Cognitive Psychology-112-140

Attention

Key Questions

• Can we focus on one thing when many stimuli are present? Research indicates that our ability to concentrate on a single task decreases as the number of distracting stimuli increases. This selective focusing becomes crucial in environments with multiple competing inputs.

• Can we pay attention to multiple things simultaneously? While humans have the capacity for divided attention, performance can suffer when attempting to juggle multiple tasks, especially those that require cognitive resources.

• How does attention research relate to cell phone use while driving? Studies reveal that multitasking, such as using a cell phone while driving, significantly impairs attentional resources, often leading to dangerous situations and increased accident rates.

• Are we aware of the majority of stimuli in our environment? Attention naturally filters the vast array of information, meaning we are often unaware of many stimuli occurring around us.

Key Concepts

Definition of Attention

• Attention: The cognitive process of selectively focusing on specific stimuli while ignoring others, a fundamental aspect of human perception and response to the environment.

• Selective attention: Involves concentrating on one particular location, object, or message while dismissing distractions, contributing to better performance in tasks needing focused input.

Types of Attention

• Overt Attention: Involves the movement of the eyes towards a specific object, allowing for observable signals of focus and interest.

• Covert Attention: Entails shifting focus without moving the eyes, enabling awareness of peripheral stimuli (e.g., noticing movements or sounds out of the corner of the eye).

• Divided Attention: Refers to the capacity to attend to multiple stimuli at once; effectiveness can depend on the complexity of the tasks and level of practice.

Importance of Attention in Perception

Attention is pivotal in effective perception, as illustrated in the narrative of Crystal's run from Chapter 3, where her selective attention allowed her to identify various objects and potential hazards, demonstrating real-world implications for attentional processes.

Models of Attention

• Broadbent’s Filter Model: An early selection model postulating a ‘filter’ that permits certain information based on physical characteristics while blocking out others. This model emphasizes how the brain processes multiple inputs.

• Treisman’s Attenuation Model: A refinement of Broadbent's model that introduces an attenuator, which analyzes incoming stimuli and allows weaker, unattended information through, thereby highlighting a more flexible approach to attention.

• The evolution of early vs. late selection concepts emphasizes the roles of various cognitive processes within attention, illustrating its complexity.

Dichotic Listening Experiments

In dichotic listening tasks, participants are exposed to different messages in each ear, designed to explore selective attention. Findings consistently show that while individuals can concentrate on one message, they tend to struggle with recalling details from the unattended message, emphasizing the limitations and selective nature of human attention.

Cocktail Party Effect

This effect describes the phenomenon wherein individuals can detect significant stimuli, such as their own name, amidst a noisy environment, indicating that some level of processing occurs even for unattended information.

The Stroop Effect

The Stroop effect demonstrates automatic processing challenges, as individuals often find it difficult to name the ink colors of words when the words themselves convey conflicting color names, thereby illustrating the interference that can occur during selective attention tasks.

Divided Attention

The ability to divide attention effectively among various tasks is influenced by both practice and task complexity.

• Automatic vs. Controlled Processing: As established by Schneider and Shiffrin, tasks can transition from effortful to automatic with practice, enabling better divided attention abilities in familiar tasks.

Driving and Cell Phone Use

Extensive research shows that engaging with cell phones while driving significantly diverts attentional resources, contributing to increased risk of accidents. Studies underscore how cognitive demands from concurrent tasks can impair driving performance.

Inattentional Blindness

This phenomenon occurs when a person's focus on a specific task leads to the failure to notice prominent stimuli in the environment, as seen in Mack & Rock's geometric tests. Additionally, issues regarding change detection reveal that recognizing alterations in scenes is often challenging unless attention is deliberately directed toward those changes.

Covert Attention and Precuing

Research shows that attention can be enhanced through strategic direction (as evidenced in Posner's experiments), which leads to faster response times and improved processing efficiency. Attention may also operate on an object-based level, wherein focusing on one part of an object can enhance overall perception of that object (known as the same-object advantage).

Feature Integration Theory

Developed by Anne Treisman, this theory posits that objects are perceived as a cohesive whole only after their individual features have been processed separately. The occurrence of illusory conjunctions, where features from different objects mix due to lack of focused attention, supports this theory.

Physiological Aspects of Attention

Attention significantly boosts neural activity across various brain regions. Distinct structures in the brain are engaged depending on the type of attention applied, and evidence suggests that attention can modify neural responses even in the absence of sensory changes.

Conclusion

Attention is a critical cognitive function that significantly impacts how we perceive and interact with our surrounding environment. A thorough understanding of attention enhances our exploration of cognitive development, learning processes, and social interactions, elucidating its importance in everyday life.