- One of the first theories to suggest an
ATTENTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS interaction between the physical sensation
of a stimulus and cognitive processes such as
decision making.
The Nature of Attention and - Hits (true positives): Correctly identifies the
Consciousness presence of a target.
- Attention: Actively select and process a limited - False alarms (false positives): Incorrectly
amount of information from all of the information identifies the presence of a target that is
captured by senses, stored memories, and other actually absent.
- Misses (false negatives): Fails to observe the
cognitive processes.
presence of a target.
- Attentional processes: we filter out the
- Correct rejection (true negatives): Correctly
information that is relevant to us and that identifies the absence of a target.
we want to attend to.
Signal Detect a Signal Do Not Detect a
Signal
Present Hit: The screener Miss: The screener
recognizes a box of fails to see the box
cutters in the cutter in the luggage.
luggage.
- Consciousness: Includes both the feeling and
content of awareness Absent False alarm: The Correct rejection:
- Helps monitor interactions with the screener thinks The screener
there is a box cutter recognizes that there
environment, assists in remembering
in the luggage when is no box cutter, and
memories and sensations, and control and there is none. indeed, there is
plan future actions based on the none.
information given.
- SDT can be discussed in the context of:
Attention - Attention: Enough attention to
Four Main Functions perceive objects that are there
Function Description Example - Perception: Perceiving faint signals
that may or may not be beyond your
Signal We try to detect the On a dark street, perceptual range
detection and appearance of a we may try to - Memory: Indicating whether you have
vigilance particular stimulus. detect unwelcome or have not exposed to a stimulus
sights or sounds. before
Search We engage in an If we detect
active search for smoke, we find the Vigilance: Waiting to Detect a Signal
particular stimuli. source of it. - Vigilance: The ability to maintain attention
over a prolonged period to detect infrequent
Selective We choose to We may pay but important events.
attention attend to some attention to reading - In vigilance tasks, expectations
stimuli and ignore a textbook while regarding stimulus location strongly
others. ignoring the affect response efficiency.
environment. - Signals appearing outside the
expected zone are detected more
Divided We engage in more Experienced
slowly or may be missed.
attention than one task at a drivers easily can
time, and shift our talk while driving - Sudden appearance (abrupt onset) of
attentional under most stimuli can automatically grab
resources to circumstances, but attention, even if it's outside the current
allocate them as if another vehicle is focus.
needed. swerving, they - Neuroscience and Vigilance: The amygdala
quickly switch all and thalamus are involved in vigilance,
their attention to amygdala helps in the recognition of emotional
driving. stimuli.
Search: Actively Looking
Signal Detection: Finding Important Stimuli in a - Search: A scan of the environment for a
Crowd particular feature—actively looking for
- Signal-detection theory (SDT): A framework to something.
explain how people pick out stimuli within a - Distracters: nontarget stimuli that divert our
distracting and irrelevant environment. attention away from the target stimuli.
, - Feature Search: Look for just one feature that
makes the target different from others.
- Conjunction Search: Combine two or more
features to find the target stimulus.
- Findings:
- Older adults had reduced cortical
volume (~2% decline per decade)
- Less activation in the right occipital
cortex for older adults
- Similar activation in prefrontal and
superior parietal regions across both
Feature-Integration Theory groups
- Explain why it is relatively easy to conduct - Younger adults showed increased
feature searches and relatively difficult to occipitotemporal activation with task
conduct conjunction searches. difficulty
- Treisman’s Feature Integration Theory: - Older adults had consistently high
According to Anne Treisman (1986), we first occipitotemporal activation, even on
analyze individual features of an object and easy tasks (compensation)
subsequently integrate those features into the - Older adults did not recruit other
object. brain regions outside visual pathways
for compensation
Selective Attention
- Cocktail Party Phenomenon (Cherry 1953):
The process of tracking one conversation
while distracted by others.
- Dichotic Presentation: Each ear is
presented with a separate message.
The shadowed ear is the one that is
presented with the target message.
Stage 1 Stage 2
- Hubel and Wiesel (1979): Identified specific
neural feature detectors.
- Cortical neurons that respond
differentially to visual stimuli of
- Results
particular orientations (e.g. vertical,
- Unattended ear noticed: Change in
horizontal, or diagonal)
gender and tone.
Similarity Theory - Unattended ear did not notice: Change
- The more similar the target and distracters are, language, topic (with the same speaker)
the more difficult it is to find the target. and if the speech was played
- Similarity between targets and distracters is backwards.
important, not the number of features to be
combined.
Theories of Selective Attention
Neuroscience: Aging and Visual Search - Theories described belong to the group of filter
- A study by Madden (2007) examined how and bottleneck theories.
aging affects visual search by comparing - Filter: Blocks some of the information
young adults (20s) and older adults (60–77) going through, selects only a part of
across three tasks: feature, guided, and total information.
conjunction searches. - Bottleneck: Slows down information
passing through.
