Attention p3 - Prof Christine Burton PDF

Preview

Summary

Prof Christine Burton...

Description

Attention -

-

-

Hard to define (because it’s not just one thing!) Many theories show how it’s used under different circumstances As a filter selective attention As a spotlight vigilance As a mental resource divided attention As a feature binder visual search (looking for an object) A process of concentrating mental effort on sensory or mental events Has a limited capacity Many different types but vary along certain dimensions Exogenous attention is controlled by something external to us (a stimulus grabs our attention we cannot help it ex. loud noise behind you- would look right away (bottom-up attention) always OVERT (eye movements people know what you’re paying attention to)  Is driven by stimulus saliency 1. Motion most salient hard not to pay attention to motion 2. Colour 3. Brightness 4. Contrast 5. Orientation *any change will grab attention Endogenousattention is controlled by us  what we decide to pay attention to  can be overt or covert COVERT (shift attention using head/eye people don’t know what we are paying attention to) Automatic control how much attention is needed for a task  Can be driven by other important information+ previous knowledge (TOP DOWN) Linked with consciousness but they are not synchronous Inattentional blindness player leaving game/ gorilla walking in Change blindness don’t notice a change in our visual field ex. curtain color changed Change blindness a type of inattetnional blindness

Filter theories -

Attention acts like a bottleneck only lets some info through at a time What has been selected gets processed Broadbent: early filter model theory of auditory attention based on results of dichotic listening tasks dichotic listening task headphone 2 dif sounds on each ear at same time shadowing taskrepeat what you hear in one ear people are good at listening and shadowing one ear only (good at selective attending) noticed sensory info in unattended ear people did not notice meaning of the message in unattended ear unless message was brief

-

input sensory memory filter (selects one thing in processing)  detector long term memory problem: people are aware of their own name in the unattended message participants follow a meaningful message in the unattended ear

Triesman’s Attenuation model -

early attention model sensory input attenuator dictionary unit memory leaky filter model (some changed increase or decrease the volume of what we pay attention to dictionary unit all words here exist in different threshold levels has a list of all the words we know if input reaches threshold than item will be processed If you are paying attention to one item attenuator increases intensity to that word and passes it though the dictionary unit Own name very low threshold that’s why we are very sensitive to it (easily distractive) Unattended stimuli is stronger than other stimuli after passing through a filter but unattended stimuli may be more intense Unattended stimuli may be ‘more important’ and ‘more likely’

Capacity theories of attention (divided attention) -

-

-

Have a fixed amount of attentional resources that can be used to perform mental work more cognitive load how many resources a task requires  more attentional resources needed/used We have some control over how we allot these resources Can allocate tasks equally between primary and secondary tasks If both need low load don’t need too much attention (can easily be done at same time) If one task is high load won’t be able to do high load task well because didn’t get enough attention Flanker compatibility task demonstrates attention “spillover” with low load tasks Ex. studying while listeing to music (low load) not going to be distracting if it’s a high load studying task= calculus because attention is on high load task With practise, controlled processes can become automatic Automatic processes no attention needed fast (b/c can be done in parallel many tasks at once =faster) can be modified once started (harder to come out of habit ex. new keyboard Controlled processes needs attention slow b/c serial under conscious control

Shiffrin + Schneider (1977) -

Independent variable: memory set (target) letter or numbers Showed cue cards with letters/ numbers

-

-

IV: frame size (1,2,4) target present or absent , type of distractor items on the card  may be looking for letters between letters of number between letters Same category (letters b/w letters) : 4 IV and DV= reaction time took 400 ms to achieve 95% accuracy  Response time related to distractors  Hallmark serial processing Different category (numbers b/w letters): 600 trials done (becomes automatic)  Requires only 80 ms/frame to get 95% accuracy  Number of items- did not affect response time

Stroop task -

Pairing automatic naming task with controlled colour task

Driving and cellphones -

Driving is automatic: we can talk on phone Environment is unpredictable anything can happen Radio in car low load can still focus on change in road

Capacity theories of attention -

Cowan suggests that we can attend 4 plus or minus 1 item at a time (visual info) Attention theories are usually based on verbal attention Multiobject tracking task (MOT) max 3-4 dots are able to be tracked

Vigilance -

How do we direct our attention? Spatial cueing paradigm most commonly used in attention in psychology Valid trial cue shows target side target will appear on an object appears there Neutral trial no cue to show location of target Invalid trial opposite location of target -measures reaction time fastest for a valid cue then neutral, then invalid -told posner attention works as a spotlight -Attention is location based

