Attentional Processes
b
LESSONb 1
TYPESb OFb ATTENTION
1. SelectivebAttention
• Takesbplacebwhenbwebblockboutbcert MULTITASKING
b
ainbfeaturesbofbourbenvironmentbandb
focusbonbonebparticularbfeature,blikebt Tobmultitaskbmeansbtobdobtwoborbmorebtasksbatbth
hebconversationbyoubarebhavingbwithb ebsamebtime.bWhenbJohnbisbmultitasking,bhebhasb
yourbfriend. dividedbattention.bJohnb isbnotbablebtobgivebeitherb
2. Dividedb Attention activitybhisbcompletebandbundividedbattention.bH
• Dobyoubeverbdobtwobthingsbatbonce?bIfby ebcannotbfullybwatchbhisbprogram,bandbhebcannot
ou'reblikebmostbpeople,byoubdobthatbablo bfullybpay battention bto bhis bhomework.bHow bdoes b
t.bMaybebyoubtalkbtobabfriendbonbthebph thisbaffectbJohn?bLet'sbfindbout.b(dividedbattentio
onebwhilebyou'rebstraighteningbupbth n)
ebhouse.bNowadays,btherebarebpeopl Thebpomodorobtechnique
ebeverywherebtextingbonbtheirbphon
esbwhilebthey'rebspendingbtimebwithb ThebPomodorobtechniquebisbabsimplebyetbeffect
someone.bWhenbwebarebpayingbatten ivebtoolbforbfocusedbworkbwithbplannedbbreaksbi
tionbtobtwobthingsbatbonce,bwebarebus nbbetween.bFrancescobCirillobcoinedbthebtermb“po
ingbdividedbattention. modoro,”bwhichbtranslatesbtobtomato,binbtheblate
3. SustainedbAttention b1980s bafter bthe btomato-
• Arebyoubsomeonebwhobcanbworkbatbo shapedbtimerbhebusedbasbabuniversitybstudent.bSo,
nebtaskbforbablongbtime?bIfbyoubare,byo bhow bdoes bitb
work?bLet’sbbreakbdownbabpomodor
ubarebgoodbatbusingbsustainedbattenti obintervalbstepbbybstep:
on.bThisbhappensbwhenbwebcanbconcen
• Choosebyourbassignment/workbtobdo
tratebonbabtask,bevent,borbfeatureb in
• Setbthebtimerbtob25bminutes
b ourb environmentb forb ab prolongedb
• Workbuntilbthebtimerbrings
periodbofbtime
• Takebabfive-minutebbreak
4. ExecutivebAttention
• Takeb longerb breaksb (15b tob 30b minutes)b forb
• Isbparticularlybgoodbatbblockingboutb
everybfourbpomodorobintervals
unimportantbfeaturesbofbthebenviron
mentbandbattendingbtobwhatbreallybm CHANGE VS INATTENTIONAL
atters.bItbisbthebattentionbwebusebwhe BLINDNESSb
nbwebarebmakingbstepsbtowardbabpart BLINDNESS
• So,bwhatbisbchangebblindness?bChangeb
icularbend.
blindnessb isbtheinabilitybtobdetectbminor
• Forbexample,bmaybebyoubneedbtobfini
changesbthatboccurbwithinbthebvisualbfiel
shbabresearchbprojectbbybthebendbofbthe
d.bMorebsimplybput,bitboccursbwhenbanbindi
bday.bYou bmightbstart bbybmaking bab
pla
vidualbdoesbnotbnoticebabchangebinbsom
n,borbyoubmightbjumpbintobitbandbatta
ethingbthey'rebactivelybwatching.
ckbdifferentbpartsbofbitbasbtheybcome.
• Inattentionalbblindnessboccursbwhenbab
bYoubkeepbtrackbofbwhatbyou'veb done,b
personbisbfocusingbonbanotherbtaskband
whatbmorebyoubhavebtobdo,bandbhow
byoubarebprogressing.bYoubarebfocusi
ngbonbthesebthingsbinborderbtobreachbt
hebgoalbofbabfinishedbresearchbpaper
.bThatbisbusingbyourbexecutivebattent
ion.
