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b
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b
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TYPESb OFbATTENTION
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focusbonbonebparticularbfeature,blikebt
hebconversationbyoubarebhavingbwithb
yourbfriend.
2. DividedbAttention
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you'reblikebmostbpeople,byoubdobthatbabl
ot.bMaybebyoubtalkbtobabfriendbonbthebp
honebwhilebyou'rebstraighteningbupbt
hebhouse.bNowadays,btherebarebpeo
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nesbwhilebthey'rebspendingbtimebwit
hbsomeone.bWhenbwebarebpayingbatt
entionbtobtwobthingsbatbonce,bwebare
busingbdividedbattention.
3. Sustainedb Attention
• Arebyoubsomeonebwhobcanbworkbatbo
nebtaskbforbablongbtime?bIfbyoubare,by
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tion.bThisbhappensbwhenbwebcanbconc MULTITASKING
b
entratebonbabtask,bevent,borbfeaturebi
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unimportantbfeaturesbofbthebenviron ntion.bHebcannotbfullybwatchbhisbprogram,bandb
mentbandbattendingbtobwhatbreallybm hebcannotbfullybpaybattentionbtobhisbhomewor
atters.bItbisbthebattentionbwebusebwhe k.bHowbdoesbthisbaffectbJohn?bLet'sbfindbout.b(
nbwebarebmakingbstepsbtowardbabpar dividedbattention)
ticularbend. Thebpomodorobtechnique
• Forbexample,bmaybebyoubneedbtobfini
shbabresearchbprojectbbybthebendbofbthe ThebPomodorobtechniquebisbabsimplebyetbeffect
bday.bYoubmightbstartbbybmakingbabpla ivebtoolbforbfocusedbworkbwithbplannedbbreaksbi
n,borbyoubmightbjumpbintobitbandbatta nbbetween.bFrancescobCirillobcoinedbthebtermb“p
ckbdifferentbpartsbofbitbasbtheybcome. omodoro,”bwhichbtranslatesbtobtomato,binbthebla
bYoubkeepbtrackbofbwhatbyou'vebdone,b teb1980sbafterbthebtomato-
whatbmorebyoubhavebtobdo,bandbhow shapedbtimerbhebusedbasbabuniversitybstudent.bSo
byoubarebprogressing.bYoubarebfocusi ,bhowbdoesbitbwork?bLet’sbbreakbdownbabpomod
ngbonbthesebthingsbinborderbtobreachbt orobintervalbstepbbybstep:
hebgoalbofbabfinishedbresearchbpaper
• Choosebyourbassignment/workbtobdo
.bThatbisbusingbyourbexecutivebattent
• Setbthebtimerbtob25bminutes
ion.
• Workbuntilbthebtimerbrings
ATTENTIONbCHANGESbINbLIFE • Takebabfive-minutebbreak
• Takeblongerbbreaksb(15btob30bminutes)bforb
everybfourbpomodorobintervals
CHANGE VS
, thusbdoesn'tbnoticebthebchangesbthatbta amountsbofbinputbsobwebcanbfocusbonbw
kebplacebaroundbthem.bAsbwithbchangebbli hat'sbimportantbandbignorebdistractions;bh
ndness,bchangesbthatboccurbduringbinatt owever,bsomebofbthesebdistractionsbmaybb
entionalbblindnessbareboftenbobviousbafte ebimportant.
rbbeingbpointedbout.bChoosingbtobfocusb • Forbexample,bimaginebthatbyou'rebdrivingb
onbonebstimulusbandbfilteringboutbothers downbthebstreetbatbrushbhour,bandbnoticeb
bisbcalledbattentionalbselection.bInborderbt thatbthebdriverbinbfrontbofbyoubhasbslam
obunderstandbthebdifferencebbetweenbbl medbonbhisbbrakes.bAbsplit-
indnessbversusbinattentionalbblindness,b secondblater,bwhilebyoubarebstillbbusybpro
it'sbimportantbtobconsiderbwherebthebobs cessingbwhatbjustbhappened,babdeerbdar
erver'sbfocusbisbat. tsbontobthebroadbfrombthebright.bAtbthisbpo
int,bit'sbhighlybunlikelybthatbyoubwillbbeba
CausesbofbChangebBlindness
blebtobprocessbthebsecondbeventbwithben
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asons.bPerhapsbthebmostbcommonbreas
WhatbCausesbAttentionalbBlink?
onbinvolvesbabhuman'sblimitedbattention
bresources.bThebhumanbbrainbisbunablebto • Attentionalbcapacitybtheory:bThisbtheoryb
bfocusbonbeverythingbinbitsbenvironmentb focusesbonbattentionbasbabresource.bItbs
atbabsinglebtime. uggestsbthatbtargetbonebwillbtakebupbpre
• Previousbexperiencesbmaybalsobresultbinb ciousbattentionalbresources,bmakingbitbdiff
changebblindness.bIfbsomeonebseesbtheb icultbtobprocessbtargetbtwobforbupbtobhalf
samebscenebdaybafterbday,btheybmaybco babsecond.