Neisse and becklen (1975) -

saw one of three videos which three conditions video 1: clapping hands you need to count video 2: passing ball must count video 3 overlap of one and two participants play close attention to one motion at a time suggests we are capable of object based attention and location attention three conditions valid cue, invalid Cue same object, and invalid cue different object invalid Cue same object has different response time then invalid cue different object attention focussed on space but also objects they cooccur

Visual search -

The binding problem how do we combine things as a whole First use of binding problem in psychology is visual items features outside of conscious awareness not bound

Anne triesman -

One roll of attention may be to bind features Visual search tasks involve using attention to focus on object features in a specific location Bringing together attention for location and object —> at same location. Visual attention testing Reaction time depends on if distractors are similar to target object if no shared features the pop out

Features search: -

serial processing looking for Circular shape within a bunch of squares

Conjunction search: -

has longer reaction time looking for a green circle within green squares and blue circles 3 IV for visual search—> type of search, number of distractors, presence of target 1 DV: reaction time to respond Suggests that feature searches are automatic and we do not need to pay attention to them conjunction searches are controlled they require attention

Feature integration theory (Triesman) -

    

Visual search is a two-stage process  Single features do not require attention and “pops out” automatically—> preattentive stage  Object—> preattentive stage (analyze object features) —> focussed attention(combine features together)—> stage perception  Binding features requires attention—> focussed attention stage. —> attention select info for conscious processing —> attention is closely linking to consciousness but are not synonymous ( not the same thing) memory researcher: concerned with Types of things our memory can hold how is info coded/stored ? memory code :what kind of stuff memory is holding memory researchers :concerned with limiting factors of memory (example duration /capacity )-how many things can we hold and how long can we hold them concerned about processes that allow info to enter /exit memory (how we encode info )in code :is the process of putting input into a code )--mhsa code memory is not equal to unitary system, there are multiple systems that make up memory



  

o we can remember input from different amounts of time o type of stimulus influences duration of memory o more meaningful memory =more likely to remember Nero physiological evidence suggests a double dissociation between long term and short term memory o Atkinson Shiffrin (1968)- multistore model o sensory input >sensory memory short term memory long term memory sensory memory : o limited capacity store that holds basic sensory info for a very limited amount of time o we have different stores for each of our senses o attention helps us pass item into sensory store on to short-term memory  example: visual sensory memory= iconic sensory memory  Auditory memory =echoic memory  tactile memory =touch input /somatosensory Sperling sensory store investigation how much can we encode in a single instance ? if shown info for less than one second (500ms)-how much can you pick up in that time ?

About four items 

 

  

  

Whole report procedure :show 12 items first small period of time -->then turn away (ask to remember the whole thing )When asked to remember as a whole report =remember only three or four things duration =short that people forget items before they can report partial report Tone representing each row o if pitch is high -recall top o his pitch is medium -recall middle o if pitch is low -recall bottom three or four items are recalled capacity of iconic memory is from 9 to 12 items delay of tone after letters = Steep drop of words recalled o steepest drop at 100 -200ms after words Sean o duration of iconic memory =150 milliseconds sensory store representation of where the light was o on and off brain fills in blank using iconic memory performance never drops to 0 people are always able to report three to four items why don't people forget info and iconic memory while three to four items? o because info moved from sensory memory to short term memory . o sensory input through attention goes to short-term memory

attention  

Bridge between sensory input to short-term memory visual input to iconic memory :stores 9-12 items



attention grabs 3 24 items from here inputs into short-term memory . attention goes back to get more from iconic memory but the rest are gone

sensory memory    

similar evidence for brief sensory stores in other modalities echoic and tactile sensory memory tend to have longer durations (4-5 seconds). capacity depends on speed of input limiting factor of echoic /tactile memory =duration (4-5 s), longer than iconic memory duration

iconic memory capacity=9-12 items duration=150ms echoic /tactile duration= 4-5 seconds Limiting factors:   

Limited capacity store that holds information for relatively brief. (Duration ) without rehearsal the duration of short-term memory is only a few seconds (10 -20 ms) rehearsal keeps info in short term memory and helps pass it on to long term memory

Brown Peterson task    

participants given trigrams (set up 3 letters that don't spell a word ) given a number to count backwards from between 10 -20 seconds performance =very low transfers info from short-term memory to long-term memory (rehearsal )

George Miller      

magical number =7 plus or minus to capacity of short-term memory says short term memory =bunch of slots 7 + / - 2 slots rehearsal buffer keeps active in short-term memory (fades within 10 -20 seconds if not rehearsed ) each slot holds one item if you want to remember something you =1 old must go but what is an item ? I love is something that can be grouped together in a meaningful way coding ? what kind of info is being stored in short-term memory ?