ATTENTIONbCHANGESbINbLIFE
, thusbdoesn'tbnoticebthebchangesbthatbta amountsbofbinputbsobwebcanbfocusbonbw
kebplacebaroundbthem.bAsbwithbchangebbli hat'sbimportantbandbignorebdistractions;bh
ndness,bchangesbthatboccurbduringbinatt owever,bsomebofbthesebdistractionsbmaybb
entionalbblindnessbareboftenbobviousbafterb ebimportant.
beingbpointedbout.bChoosingbtobfocusbo • Forbexample,bimaginebthatbyou'rebdrivingb
nbonebstimulusbandbfilteringboutbothersbis downbthebstreetbatbrushbhour,bandbnoticebt
bcalledbattentionalbselection.bInb
orderbtob hatbthebdriverbinbfrontbofbyoubhasbslamm
understandbthebdifferencebbetweenbblin edbonbhisbbrakes.bAbsplit-
dnessbversusbinattentionalbblindness,bit' secondblater,bwhilebyoubarebstillbbusybproc
sbimportantbtobconsiderbwherebthebobserv essingbwhatbjustbhappened,babdeerbdart
er'sbfocusbisbat. sbontobthebroadbfrombthebright.bAtbthisbpoi
nt,bit'sbhighlybunlikelybthatbyoubwillbbebab
CausesbofbChangebBlindness
lebtobprocessbthebsecondbeventbwithbeno
• Changebblindnessboccursbforbmultiplebre ughbtimebtobreactbproperly.
asons.bPerhapsbthebmostbcommonbreaso
WhatbCausesbAttentionalbBlink?
nbinvolvesbabhuman'sblimitedbattentionbr
esources.bThebhumanbbrainbisbunablebtobf • Attentionalbcapacitybtheory:bThisbtheorybf
ocusbonbeverythingbinbitsbenvironmentbat ocusesbonbattentionbasbabresource.bItbsu
babsingle btime. ggestsbthatbtargetbonebwillbtakebupbpreci
• Previousbexperiencesbmaybalsobresultbinb ousbattentionalbresources,bmakingbitbdiffic
changebblindness.bIfbsomeonebseesbtheb ultbtobprocessbtargetbtwobforbupbtobhalfbab
samebscenebdaybafterbday,btheybmaybco second.
mebtobexpectbthatbitbwillbnotbchange. • Inhibitionbtheory:bAccordingbtobthebinhi
• Howbanbobjectbisbpresentedbmaybalsobch bitionbtheory,bwhenbdetectingbthebfirstbtarg
angebwhetherbchangebblindnessboccurs. et,bthebmindbfocusesbonbidentifyingbinfor
• Seniorbcitizensbexperiencebchangebblind mation,bsuchbasbthebtarget'sbcolorbandbs
nessbmoreboften.bConditionsbthatbimpac hape,borbwhetherbitbisbabletterborbnumbe
tbattention,bsuchbasbattentionbdeficitbdis r.bForbaboutbhalfbabsecondbafterward,byo
ordersborbdrugbuse,bmaybalsobinfluenceb urbmindbsuppressesbincomingbinformati
theb ratesb atb whichb changebblindnessbc onbtobpreventbconfusion.bInbotherbwords,bt
anboccur. hebattentionalbblinkboccursbduringbthebti
mebyou'rebthinkingbaboutbwhatbyou'vebsee
Experimentsb onbChangebBlindness
n.
• Changebblindnessbwasbfirstbproposedbinbt • Delaybofbprocessingbtheory:bThisbtheorybs
heblateb1990sbbybRonaldbRensinkbandbhisbt uggestsbthatbwhenbyou'rebbusybthinkingba
eam.bSincebthen,bmultiplebexperimentsbh boutbtargetbone,byoubessentiallyb'forget'ba
aveb beenb conductedb tob betterbunders boutbtargetbtwo.
tandbthebsituationsbthatbchangebblindne • Interferencebtheory:bAsbstatedbinbthebin
ssboccursbandbwhybitbhappens.bAbfewbexa terferencebtheory,bitemsbshownbinbabser
mplesbofbthesebexperimentsbarebprovide iesbarebcompetingbwithbeachbotherbinbyou
dbinbthebtablebbelow: rblimitedbworkingbmemory.bTherefore,bcon
fusionbcanboccurbwhenbyoubtrybtobrecallb
whatbyoubsaw.
