Cognitive Neuroscience Quick Reaction

Ch. 2 Cognitive NeuroscienceBrraains……
Why do we care about Cognitive Neuroscience?
Because cognition is interconnected with behavior & physiology
Cognitive Neuroscience is the physiological basis for cognition
*
You are at a restaurant romantic dinner after a long week. It
would be perfect except for the family with the wild kids at the
table next to you. You try to ignore the noise and commotion
when you look over the shoulder of your dinning companion and
see one of the rugrats hurling a sippy cup right at your head…..
What do you do?
Duck or block or just take it in the face, the kid can’t throw that
hard, did you have time to contemplate and form a plan of
response? No. you had a quick reaction… how does this
information get communicated from your brain to your body?
Before any behavior, a neural impulse
must activate some part of the brain,
which signals a muscle

Before hitting snooze…
sound waves transduced into
electrical signals….auditory
area (hear alarm). Signal
many B areas …motor area.
….hand/arm
It all happens pretty fast!
How does it work?...
*
You are at a restaurant romantic dinner after a long week. It
would be perfect except for the family with the wild kids at the
table next to you. You try to ignore the noise and commotion
when you look over the shoulder of your dinning companion and
see one of the rugrats hurling a sippy cup right at your head…..
What do you do?
Duck or block or just take it in the face, the kid can’t throw that
hard, did you have time to contemplate and form a plan of
response? No. you had a quick reaction… how does this
information get communicated from your brain to your body?
Levels of AnalysesRelationship between mind & brainStudy in
different ways, at different levelsBehaviorWhole brainBrain
structuresChemicals that create
electrical signals w/in
these structures
Central Nervous System (CNS)
the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
the sensory and motor neurons that connect the central nervous
system (CNS) to the rest of the body
Should be review from introductory psych.…
*
Nervous System
the body’s speedy, electrochemical communication system
consists of all the nerve cells of the peripheral and central
nervous systems
The Nervous System
Motor neurons
interneuron
Central
(brain and
spinal cord)
Nervous
system

Autonomic (controls
self-regulated action of
internal organs and glands)
Skeletal (controls
voluntary movements of
skeletal muscles)
Sympathetic
(arousing)
Parasympathetic
(calming)
Peripheral
*
Fight or flight!!!
information is transmitted via neurons-
Interneurons
CNS neurons that internally communicate and intervene
between the sensory inputs and motor outputs
Motor Neurons
carry outgoing information from the CNS to muscles and glands
Somatic Nervous System
the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls the
body’s skeletal muscles
Nervous system: 3 main functions
Sensing specific information about external and internal
conditions
Integrating information

Issuing commands for a response from the body’s muscles or
glands
N.S. is the foundation for the ability to perceive, understand,
and react to the environment.
What moves communication throughout the body?
Discovery!19th century anatomists stained brain
cells & viewed under microscopeNerve net theory – continuous,
in all directions
Ramon y Cajal debunked this theoryNeuron doctrine – neurons
are NOT continuous with other cells Neurons are building
blocks of the brainIndividual neurons transmit signals
Cell body - cell’s life support center
Dendrites - receive messages from other cells
Axon - sends messages away from the cell body to other
neurons
Axonal Conduction
Electrical message is sent via:
Action Potential
Stimulation of the cell raising energy beyond a threshold
leading to a reversal in electrical charge across the cell
Threshold > the level of stimulation required to trigger a neural

impulse
Signal is sent (all-or-none)
Refractory period > recovery period where cell is less
sensitive to stimulation
*
Action potential - stimulation of the cell raising energy beyond
a threshold leading to a reversal in electrical charge across the
cell. ( like a big roller coaster)
Signal is sent
Refractory period - recovery period where cell is less sensitive
to stimulation
Myelin sheath- fatty substance around axons of some cells,
speeds up conduction (multiple sclerosis - destroys myelin
leaving neurons unable to conduct action potentials)
Neural communication
*
explain that: when a neuron is stimulated the nerve impulses
travel down the axon into the terminals that causes release of
neurotransmitters
Dendrite
the bushy, branching extensions of a neuron that receive
messages and conduct impulses toward the cell body
Axon