digit span      

3, 7, 8, 9 , 1 have to report back 3, 7, 8, 9, one as digit span increases ,recall number decreases as increased digit span number of numbers can be reported back looking at digit span in different languages English speakers have the highest digit span , HEB has the lowest dishes pan languages spoken related to mean number of syllables /digit

 

English number one to 9 =one syllable not the case for other languages as number of syllables /digits increase digits span decreases

fast digit reading in items /second       

English speakers have more digit /second then Arabic speakers more digits /second=increase digit span ,the more you can remember Short term memory span =smaller for rhyming lists (even though info presented visually ) harder remember rhyming letters because all sound the same as the number of syllables in a digit increases digits band decreases as the number of items said per second increases digit span increases Memory for riming list is bad or worse than memory for non riming lists info in short term memory stored arousitcally (verbally )

three things in the short term memory :    

code:verbal /acoustic limiting factor =duration without rehearsal is 10- 20 seconds capacity is 7 +-2 meaningful chunks process :rehearsal keeping it active in short-term memory and moving her info to long term memory

visual short-term memory  

 

not everything lends itself to verbal coding it's more efficient to use verbal code and confusing pictures rather than simple pictures like a green square most adults rely primarily on verbal code so if we can code verbally we do verbal short term memory =is more common than visual short-term memory verbal coding =default ->visual is back up

visual short-term memory (limiting factors )   

 

described by luck and Vogel in 1997 had to come up with new test used charge detection paradigm . Participants show display of items different coloured squares and the task is to remember the display after a delay another display shown either same or different display . participants have to press one or two buttons one button would be the same and press the other button for a different (without any verbal report ) one or two items can increase performance 3-4 items= performance drops a little = after 4

Working memory  

Is a replacement for short term storage Shot term memory is not able to predict real life performance



o Works in lab but not all the time in real life o Short term memory= is part of a larger memory system Baddeley’s model o Based on evidence of different effecs of modality on memory

Working memory 







Limited capacity system (not determined by any one factor) o In baddeleys model= capacity limit= more like resource model (not a specific number) o WM capacity: varies between people (some have more, some have less)  WM duration doesn’t matter because it is an actively manipulating model, if we process it, we remember it Phonological loop: o Consists of 2 things  Phonological store: storage place for verbal info  Articulatory rehearsal process: allows info to be lowered from visual code to verbal code Articulatory suppression provides evidence for articulatory rehearsal process o Saying lalalala when looking at words that neeed to be recalled after articulatory suppression occupies the articulatory rehearsal process o Nothing available to convert visual info into a verbal o If this is not possible cannot store in phonological loop o Causes memory performance decreases under articulation suppression ( no drop to 0 because visuospatial sketchpad stores some information (can remember all but only some). The capacity of stm is lower than capacity of verbal stm Articulatory suppression(Tries to stop in from getting into phonological store ) o Disrupts recall o Reduces/eliminates phonological similarity effect and word length effect o Phonological similarity effect=observation that memory is worse for rhyming words

o Word length effect+ observation that memory is worse for longer words Central executive:    

Control center for working memory (processing happens here) Often considered an attentional control mechanism Required for initiating retrieval, planning actioons/integrating info Does not have storing capacity but has attentional resources that can be shared among components

Visuospatial sketchpad=analogous to phonological loop  



Regulates relevant/irregular info (picking relevant for storage and ignoring irrelevant info (this might determine working capacity) Research by Vogel o participants told to remember info only on one side (right /left a fixation cue o

EEG activity o the the higher the line =the more brain activity o Higher working memory capacity people are successfully able to ignore irrelevant information (brain acts if only two items present ) o lower working memory capacity people are not able to ignore two items (process all four ) o Operationspan task =numbers  correlate working memory many everyday tasks including academic performance  using this method =interested in individual differences in task performance  touches on storage and processing

Binding problem  

Any cognitive model that proposes separate processing subsystems need to explain how this information is combined into an integrated cognitive experience Baddeley’s 3 component model doesn't address the binding problem o no other issues :  how does chunky increase working memory capacity (independently of attention )  everyday working performance suggests capacity is much higher than finding

Episodic buffer (multi modal info storage )     

used to integrate information from different modalities into a complete memory binding from working memory components to long term memory limited capacity buffer controlled by central executive other working memory models o other models are domain general so they assume parallel activation o example Cowan Said there really isn't a separate short term memory or working memory at all o working memory is just a activated portion of our long-term memory o believes memory is 1 big unitary system o working memory =memory we are attending o capacity of working memory =is not just some response that varies among individuals but it is about three to four items  because According to him working memory is memory with attention...