Cognitive Psychology - Chapter 3 Review

Divided-attention tasks

When people divide their attention between two stimuli, they typically make more errors.

Stroop effect

The finding that people take longer to name a color in which a word is printed when the word’s meaning conflicts with the name of the color.

Selective attention

In selective attention tasks, people can sometimes notice the meaning of the unattended message, depending on the characteristics of the task.

Stimulus detection in displays

According to research, people usually detect a feature that is present more quickly than a feature that is absent.

Definition of attention

Attention lets you concentrate your cognitive activity so that you can focus on information from your memory and your sensory world.

Orienting attention network

The orienting attention network is involved in tasks such as visual search and relies on activity in the parietal region of the right cerebral hemisphere.

Executive attention network activity

The executive attention network is active when people need to inhibit an automatic response, primarily activating the frontal lobe.

Neuroscience research on attention

One kind of attention task activates the frontal lobe, while another activates the parietal lobe.

Treisman’s feature-integration theory

Automatic parallel processing may lead to a 'pop out' effect.

Two processing stages of attention

When attending to a scene, there are two processing stages: focused attention and distributed attention.

Attention to discrepancies

The one red tulip stands out due to focused attention drawing your attention to the one discrepant feature.

Thought suppression

Studies reveal that people show ironic effects, such as a rebound effect following a period of thought suppression.

Difficulty with unwanted thoughts

Struggling not to think about food indicates difficulty with thought suppression.

Blindsight

Demonstrated by a person with an injured visual cortex who cannot see a light but can accurately point to its location.