mebtobexpectbthatbitbwillbnotbchange. • Inhibitionbtheory:bAccordingbtobthebinhi
• Howbanbobjectbisbpresentedbmaybalsobch bitionbtheory,bwhenbdetectingbthebfirstbtar
angebwhetherbchangebblindnessboccurs. get,bthebmindbfocusesbonbidentifyingbinf
• Seniorbcitizensbexperiencebchangebblind ormation,bsuchbasbthebtarget'sbcolorban
nessbmoreboften.bConditionsbthatbimpac dbshape,borbwhetherbitbisbabletterborbnum
tbattention,bsuchbasbattentionbdeficitbdis ber.bForbaboutbhalfbabsecondbafterward,b
ordersborbdrugbuse,bmaybalsobinfluenceb yourbmindbsuppressesbincomingbinform
thebratesbatbwhichbchangebblindnessbca ationbtobpreventbconfusion.bInbotherbword
nboccur. s,bthebattentionalbblinkboccursbduringbtheb
timebyou'rebthinkingbaboutbwhatbyou've
ExperimentsbonbChangebBlindness
bseen.
• Changebblindnessbwasbfirstbproposedbinb • Delaybofbprocessingbtheory:bThisbtheoryb
theblateb1990sbbybRonaldbRensinkbandbhisb suggestsbthatbwhenbyou'rebbusybthinkingb
team.bSincebthen,bmultiplebexperimentsb aboutbtargetbone,byoubessentiallyb'forget'b
havebbeenbconductedbtobbetterbunderst aboutbtargetbtwo.
andbthebsituationsbthatbchangebblindnes • Interferencebtheory:bAsbstatedbinbthebin
sboccursbandbwhybitbhappens.bAbfewbexa terferencebtheory,bitemsbshownbinbabser
mplesbofbthesebexperimentsbarebprovide iesbarebcompetingbwithbeachbotherbinbyou
dbinbthebtablebbelow: rblimitedbworkingbmemory.bTherefore,bcon
fusionbcanboccurbwhenbyoubtrybtobrecallb
whatbyoubsaw.
• Two-
stagebprocessingbtheory:bAccordingbtobth
isbtheory,btherebarebtwobstagesbinvolved
binbprocessingbabseriesbofbitems.bThebrapi
d-
Attentionalb Blink detectionbstageboccursbwhenbyou'rebqui
cklybanalyzingbitemsbforbthebfeaturesbyo
Attentionalbblinkb(AB)bisbabphenomenonbobser
u'rebseeking.bInborderbtobpreventbdecaybi
vedbinbRapidbSerialbVisualbPresentationb(RSVP)
nbyourbworkingbmemory,byoubtransferbthe
.
bfeaturesbtobthebcapacity-
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nother,babtinybgapbinbattentionbcalledbattentiona boccurs.bHowever,byourbmindbcanbonlybp
,Two-stagebprocessingbtheory 3. Abseriesbofbcoloredbsquaresborb'blocks'bonb
absheetbofbpaper.bNobwordsbatball
Whileballbofbthesebtheoriesbarebsupportedbbybe
xperiments,bthebsupportbdependsbonbthebspeci • Bybcomparingbthebperformancebofbpeopl
ficbproceduresbused.bHowever,bresearchersbdoba ebinbthesebthreebtasks.bStroopbcanbmakeb
greebthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbhavebreal- inferencesbonbindividual’sbprocessingba
bworldbconsequences.bInterestingly,bonebstudy ndbspeed
bshowedbthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbbebreducedb • Frombthisbseeminglybsimplebresearch,bab
inbdurationbbyb'training'bourbbrains.bResearchersb surprisinglybinsightfulbtestbwasbdeveloped.
alsobfoundbthatbpeoplebwhobplayedbfast- • ThebStroopbTest,balsobknownbasbthebStropb
pacedbvideobgamesbhadbabquickerbattentionalb ColorbWordbTest,borbStroopbEffectbTest,bisbab
blinkbrecoverybthanbthosebwhobplayedbpuzzlebga neuropsychologicalbtestbusedbtobmeasu
mes.bThebneedbtobquicklybidentifybandbeliminate rebinhibitionbofbcognitivebinterference,bf
bonebtargetbafterbanotherbprovidedbincentivebfor rontalblobebfunctioning,bselectivebattent
bthebbrainbtobreducebattentionalbblink. ion,bandbcognitivebflexibility.
• Inbsimplebterms,bitbmeasuresbhowbwellbweb
JOHNbRIDLEYbSTROOP purposelybfocusbonbonlybonebpiecebofbinf
• anbAmericanbPsychologistbwhobstudiedbr ormationb(color)bwhilebignoringbotherbinf
eactionbtimesbofbindividualsbasbpartbofbhisbw ormationbwebusuallybprocessbautomatic
ork allyb(readingbwords).bThisbtestbandbvariat
• HebcreatedbthebStroopbTestb– ionsbhavebbeenbstudiedbextensively,binclu
babshortbandbsimplebtestbthatbcouldbeasily
dingbthebnewestbformsbofbbrainbimaging,bin
bshowbhowbquickbsomeone’sbreactionbti
cludingbCAT,bMRI,bfMRI,bandbPETbscans.
mebwas WhatbisbSelectivebAuditorybAttention?
