cognitive resources, while controlled processing is intentional and consumes resources.

How can controlled processes become more efficient?

With practice, controlled processes can become automatic, requiring less cognitive effort.

How does attention influence perception?

Attention affects perception through phenomena like inattentional blindness, change blindness, the Simon effect, and the Stroop effect.

What is the significance of attention in cognitive processes?

Attention is fundamental and influences nearly every other cognitive process.