the extension of a neuron, ending in branching terminal fibers,
through which messages are sent to other neurons or to muscles
or glands
Myelin [MY-uh-lin] Sheath
a layer of fatty cells segmentally encasing the fibers of many
neurons
enables vastly greater transmission speed of neutral impulses
Neurotransmitters-
chemicals with various functions that work like a lock and
key
** only certain NTs will work with certain receptors.**
Works in 2 ways:
reduce the likelihood of an AP
Increase the likelihood of an AP
Neural Communication
In this course our concern is with
neural communication in the brain
Much of what we know about the brain results from
abnormalities….
Example: The story of Charles Whitman
A normal guy (literally an altar
boy & an eagle scout as a kid).
He grew up, went to U. of Texas,

and everything went to hell...
He assaulted his wife & got in several fights...
He started having violent
fantasies, so he went to a
psychiatrist....
Dr. did not help...
Chuck went home, KILLED his wife and then
killed his mom!
THEN he went up a bell tower with a
high-powered rifle to thin out the herd...
Eventually, he killed another 14 people and
wounded > 20 more.
The police killed him.
Autopsy revealed a walnut-sized
brain tumor on his amygdala...
There are many other
behavior disorders &( normal behaviors)
with organic causes...

Behavior is the result of
brain activity
Figure 2.4
Cross-section of the human brain, showing a number of the
subcortical structures that are important for cognition.
Sensory hub=
Receives info
from all senses
except smell;
Routes to higher
brain function (hierarchical
processing)
Yikes!
Areas of Cerebral Cortex
Different lesions
Result in different
deficits
6th sense?
Proprioception -sense of relative position of body parts &
movement
Receptors in skeletal muscles, tendons, & jointsSignals sent to
brain in addition to vestibular info

Parietal lobe is involved in the integration of signals from
different parts of the bodyInvolved in phantom limb
syndrome….more on that next time!
Localization of function???Phrenology Franz Joseph GallHey
day in America 1830s, 40s
Principles of Phrenology
Brain is organ of the mindMind composed of multiple distinct
innate facultiesSo, each faculty must be a separate structure in
the brainSIZE of each structure is a measure of its
“POWER”Shape of brain is determined by the development of
various structuresSkull takes its shape from the brain, so skull
surface can be read as an index of psychological
aptitudes/tendencies…e.g., intelligence, personality, curiosity…
Applying phrenology1830s NY - readingsCharacter reference
for jobsEducationCriminal reformCareer advisementMatch-
making (!)Disbanded in 1967….yes, you
read that right…1967.
Localization of functionSupport comes from brain damage
ptsDamage to language areas = Lang deficitsDamage to
occipital lobe causes blindnessDamage to frontal lobe causes
problems with decision making, thinking, planning,
riskhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvpIRN9D4D4

Figure 2.18
Location of Broca’s and Wernicke’s areas, which are both
involved in the processing of speech and language.
Inability to process/
comprehend
language
Inability to form words
Problems in these areas
result in speech disorders
Example of Wernicke’s aphasia
…Asked to describe a picture showing two boys stealing
cookies behind a woman’s back, one patient responded: “Mother
is away her working her work to get her better, but when she’s
looking the two boys looking the other part…
Words are formed fine, just meaningless
Damage to L temporal gyrus (22)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oef68YabD0
Example of Broca’s aphasiaSarah
Scotthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aplTvEQ6ew&list=PL
RD64ZuOLsLnXJ-eBLPAELJSSUGPErO15Tono
Tonohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CJWo5TDHLEInabilit
y to form words, produce speechDamage to L frontal lobe
Stuttering?Regions involved:Temporal lobe for auditory

processingMotor strip for speech planning & executionThose
that stutter may have:Developmental differences in these
structuresFaulty connections b/w themResults in a dis-fluency
of speech
Figure 2.17
Side view of a monkey brain showing the locations of the
inferotemporal (IT) and the medial temporal (MT) areas.
Damage results in
prosopagnosia
can’t recognize
familiar faces
Damage results
in motion agnosia-
can’t perceive movement…
pouring coffee
seems frozen
*
Mt- motion
IT- form
There is also evidence for localization
of function through new technologies….
normal
schizophrenia
*