• Inb1935,bHebpublishedbhisbfindings
WhatbisbthebStroopb Effect?
b
• ThebStroopbEffectbrefersbtobthebCognitiveb
andbExperimentalbPsychologybfindingbth
atbmorebtimebisbneededbtobnamebthebcol
orbofbabwordbwhenbthebfontbcolorbandbcol
orbnamebdobnotbmatchbthanbwhenbthebfon
tbcolorbandbthebnamebdobmatchb(Figureb
COCKTAILbPARTYb EFFECT
1.).bThisbisbknownbasbcognitivebinterfere
nce. • Inbthebearlyb1950s,bcognitivebscientistbC
• Thisbsimplebtestbdemonstratesbhowbsomebi olinbCherrybfirstbbeganbresearchingbwha
nformationbisbprocessedbnearlybeffortle tbhebreferredbtobasbthebcocktailbpartybprob
sslybwhilebothersbrequirebmorebattentio lem.bCherrybwonderedbhowbitbwasbthatb
nbtobsortbwhilebansweringbthebmostbbasi peoplebcouldbhavebprivateborbindividualb
cbquestions. conversationsbamidstbablargebgroupbofbp
eoplebwhobwereballbtalkingbatbthebsamebti
3b Elementsb ofb Stroop’sb Originalb Experiment
me.bAsbabresultbofbhisbresearch,bCherrybca
1. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbblackbink mebtobconclusionbthatbthebbody'sbaudito
• Blue,borange,bgreen,byellow,bgray rybsystembwasbcapablebofbfilteringboutbo
2. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbinkbofbab therbsoundsbinborderbtobactivelybfocusbo
differentbcolor nbonebconversation.bOutbofbthisbinitialbres
, SelectivebAuditorybAttention
InbBroadbent'sbfilterbmodel,bforbexample,bscientistb Originsbofbthebtheory
DonaldbBroadbentbexpandedbonbCherry'sbrese
• DuringbWorldbWarbII,bthebsignalbdetectionb
archbandbconcludedbthatbthebbrainbprocessesbi
theorybwasbusedbtobhelpbwithbradar,bandb
nformationbinbstages,bultimatelybblockingboutbu
thebprocessbdeterminedbradarbfrombotherb
nnecessarybsound.bIfbyoubwerebinbabcrowdedban
backgroundbnoise.
dbnoisybsubwaybcar,bforbexample,byoubwouldbha
• GustavbFechnerbdevelopedbthebsignalbd
vebtobpaybverybclosebattentionbtobwhatbthebpers
etectionbtheorybinb1860.
onbnextbtobyoubisbsaying.bBroadbent'sbfilterbmo
• Inb1966,btwobpsychophysicsbusedbthebsi
delbsuggestsbthatbatbsomebpointbinbthebreceivingb
gnalbdetectionbtheory.bJohnbSwetsbandbD
process,byourbbrainbwouldbblockboutbunnecessar
avidbGreenbfeltbhowbsignalbdetectionbthe
ybinformationbandballowbinbonlybthebinformationb
orybwasbbetterbthanbthebotherboptionsbbei
thatbitbhasbdeemedbimportant.
ngbofferedbatbthebtime.
CONFIRMATIONb BIAS
Testingb Signalb Detectionb Theory
Isbwhenbselectivebattentionbisbusedbtobproducebab
Whenbtestingbthebsignalbdetectionbtheory,babsi
desirablebinterpretationbofbabmessagebthatbvali
gnalbisbgivenborbnot,bandbthebobserverbrecogni
datesbabperson'sbbeliefs.
zesbthebsignalborbnot.bTheboutcomesbofbthebsign
Confirmationbbiasbisbnotbalwaysbquitebsobdram albdetectionbexperimentbarebhit,bmiss,bfalsebala
atic,bbutbthisbexamplebshouldbemphasizebthebp rm,bandbcorrectbrejection.
otentialbdangersbofbselectivebhearing,bwhichbc
annotbalwaysbbebtrustedbasbabfactualbinterpret
ationbofbanbexperienceborbevent.bThisbalsobhigh
lightsbonebofbthebmorebrecentbdevelopmentsbinb
research,bwhichbsuggestsbthatbselectivebauditory
battentionbisbveryboftenbslantedbtowardsbabpotent
ialbrewardborbpositiveboutcome.
SIGNALbDETECTIONbTHEORY
• Thebdetectionbofbthebstimulusbdependsbonb
bothbthebintensitybofbthebstimulusbandbp
hysical/psychologicalbstatebofbthebindivi
dual
Wherebdoesbsignalbdetectionbtheorybcomesbf
rom?
• Psychologybisbinterestedbinbmeasuringbourb
sensorybsensitivity.bThebleadingbtheorybisb
therebwasbabthresholdb–
bminimumbvaluebbelowbwhichbpeoplebco
uldbnotbdetectbabstimulus.bHowever,bitbh
asbchangedbfrombdeterminingbabthreshol
dbtobtestingbhowbobserversbrespondbtobsi
gnals
