Cognition assignment 2
Dee5
IntroToAttention.pptxLearning objectives: By the end of this presentation you will be able to…
describe the cocktail party effect and the dichotic listening task and what they tell us about the nature of and challenges to attention.
identify processes by which we select information according to various information-processing theories; compare and contrast early, attenuation and late filter models and identify problems with each.
describe perceptual load theory, describe the relationships among task complexity, automaticity and perceptual load
explain how perceptual load theory uses task complexity to make sense of findings that supported early and late filter models.
describe the STROOP effect and perceptual load theory’s explanation of it.
Introduction To Attention
Introduction To Attention
I. The Cocktail Party Effect & Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveal the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
A. Cocktail-Party Effect- being able to focus one's auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, as a partygoer can focus on a single conversation in a noisy room.
Introduction To Attention
I. The Cocktail Party Effect & Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveal the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
A. Cocktail-Party Effect
B. Dichotic Listening Paradigm (party simulator)
present different stimuli to left and right ear
Participant shadows the attended channel.
Typical Findings: Participant give full reports of content on attended ear; report physical characteristics of but not meaning of content in unattended ear.
Think About It. What do these results tell you about the nature of attention and about the basic challenge of attention?
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
A. Cocktail-Party Effect
B. Dichotic Listening Paradigm
C. The Nature & Challenge of Attentional Processing
Attention is Limited
Attention is Selective
Challenge is that selectivity must balance sensitivity to new information with concentration on the task at hand
dichotic listening paradigm gave rise to information-processing theories of attention, which offer various explanations of how this challenge might be met…
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
sensory store (e.g. iconic memory)
filter- information that does not pass through filter is lost
detector- top-down perceptual process
Problem For the Broadbent Model
hearing your name across the room at the cocktail party
Dear Aunt Jane experiment
Broadbent Early Filter Model of Selective Attention
Gray & Wedderburn’s (1995) Dear Aunt Jane experiment
sensory store (e.g. iconic memory)
filter- information that does not pass through filter is lost
detector- top-down perceptual process
Problems
cocktail-party effect
Dear Aunt Jane experiment
Why are these finding a problem for the
Broadbent Model?
Broadbent Early Filter Model of Selective Attention
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
B. Attenuation (Treisman)
attenuator replaces early filter
all messages are processed to the extent necessary to identify the attended message
unattended message is attenuated and unlikely to receive high-level processing
attenuated words might still receive recognition if they have a low threshold (own name has lowest threshold). This accounts for the cocktail party effect.
Problem For Attenuation Model
sometimes info gets filtered after high-level processing (ie after interpretation) …
Treisman’s Attenuation Model of Selective Attention
Mackay (1973) throwing stones experiment
Attend Here
“They were throwing stones at the bank.”
“river” or “money”
(biasing words)
Test:
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the attended sentence?
“They threw stones toward the side of the river yesterday.”
“They threw stones at the savings and loan building yesterday.”
Results:
The meaning of the biasing word affected participants’ choice
Participants were unaware of the presentation of the biasing words (had been filtered)
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
B. Attenuation (Treisman)
C. Late Filtering (Deutsch & Deutsch)
filters out information AFTER high-level processing
can account for throwing stones (participants unaware of unattended message that, nonetheless, influenced their interpretation)
so, which is which? Early or Late filtering?
Deutsch & Deutsch’s Late Filter Model of Selective Attention
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
B. Attenuation (Treisman)
C. Late Filtering (Deutsch & Deutsch)
D. Perceptual Load Theory (Lavie)
Theory Described…
Perceptual Load Theory
attention has limited capacity.
attention involuntarily processes all information, up to capacity
complex/unlearned tasks use more capacity than do simple/habituated tasks (high vs low perceptual load)
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
B. Attenuation (Treisman)
C. Late Filtering (Deutsch & Deutsch)
D. Perceptual Load Theory (Lavie)
theory described
theory may resolve early vs late filter debate
Predictions:
complex tasks exhaust capacity; unattended information will be lost (as if there were an early selection filter).
simple tasks leave spare capacity; task-irrelevant information will be processed (as if there were a late selection filter)…
Results:
Compared to nondistracted (a) distracted participants (b) were less influenced by irrelevant image (dog) when task was complex (MKZ ) than when simple (OOOs).
Perceptual Load Theory
Introduction To Attention
I. Dichotic Listening Paradigm Reveals the Nature and Challenge of Attentional Processes
II. Information-Processing Theories of Attention explain how selectivity works…
A. Early Filtering (Broadbent)
B. Attenuation (Treisman)
C. Late Filtering (Deutsch & Deutsch)
D. Perceptual Load Theory (Lavie)
theory described
theory may resolve early vs late filter debate
theory offers an explanation of STROOP effect…
Explaining the STROOP effect:
both attended (color naming) and unattended (reading) tasks are processed.
simple/habituated response (reading) competes with complex/unlearned response (color naming).
Perceptual Load Theory
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