MRI-strong magnetic field which disrupts the alignment of
atoms in the brain cells, when they come back to their normal
resting place, they send off detectable signal which are
converted to computer generated images.
Organization: Brain ImagingMagnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI)Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
Figure 2.20
When a blue ball rolls by, a number of different cortical areas
are activated.
fMRI shows what part of the brain is activated when we are
processing different information
PETPositron Emission Tomography uses trace amounts of short-
lived radioactive material to map functional processes in the
brain When the material undergoes radioactive decay a positron
is emitted, which can be picked up be the detectorAreas of high
radioactivity are associated with brain activity
EEGElectroencephalography is the measurement of the
electrical activity of the brain by recording from electrodes
placed on the scalpnon-invasiveCan detect changes in electrical
activity on a millisecond-levelIt is one of the few techniques
available that has such high temporal resolution

MEGMagnetoencephalography is used to measure the magnetic
fields produced by electrical activity in the brain via extremely
sensitive devices known as SQUIDsUsed to:assisting
researchers in determining the function of various parts of the
brainassisting surgeons in localizing a
pathology neurofeedback
NIRSNear infrared spectroscopy
measures blood oxygenation in the brain By shining light in
the near infrared part of the spectrum (700-900nm) through the
skull & detecting how much the remerging light is
attenuatedHow much the light is attenuated depends on blood
oxygenation provides an indirect measure of brain activity
DTITracks the diffusion of water molecules in living tissue
Reveals microscopic details about tissue, either normal or
diseasedReveals neural pathways/circuitsin vivo and non-
invasive
Now we have some brain basics…
Lets look at how we put all this stuff to use
Neural RepresentationPrinciple of neural representationObject
perception is NOT based on direct contact w the object, but on
the way its represented by APs in the Brain
To understand cognition, must understand how our experiences

are represented in our mind (behaviorally) AND in the brain
(physiologically)
Neural specialization…….
Classic data from Hubel & Weisel (1957)
Feature detectors in cats...
Electrodes used to record
from individual neurons...
More in perception chapter
Table 2.1
Properties of Neurons in the Visual Cortex
Neurons in visual system fire BEST to specific types of stimuli
Figure 2.14
How a neuron in the cat’s optic nerve responds as the size of a
spot of light increases. Notice that the best response occurs to
the medium-sized spot of light in (b), but decreases when the
spot is made larger, as in (c) and (d).
Figure 2.16
Neurons have been found in the cortex that respond to (a)
complex geometrical figures; (b) common objects in the

environment; and (c) faces. Also for spatial layouts & body
parts!
For example…
How can we tell friend from foe or
my house from your house?Different patterns of firing are
associated with different people and different brain activity
Neural circuit is a group of interconnected
neurons that respond best to a specific stimuli – circuits include
synapses that are excitatory &/or inhibitory
A- light from a short bar activates neuron 3 which activates the
main neuron
B- light from a medium bar excites neurons 2,3,4, so main
neuron
responds very rapidly
C- light from a large bar excites neurons 2,3,4 but 1 & 5 are
inhibitory, reducing overall response of the main neuron
**** this neuron responds best to medium length lines****
Ex. Neuron A
Y synapse- excite
T synapse- inhibit
*
How a neural circuit works. “Y” synapses are excitatory and
“T” synapses are inhibitory. (a) When receptor 3 is stimulated
by light, excitatory neurotransmitter is released onto neuron A,
and action potentials are recorded from A’s axon.
(b) When receptors 2, 3, and 4 are stimulated neuron A receives

