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26 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Cost of divided attention |
conditions:
-Selective= attend one side, ignore the other - Exclusive/OR = target could be left or right, but never at same time * task is harder when you divide attention than when you focus attention to one side |
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Simultaneous (Inclusive/OR condition) |
need to monitor both channels = even larger cost (only 31% correct) |
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Implications of Moray study |
not consistent with either early or late selection theories |
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Structural and Capacity Theories (70s) |
how performance limitations can occur |
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Structural theories (bottleneck) |
Some neural structures can only deal with one stimulus at a time > competition produces a processing 'bottleneck' (filter theory) |
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Capacity theories (capacity) |
Information processing is hard work & processing requires activation of that neural structure * limited capacity to activate the structure |
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Capacity Theory (Kahneman, 1973) |
flexibility of allocation of resources/capacity |
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Divided attention example (interference) |
phone whilst driving = delays reaction time, miss more red lights |
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Attention Operating Characeristic (AOC) |
dual task paradigm > progressive performance changes with change in capacity allocation 'graceful degradation' *but don't know where the tradeoff curve goes |
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Bonnel & Hafter (1998) |
Discrimination v. Detection -compare capacity demands |
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Discrimination (understand meaning) |
tradeoff - imply limited capacity |
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Detection (preattentive) |
no trade-off needed = no capacity limit |
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Capacity theory - pros/cons |
+ led to new experiments +emphasises divided attention, flexibility of attentional control - vague - can always explain using capacity |
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Signal Detection Theory |
(an alternative approach) How we make decisions about weak/difficult stimuli - mental representations of stimuli are statistically variable/noisy - attending to multiple stimuli increases noise and reduces accuracy - Makes mathematically precise predictions about divided attention costs -capacity limitations due to varying amount of noise |
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Attentional Orienting (1980s) |
Attentional shifts precede eye movements, can occur without eye movement ('covert attention') |
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Spotlight of attention (Posner) |
Shifting attention like a moving spotlight (for enhanced processing) - selective, limited capacity |
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Spatial cuing paradigm (Posner) |
Cue_Stimulus__response Valid cue = faster response time (benefit) Invalid cue = slower RT (cost) *Flexible: can be used with RT or accuracy, compare diff stimuli |
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Interpretation of Cueing Effects |
Shifts of attention/spotlight Costs in terms of time (like filter theory) - takes time to disengage from wrong location - benefit from engaging at correct location before presented stimulus but... Capacity theory would say: RT depends on capacity allocated to that location - Neutral = capacity shared - Focused = uneven capacity allocation |
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Attentional orienting in natural environments |
Shifts in attention can be topdown (decide to shift) or bottom up (something captures your attention) * We need both systems to function for focusing/disengaging |
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2 systems for engaging diff cues Central/peripheral |
endogenous = voluntary cues, central, symbolic (cognitive) exogenous = reflexive, direct, spatial |
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Peripheral cueing effect |
- peaks faster, transient |
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Central cueing effect |
- peaks slowly, sustained ( cognitive processing requires capacity) |
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Inhibition of Return |
= hard to get attention back to a location where a cue was presented if nothing is presented shortly after found only with peripheral cues, not central |
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What is the purpose of inhibition of return? |
- ecological view: allows efficient search of complex environment - prevents repeated search of same locaiton ( no need to maintain mental map of location that has already been searched) |
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Attentional Orienting studies - evidence for 2 systems |
Effects of SOA and cue type (reflexive v voluntary)
Affected diff by load - voluntary system is under more cognitive control Reflexive shows inhibition of return ~reflxive controlled by diff processes |
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Attentional orienting |
Combination of bottom-up/top-down control need to be able focus attention, exclude irrelevant stimuli, respond to unexpected threats |