• Two-
stagebprocessingbtheory:bAccordingbtobthi
sbtheory,btherebarebtwobstagesbinvolvedb
inbprocessingbabseriesbofbitems.bThebrapid
-
Attentionalb Blink detectionbstageboccursbwhenbyou'rebquic
klybanalyzingbitemsbforbthebfeaturesb yo
Attentionalbblinkb(AB)bisbabphenomenonbobser
u'reb seeking.b Inb orderb tobpreventbdeca
vedbinbRapidbSerialbVisualbPresentationb(RSVP
ybinbyourbworkingbmemory,byoubtransferbt
).
hebfeaturesbtobthebcapacity-
Whenbyoubshiftbyourbfocusbfrombonebthingbtoba limitedbstage,bwherebdeeperbprocessingb
b
nother,babtinybgapbinbattentionbcalledbattention occurs.bHowever,byourbmindbcanbonlybp
,Two-stagebprocessingbtheory 3. Abseriesbofbcoloredbsquaresborb'blocks'bonba
bsheet bofbpaper.bNo bwords batball
Whileballbofbthesebtheoriesbarebsupportedbbybe
xperiments,bthebsupportbdependsbonbthebspecif • Bybcomparingbthebperformancebofbpeopl
icbproceduresbused.bHowever,bresearchersbdobag ebinbthesebthreebtasks.bStroopbcanbmakeb
reebthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbhavebreal- inferencesbonbindividual’sbprocessingban
worldbconsequences.bInterestingly,bonebstudyb
b dbspeed
showedbthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbbebreducedbi • Frombthisbseeminglybsimplebresearch,bab
nbdurationbbyb'training'bourbbrains.bResearchersba surprisinglyb insightfulb testb wasb developed.
lsobfoundbthatbpeoplebwhobplayedbfast- • ThebStroopbTest,balsobknownbasbthebStropb
pacedbvideobgamesbhadbabquickerbattentionalbb ColorbWordbTest,borbStroopbEffectbTest,bisbabn
linkbrecoverybthanbthosebwhobplayedbpuzzlebgam europsychologicalbtestbusedbtobmeasur
es.bThebneedbtobquicklybidentifybandbeliminatebo ebinhibitionbofbcognitivebinterference,bfr
nebtargetbafterbanotherbprovidedbincentivebforbt ontalblobebfunctioning,bselectivebattenti
hebbrainbtobreducebattentionalbblink. on,bandbcognitivebflexibility.
• Inbsimplebterms,bitbmeasuresbhowbwellbweb
JOHNbRIDLEYbSTROOP
purposelyb focusb onb onlyb oneb pieceb of
• anbAmericanbPsychologistbwhobstudiedbr informationb(color)bwhilebignoringbother
eactionbtimesbofbindividualsbasbpartbofbhisbw information we usually process
ork automaticallyb(readingbwords).bThisbtestb
• HebcreatedbthebStroopbTestb– andbvariationsbhavebbeenbstudiedbextens
babshort bandb
simplebtestbthatbcouldbeasily ively,bincludingbthebnewestbformsbofbbrainbi
bshowbhowb quickbsomeone’sbreactionbtime maging,bincludingbCAT,bMRI,bfMRI,bandbPE
bwas Tbscans.
• Inb1935,bHebpublishedbhisbfindings
WhatbisbSelectivebAuditorybAttention?
WhatbisbthebStroopb Effect?
b
• ThebStroopbEffectbrefersbtobthebCognitiveba
ndbExperimentalbPsychologybfindingbtha
tbmorebtimebisbneededbtobnamebthebcolo
rbofbabwordbwhenbthebfontbcolorbandbcolorb
namebdobnotbmatchbthanbwhenbthebfontbc
olorbandbthebnamebdobmatchb(Figureb1.)
.bThisbisbknownbasbcognitivebinterferenc
COCKTAILbPARTYbEFFECT
e.
