Attention

1

Definitions of Attention

• Concentration of mental resources

• Allocation of mental resources

2

Multiple Aspect of Attention

• Divided attention

• Selective attention

• Theories of attention

3

Divided Attention

4

5

Reinitz & Colleagues (1974)

Divided Attention Condition

Subjects count the dots

Full Attention Condition

No instruction about dots

6

Proportion of Responses that were “old” for Each of Two Study Conditions and Two Test Conditions

(Reinitz & Colleagues, 1994).

Study Condition

TestCondition

Full Attention Divided Attention

Old Face

ConjunctionFaces

.81

.48

.48

.42

Divided Attention & Practice

• Hirst, et. al. 1980

• Spelke, 1976

7

Demo

8

Upset

Hotel

Judge

Employment

Map

Indulge

Pencil

Problem

Key

Terrible

9

Can we always divide our attention with practice?

10

Cell Phones & Driving – What Does the Research on Divided Attention Show?

• Is it safe to drive while talking on a cell phone?• Some states have passed legislation prohibiting

hand-held but not hands-free cell phones. Does this make any sense

• What about talking to someone in the car while driving versus talking on a cell phone?

• What are the chances of an accident?• Does practice make a difference? Why not?• Compare driving under the influence to cell phone

driving11

Selective Attention

12

Selective Attention (Dichotic Listening Task)

• Shadowing

• Irrelevant Channel

• Cocktail Party Effect - Morray (1959)

• Wood and Cowan (1995)

• Treisman (1960)

13

14

Dichotic Listening Task

T, 5, H

LEFT

T

5

H

RIGHT

S

3

G

Cocktail Effect

15

Treisman’s Shadowing Study

16

Stroop Effect

17

Experiment 1

18

Read the Word.

19

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Green

Blue

Orange

Red

Blue

Green

Red

Blue

Orange

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Orange

Green

Black

Stop!

Read the Word. Ignore the color

20

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Green

Blue

Orange

Red

Blue

Green

Red

Blue

Orange

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Orange

Green

Black

Stop!

Experiment 2

21

Name the Color of the Ink

22

xxxxx

xxx

xxx

xxxxxx

xxxxx

xxxxx

xxxxxx

xxx

xxxx

xxxxx

xxx

xxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxx

xxxx

xxx

xxxxxx

xxxxxx

xxxxx

xxxxx

Stop!

Name the Color (e.g. Red say “blue”)

23

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Green

Blue

Orange

Red

Blue

Green

Red

Blue

Orange

Green

Blue

Red

Purple

Orange

Green

Black

Stop!

Stroop’s 3 Experiments

• Exp 1 - Selectively attend to the verbal aspect of the stimulus; ignore ink color

• Exp 2 – Selectively attend to the ink color of the stimulus; ignore verbal aspect

• Exp 3 – Why does ignoring the verbal aspect of the stimulus interfere strongly with color naming; but not the reverse?

24

Change Blindness Video

25

Theories of Attention

26

Filter Models of Attention

27

Capacity Model of Attention

28

29

Diagnostic Criteria for Automatic and Controlled ProcessesAutomatic Controlled

1. The process occurs withoutintention , wit hout a consciousdecision.

2. the mental process is not open toconscious awareness orintrospection.

3. The process consumes few i f anyconscious resources; that is, itconsumes littl e if any consciousattention.

4. (Informal) The process operatesvery rapid ly, usually w ithin onesecond.

1. The process occurs only withintention , wit h a deli beratedecision.

2. The process is open to awarenessand introspection .

3. The process uses consciousresources; that is, it d rains the poolof conscious attentional capacity.

4. (Informal) The process is relativelyslow, taking more than a second ortw o for completion.

Part ial Autonomy/ AutomaticityA process is said to be partially autonomous if it can begin automatically butrequi res a more conscious set of operations for completion (see Zbrodoff &Logan, 1986).

Diagnostic Criteria for Automatic Processes

Cerebral Cortex & Attention

30