cognitive psychology L3a

Lecture Content Overview

Attention

  • Definition:

    • Attention is the cognitive process of selectively focusing on certain information while ignoring others.

  • Importance of Attention:

    • Humans are unable to process all incoming sensory information simultaneously.

  • William James's Quote:

    • "Attention is the taking possession of the mind... It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others."

Priming (FAST INSTINCT)

  • Definition:

    • Priming enhances the recognition of stimuli by previous exposure to related stimuli.

    • When you see a word or picture, your brain remembers past experiences with similar things to help you recognize or react to it faster.

    • For instance, if you have heard the word "apple" before, you are likely to recognize it more quickly when you see it again or when you see related words like "fruit" or "pie." This process happens in your mind even if you're not actively thinking about those related things, showing that they can still affect how you think and behave.

  • Preconscious Level:

    • Information that is not currently in conscious awareness but can affect cognition and behavior.

    • The preconscious level is where information is not currently in your active thoughts, but it can still influence how you think and behave.

    • For example, if you've learned something before, it might pop into your mind later when you see something related to it, without you even thinking about it consciously.

  • Examples:

    • Word associations can guide thought processes; e.g., hearing "review" might prompt thoughts about literature reviews.

Automatic vs Controlled Processes

Automatic Processes

  • These are fast, unconscious, and require little cognitive effort, such as recognizing a familiar face or driving on a well-known route.

  • Characteristics:

    • Require no conscious control, are fast, and energy-efficient.

    • Can occur in parallel and do not demand attentional resources (Schneider and Shiffrin, 1977).

  • Examples:

    • Walking, chatting, reading simple words.

Controlled Processes

  • Characteristics:

    • Require conscious control, are slower, and occur sequentially (one step at a time).

    • Generally have heavy demands on cognitive resources.

  • Examples:

    • Complex problem solving, learning a new language.

Transition from Controlled to Automatic

  • Process of practice leads tasks to become automatic over time.

  • Activities begin as controlled and, with repeated practice, shift to automatic processing, leading to more efficient cognitive functioning.