more excitatory neurotransmitter and firing increases. (c) When
all five neurons are stimulated, excitatory transmitter is
released from 2, 3, and 4, but the release of inhibitory
neurotransmitter from neurons 1 and 5 causes a decrease in
firing. This circuit therefore causes neuron A to fire best to a
bar of light of medium length.
Figure 2.19
How five different neurons respond to three different faces.
Notice that the pattern of firing across the five neurons is
different for each face.
Neuronal codingPopulation coding – representation of a
particular object by the pattern of firing of a LARGE number of
neurons
Sparse coding – particular object is represented by a pattern of
finding on only a SMALL group of neurons
Distributed Representation Across the BrainDistributed
representation – cognitive functions activate MANY B
areasE.g., ffa most strongly activates for faces, is weaker but
still activates for other stimuliE.g., Several areas activate for
face perception according to:Your reaction to the
faceAttractionExpressionEmotions
Distributed RepresentationSame is true for other processes such
as memoryTake home: cog processes are created by many

specialized B areas – all working together – to create a
distributed pattern of activity
Girl with half a
brainhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MKNsI5CWoU
Ramachandran mirror
therapyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc3CmS8_vUIScienc
e is so
wonderfully weird!!!
Psychology ???
Cognition
Amanda Clevinger, M.A.
Brief Intro to Cognitive Psychology

Brief Intro to Cognitive Psychology
Much of cognitive psychology is the study of stuff we take
for granted.
This is especially true bc cognitive processes are covert
This is reflected by the youth of CP
as a field: Neisser's (1967) Cognitive
Psychology coined the name...
For example….
What characterizes cognitive psychology?
Mental processes underlying
“basic” behaviors
Data-driven, empirical approach
Called "information-processing”
psychology
Cognition happens in STAGES. We trace the flow of
information through the stages & infer
the processes involved (not directly measured).

Mental structures and processes
support the way we think
Measurable time course of processing
Errors are not random
Basic Assumptions of Cognitive Psychology
1800s:
Focus- inner workings of the mind
Donders-Decision processes
reaction-time experiments
Simple vs choice RT= decision time
Wundt’s atoms of the mind…
Experience determined by combining basic elements
*Analytic introspection*
Ebbinghaus’ memory research…
Time course of forgetting; recall of words lists
Some (very little) History
*
Donders- noticed it took longer to make a decision between 2
options then to press 1 option as fast as possible, determined
that decision processes took time.
Wundt- self reports and introspection, became interested in
thoughts --- participants described their subject responses to
stimuli. --- describe what you hear when a 5-chord note is
played on the piano. Interested in whether heard all at once or

separate notes.
Ebbinghaus- word lists tested retention and rehersal
Crushed under the boots of behaviorism...
In Skinner’s
(& Watson’s) view,
psychological
science should
focus on overt
behavior, not
hidden mental
processes…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMnhyGozLyE
*
Chomsky’s penetrating critique
of Skinner…all behaviors are not a
result of reinforcement
Emergence of AI and the computer
metaphor of the mind…
Advances in cognitive neuroscience…
Advances in neural (PDP) modeling…
A Cognitive Revolution in the late 50s…

*
Chomsky wrote response to skinners book where he stated that
children learned to talk in response to rewarded encourgment
from parents.
Chomsky said – can’t be kids say things they have never heard
before.
Skinner--- kids learn to talk by using operant conditioning
Chomsky said
“what about novel
sentences?”…
explain THAT with
operant conditioning!
The demise of behaviorism…..
=
I hate
Daddy
Wait a minute… the era
of behaviorism ended
in the sixties?
What the heck???
*

Principal Research Areas of Cognitive Psychology
Perception
Cognitive Neuroscience
Artificial Intelligence
Pattern Recognition
Attention
Language
Thinking and Concept Formation
Cognitive Development
Imagery
Memory
Human Intelligence
Cognitive Psychology
Studies have shown that eyewitness testimony is usually
accurate, especially with highly stressful (i.e., memorable)
events.
True or False?
False. Eyewitness testimony is notoriously
unreliable, particularly when people are in
highly aroused states. To date there have been 330 exonerations
(see the Innocence Project)
because they were factually innocent.
We use only about 10% of our brain.
True or False?
False. We use all our brain, all the time. Even small brain
lesions can result in significant
cognitive impairment.