- They differ in two ways; (1) whether or
not they have a distinct filter for
ATTENTION AND CONSCIOUSNESS interaction between the physical sensation
of a stimulus and cognitive processes such as
decision making.
The Nature of Attention and - Hits (true positives): Correctly identifies the
Consciousness presence of a target.
- Attention: Actively select and process a limited - False alarms (false positives): Incorrectly
amount of information from all of the information identifies the presence of a target that is
captured by senses, stored memories, and other actually absent.
- Misses (false negatives): Fails to observe the
cognitive processes.
presence of a target.
- Attentional processes: we filter out the
- Correct rejection (true negatives): Correctly
information that is relevant to us and that identifies the absence of a target.
we want to attend to.
Signal Detect a Signal Do Not Detect a
Signal
Present Hit: The screener Miss: The screener
recognizes a box of fails to see the box
cutters in the cutter in the luggage.
luggage.
- Consciousness: Includes both the feeling and
content of awareness Absent False alarm: The Correct rejection:
- Helps monitor interactions with the screener thinks The screener
there is a box cutter recognizes that there
environment, assists in remembering
in the luggage when is no box cutter, and
memories and sensations, and control and there is none. indeed, there is
plan future actions based on the none.
information given.
- SDT can be discussed in the context of:
Attention - Attention: Enough attention to
Four Main Functions perceive objects that are there
Function Description Example - Perception: Perceiving faint signals
that may or may not be beyond your
Signal We try to detect the On a dark street, perceptual range
detection and appearance of a we may try to - Memory: Indicating whether you have
vigilance particular stimulus. detect unwelcome or have not exposed to a stimulus
sights or sounds. before
Search We engage in an If we detect
active search for smoke, we find the Vigilance: Waiting to Detect a Signal
particular stimuli. source of it. - Vigilance: The ability to maintain attention
over a prolonged period to detect infrequent
Selective We choose to We may pay but important events.
attention attend to some attention to reading - In vigilance tasks, expectations
stimuli and ignore a textbook while regarding stimulus location strongly
others. ignoring the affect response efficiency.
environment. - Signals appearing outside the
expected zone are detected more
Divided We engage in more Experienced
slowly or may be missed.
attention than one task at a drivers easily can
time, and shift our talk while driving - Sudden appearance (abrupt onset) of
attentional under most stimuli can automatically grab
resources to circumstances, but attention, even if it's outside the current
allocate them as if another vehicle is focus.
needed. swerving, they - Neuroscience and Vigilance: The amygdala
quickly switch all and thalamus are involved in vigilance,
their attention to amygdala helps in the recognition of emotional
driving. stimuli.
Search: Actively Looking
Signal Detection: Finding Important Stimuli in a - Search: A scan of the environment for a
Crowd particular feature—actively looking for
- Signal-detection theory (SDT): A framework to something.
explain how people pick out stimuli within a - Distracters: nontarget stimuli that divert our
distracting and irrelevant environment. attention away from the target stimuli.
, - Feature Search: Look for just one feature that
makes the target different from others.
- Conjunction Search: Combine two or more
features to find the target stimulus.
- Findings:
- Older adults had reduced cortical
volume (~2% decline per decade)
- Less activation in the right occipital
cortex for older adults
- Similar activation in prefrontal and
superior parietal regions across both
Feature-Integration Theory groups
- Explain why it is relatively easy to conduct - Younger adults showed increased
feature searches and relatively difficult to occipitotemporal activation with task
conduct conjunction searches. difficulty
- Treisman’s Feature Integration Theory: - Older adults had consistently high
According to Anne Treisman (1986), we first occipitotemporal activation, even on
analyze individual features of an object and easy tasks (compensation)
subsequently integrate those features into the - Older adults did not recruit other
object. brain regions outside visual pathways
for compensation
Selective Attention
- Cocktail Party Phenomenon (Cherry 1953):
The process of tracking one conversation
while distracted by others.
- Dichotic Presentation: Each ear is
presented with a separate message.
The shadowed ear is the one that is
presented with the target message.
Stage 1 Stage 2
- Hubel and Wiesel (1979): Identified specific
neural feature detectors.
- Cortical neurons that respond
differentially to visual stimuli of
- Results
particular orientations (e.g. vertical,
- Unattended ear noticed: Change in
horizontal, or diagonal)
gender and tone.
Similarity Theory - Unattended ear did not notice: Change
- The more similar the target and distracters are, language, topic (with the same speaker)
the more difficult it is to find the target. and if the speech was played
- Similarity between targets and distracters is backwards.
important, not the number of features to be
combined.
Theories of Selective Attention
Neuroscience: Aging and Visual Search - Theories described belong to the group of filter
- A study by Madden (2007) examined how and bottleneck theories.
aging affects visual search by comparing - Filter: Blocks some of the information
young adults (20s) and older adults (60–77) going through, selects only a part of
across three tasks: feature, guided, and total information.
conjunction searches. - Bottleneck: Slows down information
passing through.
- They differ in two ways; (1) whether or
not they have a distinct filter for