• Thisbsimplebtestbdemonstratesbhowbsomebi • Inbthebearlyb1950s,bcognitivebscientistbC
nformationbisbprocessedbnearlybeffortle olinbCherrybfirstbbeganbresearchingbwhat
sslybwhilebothersbrequirebmorebattentio bhe breferred bto basbthe bcocktail bparty bprobl
nbtobsortbwhilebansweringbthebmostbbasic em.bCherrybwonderedbhowbitbwasbthatbp
bquestions. eoplebcouldbhavebprivateborbindividualbc
onversationsbamidstbablargebgroupbofbpe
3bElementsbofbStroop’sbOriginalbExperiment
oplebwhobwereballbtalkingbatbthebsamebtim
1. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbblackbink e.bAsbabresultbofbhisbresearch,bCherrybcame
• Blue,borange,bgreen,byellow,bgray btobconclusionbthatbtheb body'sbauditorybs
2. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbinkbofbabd ystembwasbcapablebofbfilteringboutbotherb
ifferentbcolor soundsbinborderbtobactivelybfocusbonbone
, SelectivebAuditorybAttention
InbBroadbent'sbfilterbmodel,bforbexample,bscientistb Originsbofbthebtheory
DonaldbBroadbentbexpandedbonbCherry'sbrese
archbandbconcludedbthatbthebbrainbprocessesbin • DuringbWorldbWarbII,bthebsignalbdetectionbt
formationbinbstages,bultimatelybblockingboutbun heorybwasbusedbtobhelpbwithbradar,bandbt
necessarybsound.bIfbyoubwerebinbabcrowdedbandbn hebprocessbdeterminedbradarbfrombotherbb
oisybsubwaybcar,bforbexample,byoubwouldbhavebt ackgroundbnoise.
obpaybverybclosebattentionbtobwhatbthebpersonbn • GustavbFechnerbdevelopedbthebsignalbd
extbtobyoubisbsaying.bBroadbent'sbfilterbmodelbs etectionbtheorybinb1860.
uggestsbthatbatbsomebpointbinbthebreceivingbproc • Inb1966,btwobpsychophysicsbusedbthebsi
ess,byourbbrainbwouldbblockboutbunnecessarybinfo gnalbdetectionbtheory.bJohnbSwetsbandbD
rmationbandballowbinbonlybthebinformationbthatbi avidbGreenbfeltbhowbsignalbdetectionbthe
tbhasbdeemedbimportant. orybwasbbetterbthanbthebotherboptionsbbei
ngbofferedbatbthebtime.
CONFIRMATIONb BIAS
TestingbSignalbDetectionbTheory
Isbwhenbselectivebattentionbisbusedbtobproducebab
desirableb interpretationb ofb ab messageb thatb Whenbtestingbthebsignalbdetectionbtheory,babsi
validatesbabperson'sbbeliefs. gnalbisbgivenborbnot,bandbthebobserverbrecogni
zesbthebsignalborbnot.bTheboutcomesbofbthebsign
Confirmationbbiasbisbnotbalwaysbquitebsobdram albdetectionbexperimentbarebhit,bmiss,bfalsebalar
atic,bbutbthisbexamplebshouldbemphasizebthebp m,bandbcorrectbrejection.
otentialbdangersbofbselectivebhearing,bwhichbc
annotbalwaysbbebtrustedbasbabfactualbinterpret
ationbofbanbexperienceborbevent.bThisbalsobhighl
ightsbonebofbthebmorebrecentbdevelopmentsbinbr
esearch,bwhichbsuggestsbthatbselectivebauditoryb
attentionbisbveryboftenbslantedbtowardsbabpotenti
albrewardborbpositiveboutcome.
SIGNALbDETECTIONbTHEORY
• Thebdetectionbofbthebstimulusbdependsbonb
bothbthebintensitybofbthebstimulusbandbp
hysical/psychologicalbstatebofbthebindivi
dual
Wherebdoesbsignalbdetectionbtheorybcomesbf
rom?
