PSY 211 Exam 2 Questions and Already
Passed Answers (2025-2026) Update.
What are the 4 main goals of attention? What research is associated with these goals? - Answer
Explain dichotic listening & shadowing. What is the purpose of shadowing? What factors allow
effective shadowing? What do people remember about unattended info? - Answer Dichotic
Listening - Test for selective attention within the auditory system
Shadowing - is used to guarantee that the person pays full attention to the designed channel
Shadowing errors reveal factors affecting selection
They remember very little
Describe Broadbent's Filter Theory. What findings do and do not support this theory? - Answer
Early selection model - selection occurs early before any of teh unattended info can enter long-
term memory
What is the cocktail-party effect and what does it tell us about selective attention? - Answer
Ability to focus on one stimuli while ignoring others, can catch info of other conversation even
though it was not attended to. We monitor other things while being invested in one
conversation
Describe Treisman's Attention Theory? What findings are explained by this theory? - Answer
The amount of stimulation needed to activate the representation - Info does not capture
attention
What is the main difference between early- and late-selection theories of attention? - Answer
Describe the difference between repetition priming and semantic priming. - Answer Repetition
Priming - Improvement in performance with a stimulus (increased speed, accuracy, or
probability of output) due to that same stimulus being presented earlier
Semantic Priming - An improvement in performance with a stimulus (increased speed, accuracy,
or probability of output) due to a semantically (meaningful) related stimulus being presented
earlier
, The late selection theory because it suggests that ignored stimuli are not just blocked but
actively processed
Describe Kahneman's Capacity Model of attention. How is attentional capacity measured? What
are general vs. task-specific resources? Do some processes require no capacity? - Answer
Describe Strayer & Johnson's (2001) work on cell phones and driving. - Answer Task: Simulated
driving
(pursuit tracking with joystick)
Tracked target flashing red or green - S has to press joystick button when target turned red
Secondary task- talk on phone or listen to radio
What are the main characteristics of controlled and automatic processes? - Answer Controlled
- occur WITH intention and awareness, interfere with other processes, occur slowly, are flexible
Automatic - occur WITHOUT intention and awareness, interfering with other processes, occur
quickly and are flexible
What is consistent mapping & variable mapping? - Answer Consistent Mapping - the
"mapping" of stimuli to responses is the same over time/events - repeatedly using the same TV
remote control leads to Automatic processing
Variable Mapping - the "mapping" of stimuli to responses (S to R) changes over time/events -
using different remote controls requires controlled processing (at least for a while)
Describe the Stroop & Simon Tasks. How do these task exhibit control and automaticity? -
Answer Stroop Task - name the ink color in which the following "words" are written as quickly
as possible - automatic process (word reading) act in opposition to a controlled but less
practiced process (color naming)
Simon Task - respond to the arrows direction not the location, responses are faster and accurate
when a stimulus occurs in the same relative location as a response even if stimulus is irrelevant
to the task.
What is covert attention? - Answer The ability to direct and move visual attention independent
of gaze direction
Passed Answers (2025-2026) Update.
What are the 4 main goals of attention? What research is associated with these goals? - Answer
Explain dichotic listening & shadowing. What is the purpose of shadowing? What factors allow
effective shadowing? What do people remember about unattended info? - Answer Dichotic
Listening - Test for selective attention within the auditory system
Shadowing - is used to guarantee that the person pays full attention to the designed channel
Shadowing errors reveal factors affecting selection
They remember very little
Describe Broadbent's Filter Theory. What findings do and do not support this theory? - Answer
Early selection model - selection occurs early before any of teh unattended info can enter long-
term memory
What is the cocktail-party effect and what does it tell us about selective attention? - Answer
Ability to focus on one stimuli while ignoring others, can catch info of other conversation even
though it was not attended to. We monitor other things while being invested in one
conversation
Describe Treisman's Attention Theory? What findings are explained by this theory? - Answer
The amount of stimulation needed to activate the representation - Info does not capture
attention
What is the main difference between early- and late-selection theories of attention? - Answer
Describe the difference between repetition priming and semantic priming. - Answer Repetition
Priming - Improvement in performance with a stimulus (increased speed, accuracy, or
probability of output) due to that same stimulus being presented earlier
Semantic Priming - An improvement in performance with a stimulus (increased speed, accuracy,
or probability of output) due to a semantically (meaningful) related stimulus being presented
earlier
, The late selection theory because it suggests that ignored stimuli are not just blocked but
actively processed
Describe Kahneman's Capacity Model of attention. How is attentional capacity measured? What
are general vs. task-specific resources? Do some processes require no capacity? - Answer
Describe Strayer & Johnson's (2001) work on cell phones and driving. - Answer Task: Simulated
driving
(pursuit tracking with joystick)
Tracked target flashing red or green - S has to press joystick button when target turned red
Secondary task- talk on phone or listen to radio
What are the main characteristics of controlled and automatic processes? - Answer Controlled
- occur WITH intention and awareness, interfere with other processes, occur slowly, are flexible
Automatic - occur WITHOUT intention and awareness, interfering with other processes, occur
quickly and are flexible
What is consistent mapping & variable mapping? - Answer Consistent Mapping - the
"mapping" of stimuli to responses is the same over time/events - repeatedly using the same TV
remote control leads to Automatic processing
Variable Mapping - the "mapping" of stimuli to responses (S to R) changes over time/events -
using different remote controls requires controlled processing (at least for a while)
Describe the Stroop & Simon Tasks. How do these task exhibit control and automaticity? -
Answer Stroop Task - name the ink color in which the following "words" are written as quickly
as possible - automatic process (word reading) act in opposition to a controlled but less
practiced process (color naming)
Simon Task - respond to the arrows direction not the location, responses are faster and accurate
when a stimulus occurs in the same relative location as a response even if stimulus is irrelevant
to the task.
What is covert attention? - Answer The ability to direct and move visual attention independent
of gaze direction