You can move your focus of (visual) attention without moving
your eyes.
True or False?
True. Overt shifts of attention (involving eye
movements) and covert shifts of attention
(without eye movements) often work together,
but they can be separated, and have different
neural underpinnings.
Someone who learns something while drunk will later remember
it better while drunk than while sober.
True or False?
True. State dependent learning demonstrates
the importance of context in the formation and retrieval of
episodic memories.
Controlled studies have found that "cramming" for an exam is
as effective as distributing the studying over time.
True or False?
False. Distributed practice results in better
long-term memory than massed practice.
Studies of divided attention have shown
that driving does not generally suffer during hands free cell-
phone use.
True or False?
False. Studies show that cell phones

significantly interfere with driving. In fact,
people are more impaired when driving and talking on a cell
phones even hands free
than when driving drunk.
Recent evidence supports some of the claims of Extra Sensory
Perception (ESP) advocates.
True or False?
False. In controlled “double-blind” studies, no systematic
evidence has been obtained for ESP.
Memory aids do not really improve memory.
True or False?
False. Mnemonic techniques work. They
organize information, make it less
susceptible to forgetting, and
provide useful retrieval cues.
Backwards messages hidden in music can influence our
behavior.
True or False?
eslaF -- There is no evidence that this
information is processed, let alone influences our behavior.
Some of our memories are retrieved as mental images.
True or False?
True. Brain-imaging studies show that the areas that are active
when seeing a picture

of an object are also active when
remembering that object.
Speed reading techniques can dramatically
improve reading speed without sacrificing
comprehension.
True or False?
False. Human performance shows a
speed-accuracy tradeoff -- going faster reduces
accuracy. However, good old-fashioned
practice can improve the efficiency of reading.
Information can be stored in long-term memory even if you
never attend to it.
True or False?
False. Attention is necessary for the creation
of long-term memories. Information that falls outside of
attention is lost.
Advertising using subliminal perception is
effective.
True or False?
False. Effects of subliminal perception are, at
best, minimal. There is little evidence that
stimuli presented “below threshold”
influence attitudes, beliefs, or choices.
(subliminal priming does effect immediate decisions)

There is no basis for the claim that eating
carrots will help your night vision.
True or False?
False. Rods use the photopigment rhodopsin
(made of vitamin A, found in carrots).
People with vitamin A deficiency have poor night vision
(corrected by vitamin supplements).
An infant’s ability to discriminate between the phonemes of
language is actually better than that of adults.
True or False?
True. As language develops, infants lose the
ability to discriminate or produce phonemes that are not in their
language.
Evidence supports the idea that memories are stored one-
memory-to-a-neuron.
True or False?
False. Memories are distributed over thousands of neurons.
The idea of “grandmother cells” has been generally disavowed.
There is no limit on how much information can be stored in
long-term memory.
True or False?
True. No one has ever filled up long-term
memory. There are limits on what is initially stored (attention),
but once stored, memories may be permanent.

People are always biased.
True or False?
True. Expectations and memories color the
way that we perceive and remember the world.
This process accounts
for many individual differences between people.
With enough practice, you can do two
things simultaneously as well as doing each thing by itself.
True or False?
True. Under certain conditions, people can
do two things (e.g., playing piano and
reading a novel) perfectly. This is called “perfect timesharing.”
See you next time!
Attention chapter 4
Coglab- attentional blink
“Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking
posession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out
of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or
trains of thought. Focalization, concentration, of
consciousness are of its essence.”
“…withdrawal from some things in order

to deal effectively with others…”
What is attention?
-- William James (1890)
We can certainly introspect
about attention (à la James):
You know what it's like to think hard, or to
have your mind wander...
You know what it's like to have something
grab your attention...
You probably know how to tune out signals...
You can drive and listen
to the radio at once...
"A pool of mental effort that is selective, shiftable, and
divisable..."
But we're scientists, so we're
going to study attention
a little more carefully...
You could probably derive a reasonable
introspective definition of attention
Attention:
ability to focus on specific stimuli/locations
aka
the interface between memory systems
Attention determines what information
receives further analysis…
Why do we have attention?
You are constantly bombarded

