Chapter 5: A,en.on
• Introduc)on to A,en)on
• Allows you to navigate through a crowded world brimming with
informa8on and distrac8ons
• Flashbulb Memories- have a "live" quality feeling almost as if a
person is looking at a photo of a moment locked in 8me; can be
completely wrong about the actual event
• Phenomenon—>Model—>Hypothesis
• William James
• AEen8on: "Everyone knows what aEen8on is. It is the taking
possession by the mind in clear form, of one out of what seems
several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought… It
implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effec8vely
with others, and is a condi8on which has a real opposite in the
confused, dazed, scaEerbrained state.”
• Selec)on
• Selec8on: AEending to something causes the object of aEen8on
to be selected apart from the rest of the unaEended objects
◦ Can also refer to our conscious ability to aEend to the
informa8on that is relevant to our goals (ex. Searching for
something on a grocery store shelf)
• Some s8muli in the environment can trigger your aEen8on
automa8cally
• Irrelevant informa8on=noise (can become distrac8ng)
Automa)c & Controlled A,en)on
• Automa8c Processes: triggered involuntarily by external events;
trigger "capture" of aEen8on; operate in fast, efficient, and
obligatory manner
, • Controlled Processes: guide aEen8on voluntarily and consciously
to objects of interest; operate more slowly because they require
more cogni8ve effort
Controlled Processes
• Resources for controlled processes are limited
• As demands for aEen8on increase, you must compensate or else
performance In all tasks suffers
• Automa)c Processes
• In8mately linked with learning
◦ Some cues are more no8ceable and lead to stronger and
quicker associa8on when paired with events (ie. Salience)
i Salient piece of info seems to naturally pop-out at you
◦ With experience certain tasks will take less effort to
accomplish
Bo,om-Up & Top-Down Processing (Textbook)
• BoEom-Up Processing: Refers to a s8mulus-driven mechanism in
which aEen8on is captured by salient change in the environment;
automa8cally captures your aEen8on to alert you to ex., siren,
phone ringing, etc.
• Top-Down Processing: Strategically direct your aEen8on to match
your current goals and expecta8ons from past experience through
memory
• Observe how goals shape aEending strategies by monitoring
where a subject looks by using eye-tracking technology
The Spotlight Model
Selec)on & the Spotlight
• According to Michael Posner, visual aEen8on is like having
spotlight illuminate a key part of the stage; aEen8onal spotlight
focuses on only part of the environment at a 8me
, • AEen8on can be consciously directed across a visual scene or
hijacked by unconscious processes
• Objects falling within the spotlight (i.e. Your field of vision) are
processed preferen8ally
• Automa)c Processing
• Examine aEen8on in a lab by using cuing paradigms that try to
determine whether manipula8ng aEen8on can influence
behaviour
◦ Ex. Fixate on a computer monitor and determine whether a
star appears in the box to the leb or right (before a star
appears, a box will flash but it may not subsequently contain
a star)
i When star appears in box that flashed, subjects tend
to respond more quickly than when star appears
opposite to flashing box
▪ Flashing box automa8cally aEracts aEen8onal
spotlight to cued loca8on; If target appears in
cued loca8on, then aEen8on will amplify
perceptual processing of that target; Creates
measurable difference in target detec8on in
cued and not cued trials
◦ Showed that aEen8on may shib faster than eye as the effect
remains even if target appears on screen for so liEle 8me
that eye doesn't really see it
Filter Models
• Collin Cherry conducted classic experiments on the "cocktail party
effect" (despite compe8ng background noises, a listener can focus
on a single channel and s8ll pick out relevant salient informa8on
from the background) in which subjects listened to 2 different
messages played from a single loud speaker at the same 8me;
Subjects aEempted to separate messages in a "shadowing" task
(Example of dicho8c listening paradigm)
, ◦ Concluded that ability to separate target sounds from noise
is based on physical characteris8cs (i.e. gender of speaker,
direc8on of pitch, etc.)
Filters & A,en)on
• Cherry inspired cogni8ve models that compare aEen8on
processes o a filter which sibs away distrac8ons and only allows
important info through
• Spotlight model suggests that aEen8on would enhance processing
of single flower rela8ve to grass
• Filter model suggests that aEen8on helps us ignore grass and
allow flower to con8nue on for further processing
• Broadbent's Single Filter Model
• Proposed in 1958
• Broadbent used data from behavioural experiments to infer the
func8onal stages of cogni8ve processing
• States that aEen8onal filter selects important info on the basis of
physical characteris8cs and allows that info to con8nue on for
further processing
◦ Info that doesn't pass through isn't available for deeper
analysis and is completely eliminated
• Broadbent used dicho8c listening paradigm- Subjects put on
headphones and listen to two different messages (one goes to
aEended ear and other to unaEended ear); required to shadow
message in aEended ear; showed that most subjects processed
liEle/no informa8on from unaEended ear (but, could report
physical features like pitch, tone, etc.)