• Psychologybisbinterestedbinbmeasuringbourb
sensorybsensitivity.bThebleadingbtheorybisbt
herebwasbabthresholdb–
bminimumbvalueb belowbwhichbpeoplebcou
ldbnotbdetectbabstimulus.bHowever,bitbha
sbchangedbfrombdeterminingbabthreshold
btobtestingbhowbobserversbrespondbtobsign
als
b
LESSONb 1
TYPESb OFb ATTENTION
1. SelectivebAttention
• Takesbplacebwhenbwebblockboutbcert MULTITASKING
b
ainbfeaturesbofbourbenvironmentbandb
focusbonbonebparticularbfeature,blikebt Tobmultitaskbmeansbtobdobtwoborbmorebtasksbatbth
hebconversationbyoubarebhavingbwithb ebsamebtime.bWhenbJohnbisbmultitasking,bhebhasb
yourbfriend. dividedbattention.bJohnb isbnotbablebtobgivebeitherb
2. Dividedb Attention activitybhisbcompletebandbundividedbattention.bH
• Dobyoubeverbdobtwobthingsbatbonce?bIfby ebcannotbfullybwatchbhisbprogram,bandbhebcannot
ou'reblikebmostbpeople,byoubdobthatbablo bfullybpay battention bto bhis bhomework.bHow bdoes b
t.bMaybebyoubtalkbtobabfriendbonbthebph thisbaffectbJohn?bLet'sbfindbout.b(dividedbattentio
onebwhilebyou'rebstraighteningbupbth n)
ebhouse.bNowadays,btherebarebpeopl Thebpomodorobtechnique
ebeverywherebtextingbonbtheirbphon
esbwhilebthey'rebspendingbtimebwithb ThebPomodorobtechniquebisbabsimplebyetbeffect
someone.bWhenbwebarebpayingbatten ivebtoolbforbfocusedbworkbwithbplannedbbreaksbi
tionbtobtwobthingsbatbonce,bwebarebus nbbetween.bFrancescobCirillobcoinedbthebtermb“po
ingbdividedbattention. modoro,”bwhichbtranslatesbtobtomato,binbtheblate
3. SustainedbAttention b1980s bafter bthe btomato-
• Arebyoubsomeonebwhobcanbworkbatbo shapedbtimerbhebusedbasbabuniversitybstudent.bSo,
nebtaskbforbablongbtime?bIfbyoubare,byo bhow bdoes bitb
work?bLet’sbbreakbdownbabpomodor
ubarebgoodbatbusingbsustainedbattenti obintervalbstepbbybstep:
on.bThisbhappensbwhenbwebcanbconcen
• Choosebyourbassignment/workbtobdo
tratebonbabtask,bevent,borbfeatureb in
• Setbthebtimerbtob25bminutes
b ourb environmentb forb ab prolongedb
• Workbuntilbthebtimerbrings
periodbofbtime
• Takebabfive-minutebbreak
4. ExecutivebAttention
• Takeb longerb breaksb (15b tob 30b minutes)b forb
• Isbparticularlybgoodbatbblockingboutb
everybfourbpomodorobintervals
unimportantbfeaturesbofbthebenviron
mentbandbattendingbtobwhatbreallybm CHANGE VS INATTENTIONAL
atters.bItbisbthebattentionbwebusebwhe BLINDNESSb
nbwebarebmakingbstepsbtowardbabpart BLINDNESS
• So,bwhatbisbchangebblindness?bChangeb
icularbend.
blindnessb isbtheinabilitybtobdetectbminor
• Forbexample,bmaybebyoubneedbtobfini
changesbthatboccurbwithinbthebvisualbfiel
shbabresearchbprojectbbybthebendbofbthe
d.bMorebsimplybput,bitboccursbwhenbanbindi
bday.bYou bmightbstart bbybmaking bab
pla
vidualbdoesbnotbnoticebabchangebinbsom
n,borbyoubmightbjumpbintobitbandbatta
ethingbthey'rebactivelybwatching.
ckbdifferentbpartsbofbitbasbtheybcome.
• Inattentionalbblindnessboccursbwhenbab
bYoubkeepbtrackbofbwhatbyou'veb done,b
personbisbfocusingbonbanotherbtaskband
whatbmorebyoubhavebtobdo,bandbhow
byoubarebprogressing.bYoubarebfocusi
ngbonbthesebthingsbinborderbtobreachbt
hebgoalbofbabfinishedbresearchbpaper
.bThatbisbusingbyourbexecutivebattent
ion.
