Understanding Attention: Input, Controlled, and Its Role as a Limited Resource, Study notes of Cognitive Psychology

Download Understanding Attention: Input, Controlled, and Its Role as a Limited Resource and more Study notes Cognitive Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Attention Brandon Beltz Feb 16, 2005 What Exactly is Attention? • What do you think attention is? • “Everyone knows what attention is.” – William James, 1890 • “No one knows what attention is.” – Harold Pashler, 1998 Everyday Experience with Attention • We are confronted with more information than we can pay attention to. • There are limitations to how much we can pay attention to at once. • We can perform some tasks with little attention. • Some tasks require less attention with practice and knowledge. Multiple Meanings of Attention • Input Attention (bottom-up, data driven) – Alertness or arousal – Reflexive attention – Spotlight attention and visual search • Controlled Attention (top-down) – Selective attention – Mental resources • (Conception of attention can change with sensory modality) Two General Definitions of Attention • Attention as a mental process: The mental process of concentrating effort on (external) stimuli or (internal) mental events. • Attention as a limited mental resource: The limited mental energy or resource that powers the mental system. In-class attention example • On a sheet of paper keep a tally of the number of times your thoughts wander or distract you away from the lecture. • We will compare notes before the break. Input Attention Input Attention • The basic process of getting sensory information into the cognitive system. – Remember perception class last week • Alertness or arousal • Reflexive attention • Spotlight attention and visual search Sample Visual Search Task W. W. Norton Visual Search (Treisman, 1980) • a) Disjunction search (pop-out) – Find either red or ‘O’ – Pop-out search occurs in parallel (set size does not affect RT) • b) Conjunction search – Find red and ‘O’ – Conjunction search occurs serially (increased set size increases RT) Visual Search Conclusions • Evidence for two types of processes • Input attention – fast, automatic, parallel – disjunctive (pop-out) search • Controlled attention – slow, serial – conjunctive search In-class attention example • How many times has your mind wandered during the lecture so far? Controlled/ Voluntary Attention Controlled, Voluntary Attention • A deliberate, voluntary allocation of mental effort or concentration. W. W. Norton Early experiment of controlled attention (Helmholtz, 1894) • Used screen filled with grid of letters. • Letters too large to view without moving the eyes. • Screen was originally dark. • Helmholtz stared at center of grid while covertly controlling his attention to a different location on the grid. • A spark temporarily illuminated the grid. • Helmholtz could recall letters in the area his attention was directed (without moving eyes), but could not recall letters in other areas of grid. Controlled Attention Example (same idea as Helmholtz’s study)
Selective Attention • The ability to attend to one source of information while ignoring other sources. • Studying selective attention – Shadowing Task (dichotic listening) • The Cocktail Party Effect – Dual Task Procedures W. W. Norton Selective Attention: Cocktail Party Effect W. W. Norton Shadowing Experiment (Cherry, 1953) • Two audio sources of information presented. • Attend to one source and ignore the other. • Repeat (shadow) message of attended source. Shadowing Experiment Results • Participants did notice: – If the unattended message became a pure tone – If the unattended message switched gender – If the unattended message was repeated 35 times • Participants did not notice: – If the unattended message switched languages – If the unattended message was played backwards • Cherry concluded that the unattended message was not analyzed for meaning, only for physical characteristics. Norman’s Pertinence Model Movable Filter Theory Johnston and Heinz (1978) • Attention is flexible. • Selective attention can move to multiple modes (early, middle, late). • But, later selection uses more of our limited attentional capacity. • So, later selection is slower and less accurate than middle or early selection. W. W. Norton Filter Models of Attention       Attentional Resources Attention as a Mental Resource • Attention is mental effort-- the mental resource that fuels cognitive activity. • Attention is limited-- only so much of the fuel can be devoted to mental tasks. Parallel Performance/ Multi-tasking • Can we truly multi-task? – Do more than one thing at the same time? • How can we determine the answer? – Do an experiment • How would you do the experiment? – How would you define attention in an experiment? – How would you measure the consequences of attention? Multi-tasking Experiment • Single- vs. dual-task experiment • Primary task = pursuit tracking – Control joystick to keep cursor on moving target (continuous task) – Hit thumb button when red light appears (response) Multi-tasking Experiment • Single- vs. dual-task experiment • Primary task = pursuit tracking • Secondary task = cell phone conversation – Naturalistic conversation • Discuss Clinton impeachment trial with person in another room (no visual cues) Multi-tasking Experiment • Single- vs. dual-task experiment • Primary task = pursuit tracking • Secondary task = cell phone conversation • Question = Can you attend to both without consequences? How does attending to conversation change performance on pursuit tracking? Multi-tasking Experiment • Measures – Reaction time in pursuit tracking • How fast do you respond to the red light? – Accuracy in pursuit tracking • How often do you miss the red light entirely? Multi-tasking Experiment 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Only pursuit Both tasks Condition ???
              Multi-tasking Experiment 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Only pursuit Both tasks Condition
              Name the ink color of each word Variations on the Stoop Task Count the number of items on each line: aaa bbbb 2 3333 11 44444 Is it left or right of center? card / / door / book right / / left right / Disadvantages of Automaticity • Interference with new tasks – In your new car, reaching for where the radio knob was on your old car. • When we need to be “aware” during highly learned tasks. – Proofreading • Remember counting ‘f’s in “of” example Disorders of Attention Hemineglect • Disruption or decreased ability to look at something in the (often) left field of vision and pay attention to it. Adapted from Bisiach, E., and Luzzatti, C., Unilateral neglect of representational space, Cortex 14 (1978): 129–133. Hemineglect W. W. Norton Attention Lecture Outline • Defining attention • Input attention – Alertness, arousal – Reflexive attention – Spotlight attention, visual search • Posner- spotlight • Triesman- search • Controlled, voluntary attention – Selective attention • Cocktail party, shadowing experiments • Filter models – Attention as a mental resource • Multi-tasking • Automatic and conscious processes • Attention disorders