• Broadbent's model assumes absolutely no addi8onal processing of
unaEended signals
• Von Wright et al. Experiment: Classical condi8oning paradigm is
used to associate a par8cular word with an electric shock; Then
dicho8c listening experiment performed; When subjects heard
word (or similar sounding word) in aEended ear, they reacted with
• Introduc)on to A,en)on
• Allows you to navigate through a crowded world brimming with
informa8on and distrac8ons
• Flashbulb Memories- have a "live" quality feeling almost as if a
person is looking at a photo of a moment locked in 8me; can be
completely wrong about the actual event
• Phenomenon—>Model—>Hypothesis
• William James
• AEen8on: "Everyone knows what aEen8on is. It is the taking
possession by the mind in clear form, of one out of what seems
several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought… It
implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effec8vely
with others, and is a condi8on which has a real opposite in the
confused, dazed, scaEerbrained state.”
• Selec)on
• Selec8on: AEending to something causes the object of aEen8on
to be selected apart from the rest of the unaEended objects
◦ Can also refer to our conscious ability to aEend to the
informa8on that is relevant to our goals (ex. Searching for
something on a grocery store shelf)
• Some s8muli in the environment can trigger your aEen8on
automa8cally
• Irrelevant informa8on=noise (can become distrac8ng)
Automa)c & Controlled A,en)on
• Automa8c Processes: triggered involuntarily by external events;
trigger "capture" of aEen8on; operate in fast, efficient, and
obligatory manner
, • Controlled Processes: guide aEen8on voluntarily and consciously
to objects of interest; operate more slowly because they require
more cogni8ve effort
Controlled Processes
• Resources for controlled processes are limited
• As demands for aEen8on increase, you must compensate or else
performance In all tasks suffers
• Automa)c Processes
• In8mately linked with learning
◦ Some cues are more no8ceable and lead to stronger and
quicker associa8on when paired with events (ie. Salience)
i Salient piece of info seems to naturally pop-out at you
◦ With experience certain tasks will take less effort to
accomplish
Bo,om-Up & Top-Down Processing (Textbook)
• BoEom-Up Processing: Refers to a s8mulus-driven mechanism in
which aEen8on is captured by salient change in the environment;
automa8cally captures your aEen8on to alert you to ex., siren,
phone ringing, etc.
• Top-Down Processing: Strategically direct your aEen8on to match
your current goals and expecta8ons from past experience through
memory
• Observe how goals shape aEending strategies by monitoring
where a subject looks by using eye-tracking technology
The Spotlight Model
Selec)on & the Spotlight
• According to Michael Posner, visual aEen8on is like having
spotlight illuminate a key part of the stage; aEen8onal spotlight
focuses on only part of the environment at a 8me
, • AEen8on can be consciously directed across a visual scene or
hijacked by unconscious processes
• Objects falling within the spotlight (i.e. Your field of vision) are
processed preferen8ally
• Automa)c Processing
• Examine aEen8on in a lab by using cuing paradigms that try to
determine whether manipula8ng aEen8on can influence
behaviour
◦ Ex. Fixate on a computer monitor and determine whether a
star appears in the box to the leb or right (before a star
appears, a box will flash but it may not subsequently contain
a star)
i When star appears in box that flashed, subjects tend
to respond more quickly than when star appears
opposite to flashing box
▪ Flashing box automa8cally aEracts aEen8onal
spotlight to cued loca8on; If target appears in
cued loca8on, then aEen8on will amplify
perceptual processing of that target; Creates
measurable difference in target detec8on in
cued and not cued trials
◦ Showed that aEen8on may shib faster than eye as the effect
remains even if target appears on screen for so liEle 8me
that eye doesn't really see it
Filter Models
• Collin Cherry conducted classic experiments on the "cocktail party
effect" (despite compe8ng background noises, a listener can focus
on a single channel and s8ll pick out relevant salient informa8on
from the background) in which subjects listened to 2 different
messages played from a single loud speaker at the same 8me;
Subjects aEempted to separate messages in a "shadowing" task
(Example of dicho8c listening paradigm)
, ◦ Concluded that ability to separate target sounds from noise
is based on physical characteris8cs (i.e. gender of speaker,
direc8on of pitch, etc.)
Filters & A,en)on
• Cherry inspired cogni8ve models that compare aEen8on
processes o a filter which sibs away distrac8ons and only allows
important info through
• Spotlight model suggests that aEen8on would enhance processing
of single flower rela8ve to grass
• Filter model suggests that aEen8on helps us ignore grass and
allow flower to con8nue on for further processing
• Broadbent's Single Filter Model
• Proposed in 1958
• Broadbent used data from behavioural experiments to infer the
func8onal stages of cogni8ve processing
• States that aEen8onal filter selects important info on the basis of
physical characteris8cs and allows that info to con8nue on for
further processing
◦ Info that doesn't pass through isn't available for deeper
analysis and is completely eliminated
• Broadbent used dicho8c listening paradigm- Subjects put on
headphones and listen to two different messages (one goes to
aEended ear and other to unaEended ear); required to shadow
message in aEended ear; showed that most subjects processed
liEle/no informa8on from unaEended ear (but, could report
physical features like pitch, tone, etc.)
• Broadbent's model assumes absolutely no addi8onal processing of
unaEended signals
• Von Wright et al. Experiment: Classical condi8oning paradigm is
used to associate a par8cular word with an electric shock; Then
dicho8c listening experiment performed; When subjects heard
word (or similar sounding word) in aEended ear, they reacted with
