chapter 4

Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg Chapter 4

Attention and

Consciousness

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Attention Is The means by which we actively

process a limited amount of information

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Main Functions of Attention Signal detection and vigilance Search Selective attention Divided attention

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Measure sensitivity to a targets presence

Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

Present Absent

Present Hit False Alarm

Absent Miss Correct

Rejection

Decision

Signal

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Vigilance and SDT Vigilance is attending to a set of

stimuli over a length of time in order to detect a target signal

Vigilance decreases rapidly over time (fatigue), thus misses and false alarms increase

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Search Actively searching for a target Number of targets and distracters

influence accuracy Feature (a single property) search

versus conjunctive search (combination of properties)

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Conjunctive Search (DLpfc)

Find the letter T Which panel is

easier?

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Feature Search

Find the letter O Easier or harder

than the previous one?

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Feature-Integration Theory (FIT) Individual feature processing is done in

parallel Simultaneous processing is done on the whole

display and if feature is present, we detect it Conjunctive searching requires attention to

the integration or combination of the features Attention to particular combination of features

must be done sequentially to detect presence of a certain combination

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Another Feature Search

T

T

T

T T

T T

Is there a red T in the display?

T

T Target is defined by a single feature According to feature integration theory, the target should pop out No attention required

T

T

T

T T

T T T

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Another Conjunction Search

X

T T

X T T

TIs there a red T in the display?

X

X Target is defined by two features: shape and color According to FIT, the features must be combined and so attention is required Need to examine one by one

X

X T

X T T

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Similarity Theory Similarity between

targets and distracters is important, not number of features to be combined

More shared features = more difficult to detect a target

Find the letter R


Selectivity of Attention Cocktail party phenomenon

How are we able to follow one conversation in the presence of other conversations?

Stimulus features Loudness Timbre Location

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Cherrys Shadowing Technique

The lawyer defended his client as the trial began. He was able

The doctor went to the park to find the homeless man. He was

..The doctor went to the park..

Listen to two different conversations and repeat one of the messages; may be binaural or dichotic

Attended Ear: Unattended Ear:

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Cherrys Results Noticed in unattended ear

Change in gender Change to a tone

Did not notice in unattended ear Changed language Changed topic, same speaker If speech was played backwards

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Models of Selective Attention Do they have a filter?

Where does the filter occur?

Filter vs bottleneck

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Broadbents Model

We filter information right after we notice it at the sensory level

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Broadbents Model Had trouble explaining

Why participants name gets through Why participants can shadow

meaningful message that switches from one ear to another

Effects of practice on detecting information in unattended ear (e.g., detect digit in unattended ear for nave and practiced participants)

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Treismans Attenuation Model

Instead of blocking stimuli out, the filter weakens the strength of stimuli other than the target stimulus

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Late Selection Theory (Deutsch & Deutsch, 1963)

All stimuli is processed to the level of meaning Relevance determines further processing and action

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Neissers Synthesis Preattentive processes

Parallel Note physical characteristics

Attentive processes Controlled processes occur serially Occur in working memory

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Divided Attention How many tasks can you do at once?

e.g., driving and talking, radio, phone...

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Dual-Task Paradigm Task 1 may require a verbal

response to an auditory stimulus Task 2 may require a participant to

push a button in response to a visual stimulus

Results indicate that responses to the second task are delayed

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Capacity Models of Attention

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Real-Life Dual Task Driving and

Cell phones Adjusting music Watching the scenery

Almost 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event 32


Gauging Your Distraction During Driving

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/19/technology/20090719-driving-game.html

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Strayer & Drews (2007) Naturalistic observation of cell

phone use and driver behavior

Failed to stop

Stopped properly

On cell phone 82 28

No cell phone 352 1286

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Strayer & Drews (2007) Results Impact of hands-free cell-phone

conversations on simulated driving Cell-phone conversation led to

inattentional blindness Even if they looked at an object,

participant did not remember the object

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Factors that Influence Our Ability to Pay Attention

Anxiety (link emotion-attention) Arousal (see Yerkes-Dodson) Task difficulty Skills

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Three Subfunctions of Attention (Posner)

Alerting Being prepared to attend to some

incoming event and maintaining this attention

Involves right frontal and parietal cortexes as well as the locus coeruleus

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Orienting The selection of stimuli to attend to Needed when we perform a visual

search Involves the superior parietal lobe,

the temporal parietal junction, the frontal eye fields, and the superior colliculus

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Executive attention Processes for monitoring and

resolving conflicts that arise among internal processes

Involves the anterior cingulate, lateral ventral, and prefrontal cortex as well as the basal ganglia

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Executive functions Updating Shifting Inhibition

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When Attention Fails Us ADHD Change blindness and inattentional

blindness Spatial neglect

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Change Blindness An inability to detect changes in

objects or scenes that are being viewed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWSxSQsspiQ&feature=player_embedded#!