by information, but most does
not enter consciousness.
For example…
whyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2MvoSimons
& Chabris (1999)
MANY ASPECTS
Many approaches
Attention as Info ProcessingLate 1800s/early 1900s –
introspectionE.g., describe how paying attn affects clarity of
patch1920s – 50s we lost our minds1950s – renewed interest in
attn research bc WW2 – pilotsE.g., dichotic listening task –
present different msgs to L & R ears
Let's start with selective attention
in processing auditory signals
Auditory signals were originally preferred because ears don't
move... dichotic listening was the method of choice.
Cherry (1953): One of the first dichotic listening studies
Asked subjects to shadow the message coming to
one ear and ignore the other. Subjects did very well
shadowing the attended ear.

However, they did not realize foreign languages
were included…
Did not realize a word was repeated 35 times...
Cherry also asked what they remembered about the message
presented to unattended ear…
People could recall basic physical attributes:
(male versus female voice)
(loud versus quiet)
We commonly refer to
a bottleneck in
information processing.
Many studies have been
dedicated to finding the
locus of this bottleneck.
Central assumption: attention is a limited-capacity system.
We cannot process all information at once.
Broadbent (1958) Filter Model
Sensory memory holds info for fraction of second &
passes it to filter
Filter – ids msg that is being attended based on physical
charsPitch, tone of voice, speed, accentDetermines 1 msg that
will receive further processingALL other msgs filtered out
After selection, stimuli are shunted along a limited-capacity

channel
Detector – process info from attended msg to determine higher
level charsProcesses ALL info that enters it bc only
imp/attended info let inOutput sent to STM…..then maybe LTM
Flow diagram of Broadbent’s filter model of attention.
Selective
Early Selection Model: filtering
before meaning is determined
“Early selection” bc filter operates at an early stage in
information flow
Filter model – since all of unattended msgs filter out,
we should not be conscious of info in unattended ear, but….
Moray (1959): The cocktail party effect
Some information (e.g., the subject's name)
“sneaks through” the unattended ear and
is recognized.
A Couple of Problems…
What does this say about filtering?
Treisman’s
Attenuation
Model of
Attention

The unattended
message
must receive
some semantic
analysis. Cannot
be purely
pre-attentive…
Participants told to attend just to one ear but the unattended
message got through too - attention shifted across ears
according
to word meaning
Treisman’s Attenuation Model of Attention (leaky filter)
Sensory register
Attenuator – like Broadbent’s filter. Analyzes info in terms of:
physical properties, AND language (syllables/words), AND
meaning
All stimuli in sensory memory receive some meaningful
analysis (via LTM)
But ONLY as far as necessary to id attended msg
Unattended msgs (weaker) are id’d & sent to ….
Dictionary Unit – contains words stored in memory, each w a
threshold for being activated
word w low threshold detected if presented softly,
obscured
word w high threshold need strong signal to be detected
Final output determined by DU
In Treisman's theory, pre-attentive analysis
must be almost as complete as the attentive analysis.

So what use is the pre-attentive analysis?
Another theory anyone?
MacKay (1973)
Broadbent's and Treisman's were both early
selection theories -- attention selects a subset
of information in sensory memory, allowing
passage into STM.
Mackay proposed a late selection theory
“late” = info is processed to level of meaning
BEFORE an attended msg is selected
Mackay’s experiment
Ambiguous sentence:
They were throwing stones at the bank.
river bank? or place to save money?
Shadowed the sentence in the attended ear.
Simultaneously, a biasing word
was presented to the unattended ear
river or money
At test picked closest meaning to shadowed sentence: They
threw stones toward the side of the river They threw stones at
the savings and loan yesterday
What happened
Mackay cont’dMeaning of biasing words (i.e., river, $)
affected subj choice of sentence…….even though subjs unaware
of hearing biasing words!So, meaning of biasing words must
have been processed after allConclude: most incoming info is
processed to level of meaning before its selected for further
processing…….well, according to late selection theorists….