ATTENTIONbCHANGESbINbLIFE
, thusbdoesn'tbnoticebthebchangesbthatbta amountsbofbinputbsobwebcanbfocusbonbw
kebplacebaroundbthem.bAsbwithbchangebbli hat'sbimportantbandbignorebdistractions;bh
ndness,bchangesbthatboccurbduringbinatt owever,bsomebofbthesebdistractionsbmaybb
entionalbblindnessbareboftenbobviousbafterb ebimportant.
beingbpointedbout.bChoosingbtobfocusbo • Forbexample,bimaginebthatbyou'rebdrivingb
nbonebstimulusbandbfilteringboutbothersbis downbthebstreetbatbrushbhour,bandbnoticebt
bcalledbattentionalbselection.bInb
orderbtob hatbthebdriverbinbfrontbofbyoubhasbslamm
understandbthebdifferencebbetweenbblin edbonbhisbbrakes.bAbsplit-
dnessbversusbinattentionalbblindness,bit' secondblater,bwhilebyoubarebstillbbusybproc
sbimportantbtobconsiderbwherebthebobserv essingbwhatbjustbhappened,babdeerbdart
er'sbfocusbisbat. sbontobthebroadbfrombthebright.bAtbthisbpoi
nt,bit'sbhighlybunlikelybthatbyoubwillbbebab
CausesbofbChangebBlindness
lebtobprocessbthebsecondbeventbwithbeno
• Changebblindnessboccursbforbmultiplebre ughbtimebtobreactbproperly.
asons.bPerhapsbthebmostbcommonbreaso
WhatbCausesbAttentionalbBlink?
nbinvolvesbabhuman'sblimitedbattentionbr
esources.bThebhumanbbrainbisbunablebtobf • Attentionalbcapacitybtheory:bThisbtheorybf
ocusbonbeverythingbinbitsbenvironmentbat ocusesbonbattentionbasbabresource.bItbsu
babsingle btime. ggestsbthatbtargetbonebwillbtakebupbpreci
• Previousbexperiencesbmaybalsobresultbinb ousbattentionalbresources,bmakingbitbdiffic
changebblindness.bIfbsomeonebseesbtheb ultbtobprocessbtargetbtwobforbupbtobhalfbab
samebscenebdaybafterbday,btheybmaybco second.
mebtobexpectbthatbitbwillbnotbchange. • Inhibitionbtheory:bAccordingbtobthebinhi
• Howbanbobjectbisbpresentedbmaybalsobch bitionbtheory,bwhenbdetectingbthebfirstbtarg
angebwhetherbchangebblindnessboccurs. et,bthebmindbfocusesbonbidentifyingbinfor
• Seniorbcitizensbexperiencebchangebblind mation,bsuchbasbthebtarget'sbcolorbandbs
nessbmoreboften.bConditionsbthatbimpac hape,borbwhetherbitbisbabletterborbnumbe
tbattention,bsuchbasbattentionbdeficitbdis r.bForbaboutbhalfbabsecondbafterward,byo
ordersborbdrugbuse,bmaybalsobinfluenceb urbmindbsuppressesbincomingbinformati
theb ratesb atb whichb changebblindnessbc onbtobpreventbconfusion.bInbotherbwords,bt
anboccur. hebattentionalbblinkboccursbduringbthebti
mebyou'rebthinkingbaboutbwhatbyou'vebsee
Experimentsb onbChangebBlindness
n.
• Changebblindnessbwasbfirstbproposedbinbt • Delaybofbprocessingbtheory:bThisbtheorybs
heblateb1990sbbybRonaldbRensinkbandbhisbt uggestsbthatbwhenbyou'rebbusybthinkingba
eam.bSincebthen,bmultiplebexperimentsbh boutbtargetbone,byoubessentiallyb'forget'ba
aveb beenb conductedb tob betterbunders boutbtargetbtwo.
tandbthebsituationsbthatbchangebblindne • Interferencebtheory:bAsbstatedbinbthebin
ssboccursbandbwhybitbhappens.bAbfewbexa terferencebtheory,bitemsbshownbinbabser
mplesbofbthesebexperimentsbarebprovide iesbarebcompetingbwithbeachbotherbinbyou
dbinbthebtablebbelow: rblimitedbworkingbmemory.bTherefore,bcon
fusionbcanboccurbwhenbyoubtrybtobrecallb
whatbyoubsaw.