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Inattentional Blindness People are not able to see things

that are actually there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JONMYxaZ_s&feature=player_embedded

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Choice blindness http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRqyw-EwgTk

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Spatial Neglect Lesion on one side of brain causes

person to ignore half of their visual field

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When Attention Is Lost

Visual Neglect

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Their Visual Experience

Writing

Reading

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Bisect All the Lines

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Drawings

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Habituation Decrease in responsiveness when

exposed to a repeated stimulus People who smoke do not notice the

smell of cigarettes on their clothes, but nonsmokers do

People get used to hearing the chiming of their clocks

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Dishabituation Change in familiar stimuli

causes one to notice it again Smokers who quit suddenly notice

how much their clothes smell of smoke

If clock breaks, owner suddenly notices the clock isnt chiming

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Habituation/Dishabituation Paradigm

Allows psychologists to test abilities of infants and animals

Measure subjects arousal to see if a change occurs when pattern or sound changes If animal or infant dishabituates to a

change, they can detect the change If the animal or infant does not dishabituate

to a change in stimuli, they did not detect the change

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Controlled vs. Automatic Processing

Automatic processing Requires no conscious control

Controlled processing Requires conscious control

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Automatic vs. Controlled

Automatic Processes Fast and efficient Unavailable to

consciousness Unavoidable Unintentional Controlled Processes

Slow and less efficient Available to

consciousness Controllable Intentional 54


Is Typing Automatic or Controlled for You?

Do you type without thinking where your fingers are? Are you a search-and-peck typer?

If you do type without using attention, what happens when you think about the letters as you are typing them?

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Automatization: Two Explanations

Integrated components theory: Anderson Practice leads to integration; less and

less attention is needed Instance theory: Logan

Retrieve from memory specific answers, skipping the procedure; thus less attention is needed

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Effect of Practice on Automatization

Rate of learning slows as amount of learning increases

Negative- acceleration curve

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Stroop Effect red yellow green blue red blue yellow green blue red

Say the color the words are printed in as quickly as you can What errors do you make? Reading interferes with your ability to state the color, and your reaction time is slower

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Preconscious Processing Information that is available for

cognitive processing but that currently lies outside conscious awareness Priming TOT phenomenon Blindsight

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BREAD

BUTTER

How quickly do you process the second word?

Faster if you have been primed with a related word

Priming NURSE

DOCTOR

CAT

DOG

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Marcel (1983)

Condition

Subliminally Present Prime

Consciously Present Prime

Prime PALM PALM

Mask XXXX

Target PINE OR WRIST PINE OR WRIST

Response Body part or plant? Body part or plant?

Reaction time How fast? How fast? 62


Marcels Procedure with Participants

PALM

PALM

XXXX

PINE

PINE

Its a plant. Umm, its a plant.

Subliminal Condition Conscious Condition 63


Marcel (1983) Results

Condition

Subliminally Present

Prime

Consciously Present Prime

Targets: PINE or WRIST

Found faster RT for both target words

Found faster RT for one of two target words, slower RT for the other target

Interpretation

Both meanings were primed

Only one meaning is primed, the other inhibited

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Priming Can Speed or Slow Processing

Facilitative priming Target stimuli (e.g., BUTTER) are

processed faster if preceded by a related word (e.g., BREAD)

Negative priming effect Target stimuli (e.g., PINE) is

processed slower if preceded by a word related to targets alternate meaning (PALM relating to hand)

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Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard, & Parker (1990)

Triad A Triad B Basket Swan Room Army Foot Mask

Which of these triads is coherent? What is the 4th word that ties them together?

BALL

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Bowers et al. (1990) Results Even if participants could not

generate the 4th word, they still selected the coherent triad

Results demonstrate preconscious processing

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Tip-of-the-Tongue Experiences (TOT)

You know you know the word, but you cannot fully retrieve the word

Paradigms used to generate TOT Show pictures of famous people or

politicians and have participants name them

Ask general knowledge questions to generate TOTs

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TOT Demonstration What is the name of this years Nobel

Prize winner in Literature? Who wrote Paradise Lost?

Do any of these questions put the answer on the tip of your tongue?

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