A difference between the early- and late-selection approaches to
selective attention is the characteristics of the messages that are
used to accomplish selection. Early selection (Broadbent’s
approach) is based on physical characteristics. Late selection
(Makay’s approach) is based on meaning. Treisman’s
attenuation model falls in between these two because selection
can be based on physical characteristics, meaning, or both.
State of debate?Research looked at:Types of info used for
selecting a msg to attend toPhysical chars, meaningWHEN
selection happens (early, late)Debate still NOT solved….Results
depend on task and type of stimuli used
So….. research shifted to WHAT CONTROLS attention…..
PROCESSING CAPACITY & PERCEPTUAL LOAD
Ability to selectively attend can depend both on distracting
stimulus & nature of the task
How do people ignore distractors while trying to
focus?Processing capacity – amount of info people can handle.
LIMITED!Perceptual load – related to task difficultyLow load
tasks – use only small amount of cap. Easy, well-practicedHigh
load tasks – use more processing cap. Difficult, not well-
practiced
Lavie’s Load Theory of AttentionDistractors will ONLY slow

down processing in LOW-load taskslow-load, there is spare
capacity, so resources are available to process irrelevant high-
load, all processing capacity is already being used, no resources
are left over to process irrelevant stimuliNo effect on
performance
So, when doing a difficult task,
you are LESS likely to be distracted….
Irrelevant StimuliIgnoring irrelevant stimuli is a function
of:load (high, low) ANDHow powerful irrelevant stimulus
isYou may be better able to ignore some things….E.g., sirens
Another classic example is the Stroop Effect
in color naming
John Ridley Stroop
Part 1: Please read the
following words aloud,
as quickly as possible.
BE LOUD!
GREEN
ORANGE
RED
PURPLE
BLUE

GREEN
ORANGE
RED
PURPLE
BLUE
Again, read the
words aloud,
as quickly
as possible.
Now, please
name
the color
of these objects,
as quickly
as possible.
GRUEEN
ORANGE
MOTRED
PURPLE
BLODUE
Again, please
name
the color
of the printing,
as quickly
as possible.
GREEN
ORANGE

RED
PURPLE
BLUE
pretty funny,
isn’t it?
Why?Harder to name colors of words vs. color of shapesWords
cause a competing response with colors and slow RT
d…o…w…nTask irrelevant stimuli (color words) are powerful
here bc reading words is highly practiced & so automatic that
it’s difficult NOT to read them
Data from Stroop (1935)
Get your own
Stroop-effect
t-shirt!
Based on failures of selective attention, Kahneman
(1973) proposed a capacity theory of attention
Everyday activities that divide attention
(e.g., driving a car while talking to a friend)
seem inconsistent with filter theories.
The level of demand that signals/tasks
require seems more important.
Yay! Another theory!
Kahneman

suggests that
attention is
a limited pool
of energy
that we try
to concentrate
or divide
optimally
Kahneman's model
predicts we can
do multiple
tasks if we do
not exceed capacity.
Allocation of capacity
is flexible
and under some
strategic control.
Trying to read while someone talks to you…
Various factors determine whether dual tasks will exceed
capacity, such as...
Driving & Car radio…
Task Difficulty
Task Similarity
Amount of cognitive juice needed affects
how well you can multi-task
For support, Kahneman cites a study by…
Posner & Boies (1971) -- dual-task

Subjects did 2 simultaneous tasks:
letter-matching (A-A vs A-B)
Right index finger = same
Right middle finger = different
tone detection
Left index finger = "I heard a tone"
Timing is everything
Switching attention
between tasks - even
easy ones - has a
cognitive “cost”….
for each add’l task you take on, you lose ability to do each one
optimally
Think about cell
phones...
# = tone
Time to detect
Tone during trial
ATTENTION AS SELECTION
Overt & Covert Attention
Types of AttentionOvert – shifting attn from 1 place to another
by MOVING the eyesE.g., finding Waldo
Covert – shifting attn from 1 place to another while keeping
eyes stationary

Shifting attention2 factors determine how people shift attn by
moving eyes:Bottom-up processing – based on physical chars of
stimulusTop-down processing – based on cognitive factors such
as observer’s knowledge about scenes, objects
Scanning based on
Stimulus Salience!!Bottom up processing depends on properties
of a stimulusStimulus salience – physical chars of
stimulusColor, contrast, movementCan influence attnFind all
the blondes
in the pic
Attentional Capture
Attentional capture – when attn due to stimulus saliency causes
involuntary shift of attne.g., loud noise, bright light, fast
movement, potential evil master
Parkhurst (2002)Subj viewed saliency maps1st fixations were
assoc w highly salient areasAfter that, scanning was influenced
by T-D processes (goals, experience)
Do you know what
this is?