• Two-
stagebprocessingbtheory:bAccordingbtobthi
sbtheory,btherebarebtwobstagesbinvolvedb
inbprocessingbabseriesbofbitems.bThebrapid
-
Attentionalb Blink detectionbstageboccursbwhenbyou'rebquic
klybanalyzingbitemsbforbthebfeaturesb yo
Attentionalbblinkb(AB)bisbabphenomenonbobser
u'reb seeking.b Inb orderb tobpreventbdeca
vedbinbRapidbSerialbVisualbPresentationb(RSVP
ybinbyourbworkingbmemory,byoubtransferbt
).
hebfeaturesbtobthebcapacity-
Whenbyoubshiftbyourbfocusbfrombonebthingbtoba limitedbstage,bwherebdeeperbprocessingb
b
nother,babtinybgapbinbattentionbcalledbattention occurs.bHowever,byourbmindbcanbonlybp
,Two-stagebprocessingbtheory 3. Abseriesbofbcoloredbsquaresborb'blocks'bonba
bsheet bofbpaper.bNo bwords batball
Whileballbofbthesebtheoriesbarebsupportedbbybe
xperiments,bthebsupportbdependsbonbthebspecif • Bybcomparingbthebperformancebofbpeopl
icbproceduresbused.bHowever,bresearchersbdobag ebinbthesebthreebtasks.bStroopbcanbmakeb
reebthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbhavebreal- inferencesbonbindividual’sbprocessingban
worldbconsequences.bInterestingly,bonebstudyb
b dbspeed
showedbthatbattentionalbblinkbcanbbebreducedbi • Frombthisbseeminglybsimplebresearch,bab
nbdurationbbyb'training'bourbbrains.bResearchersba surprisinglyb insightfulb testb wasb developed.
lsobfoundbthatbpeoplebwhobplayedbfast- • ThebStroopbTest,balsobknownbasbthebStropb
pacedbvideobgamesbhadbabquickerbattentionalbb ColorbWordbTest,borbStroopbEffectbTest,bisbabn
linkbrecoverybthanbthosebwhobplayedbpuzzlebgam europsychologicalbtestbusedbtobmeasur
es.bThebneedbtobquicklybidentifybandbeliminatebo ebinhibitionbofbcognitivebinterference,bfr
nebtargetbafterbanotherbprovidedbincentivebforbt ontalblobebfunctioning,bselectivebattenti
hebbrainbtobreducebattentionalbblink. on,bandbcognitivebflexibility.
• Inbsimplebterms,bitbmeasuresbhowbwellbweb
JOHNbRIDLEYbSTROOP
purposelyb focusb onb onlyb oneb pieceb of
• anbAmericanbPsychologistbwhobstudiedbr informationb(color)bwhilebignoringbother
eactionbtimesbofbindividualsbasbpartbofbhisbw information we usually process
ork automaticallyb(readingbwords).bThisbtestb
• HebcreatedbthebStroopbTestb– andbvariationsbhavebbeenbstudiedbextens
babshort bandb
simplebtestbthatbcouldbeasily ively,bincludingbthebnewestbformsbofbbrainbi
bshowbhowb quickbsomeone’sbreactionbtime maging,bincludingbCAT,bMRI,bfMRI,bandbPE
bwas Tbscans.
• Inb1935,bHebpublishedbhisbfindings
WhatbisbSelectivebAuditorybAttention?
WhatbisbthebStroopb Effect?
b
• ThebStroopbEffectbrefersbtobthebCognitiveba
ndbExperimentalbPsychologybfindingbtha
tbmorebtimebisbneededbtobnamebthebcolo
rbofbabwordbwhenbthebfontbcolorbandbcolorb
namebdobnotbmatchbthanbwhenbthebfontbc
olorbandbthebnamebdobmatchb(Figureb1.)
.bThisbisbknownbasbcognitivebinterferenc
COCKTAILbPARTYbEFFECT
e.
• Thisbsimplebtestbdemonstratesbhowbsomebi • Inbthebearlyb1950s,bcognitivebscientistbC
nformationbisbprocessedbnearlybeffortle olinbCherrybfirstbbeganbresearchingbwhat
sslybwhilebothersbrequirebmorebattentio bhe breferred bto basbthe bcocktail bparty bprobl
nbtobsortbwhilebansweringbthebmostbbasic em.bCherrybwonderedbhowbitbwasbthatbp
bquestions. eoplebcouldbhavebprivateborbindividualbc
onversationsbamidstbablargebgroupbofbpe
3bElementsbofbStroop’sbOriginalbExperiment
oplebwhobwereballbtalkingbatbthebsamebtim
1. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbblackbink e.bAsbabresultbofbhisbresearch,bCherrybcame
• Blue,borange,bgreen,byellow,bgray btobconclusionbthatbtheb body'sbauditorybs
2. Ablistbofbcolorbnamesbprintedbinbinkbofbabd ystembwasbcapablebofbfilteringboutbotherb
ifferentbcolor soundsbinborderbtobactivelybfocusbonbone
, SelectivebAuditorybAttention
InbBroadbent'sbfilterbmodel,bforbexample,bscientistb Originsbofbthebtheory
DonaldbBroadbentbexpandedbonbCherry'sbrese
archbandbconcludedbthatbthebbrainbprocessesbin • DuringbWorldbWarbII,bthebsignalbdetectionbt
formationbinbstages,bultimatelybblockingboutbun heorybwasbusedbtobhelpbwithbradar,bandbt
necessarybsound.bIfbyoubwerebinbabcrowdedbandbn hebprocessbdeterminedbradarbfrombotherbb
oisybsubwaybcar,bforbexample,byoubwouldbhavebt ackgroundbnoise.
obpaybverybclosebattentionbtobwhatbthebpersonbn • GustavbFechnerbdevelopedbthebsignalbd
extbtobyoubisbsaying.bBroadbent'sbfilterbmodelbs etectionbtheorybinb1860.
uggestsbthatbatbsomebpointbinbthebreceivingbproc • Inb1966,btwobpsychophysicsbusedbthebsi
ess,byourbbrainbwouldbblockboutbunnecessarybinfo gnalbdetectionbtheory.bJohnbSwetsbandbD
rmationbandballowbinbonlybthebinformationbthatbi avidbGreenbfeltbhowbsignalbdetectionbthe
tbhasbdeemedbimportant. orybwasbbetterbthanbthebotherboptionsbbei
ngbofferedbatbthebtime.
CONFIRMATIONb BIAS
TestingbSignalbDetectionbTheory
Isbwhenbselectivebattentionbisbusedbtobproducebab
desirableb interpretationb ofb ab messageb thatb Whenbtestingbthebsignalbdetectionbtheory,babsi
validatesbabperson'sbbeliefs. gnalbisbgivenborbnot,bandbthebobserverbrecogni
zesbthebsignalborbnot.bTheboutcomesbofbthebsign
Confirmationbbiasbisbnotbalwaysbquitebsobdram albdetectionbexperimentbarebhit,bmiss,bfalsebalar
atic,bbutbthisbexamplebshouldbemphasizebthebp m,bandbcorrectbrejection.
otentialbdangersbofbselectivebhearing,bwhichbc
annotbalwaysbbebtrustedbasbabfactualbinterpret
ationbofbanbexperienceborbevent.bThisbalsobhighl
ightsbonebofbthebmorebrecentbdevelopmentsbinbr
esearch,bwhichbsuggestsbthatbselectivebauditoryb
attentionbisbveryboftenbslantedbtowardsbabpotenti
albrewardborbpositiveboutcome.
SIGNALbDETECTIONbTHEORY
• Thebdetectionbofbthebstimulusbdependsbonb
bothbthebintensitybofbthebstimulusbandbp
hysical/psychologicalbstatebofbthebindivi
dual
Wherebdoesbsignalbdetectionbtheorybcomesbf
rom?
• Psychologybisbinterestedbinbmeasuringbourb
sensorybsensitivity.bThebleadingbtheorybisbt
herebwasbabthresholdb–
bminimumbvalueb belowbwhichbpeoplebcou
ldbnotbdetectbabstimulus.bHowever,bitbha
sbchangedbfrombdeterminingbabthreshold
btobtestingbhowbobserversbrespondbtobsign
als