Saliency based on Cog FactorsWhere we look isn’t determined
ONLY by saliency, but also…MEANINGLarge variation in how
people view scenes…..
this is due to individual diffs
in T-D processingScene schemasVo & Henderson (2009) –
subj looked longer at things that seem out of place.Means attn is
being affected by their knowledge
Saliency based on Cog FactorsKnowledge of scenes can help
guide our attentionE.g., subj more likely to detect stop signs @
intersections (Shinoda et al, 2001)Used regularities in the
enviro to determine where to look for stop signs…..This is yet
ANOTHER eg
of top-down
Scanning based on
Task DemandsMost tasks require attn to different places as task
unfoldsEye movements determined by taskLinked to action
COVERT ATTENTION
Directing Attention WITHOUT Eye Movements

Attention to LocationPosner et al (1978) –
precuing method, covert80% valid precuingSubj reacted more
quickly when attn was focused where target would appearShows
we process info more effectively at the place where our
attention is directedAttn like a spotlight – improves processing
when directed tw a specific location
Attention to ObjectsSame object advantage – when attn is
directed to 1 place on an object, attn spreads to other places on
that object
DIVIDED ATTENTION
Can we attend to more than one thing at a time?
We can inadvertently pay attn
to 2 things at once – task & distractor
What about intentionally dividing attn?
Divided attn – distribtution of attn among 2+ tasks
Play game & listen to convo
Drive & listen to music, think, talk
Listen to 2 convos at once?

Practice Makes Perfect!Schneider & Shiffrin (1977)Subj held
target stimuli in memory (#s)Determine if target was present
among distractor (letters)Start 55% accurateAfter 900 trials,
90%Under consistent
mapping
Practice dedicated to a task reduces the
capacity required by that task.
A distinction of…
Automatic vs. Controlled
Processes
Automatic (or overlearned) processes
require little/no attention; can be carried out
in parallel with other processes
Remember me?
Controlled processes require attention;
are carried out
in serial manner
driving a standard-shift car...
serving a tennis ball...
using chopsticks...
typing...
reading...
We've all had the experience of being lousy at something, then
getting better with practice…

Attention and Practice
We’re relatively skilled at some divided attn tasks:
Listening in class & taking notes
Walking & talking
Watching tv & doing crossword
This sounds really, really hard…
A classic experiment….
Spelke, Hirst, & Neisser (1976)
At the same time, they read a book out loud..
Subjects listened to messages AND typed them.
Spelke et al.’s findings:
After 17 weeks, people could perform
both tasks almost perfectly!
I just knew
you could do it!
Is automaticity always learned?
Does it ever come naturally?
Work by Treisman and her colleagues
suggests that some automatic processes
are “built-in” to the human brain…
“pop-out effects” in visual search…
(e.g., Treisman & Gelade, 1980)

Feature Search – Color
Can you find a blue square?
Again -- Can you find a blue square?

And again -- Can you find a blue square?

unique targets are detected very fast
RTs not affected by # of distractor items
“yes” and “no” responses equally fast
indicates parallel search
Feature Search

unique features seem to “pop out” of the display
Conjunction Search
Now can you find a blue square?

conjunctions of features are detected rather slowly
RTs increase with # of distractors
“no” responses are slower than “yes” responses (2:1 ratio)
indicates serial search
Conjunction Search
no more “pop out”
Why do pop-out effects occur?
According to Treisman's feature integration
theory, basic features of objects (e.g., color)
are automatically detected.
Conjunction search requires features to be detected
(automatic) and then combined into objects. This requires
attention, and is done serially (controlled).
More about that….According to Treisman’s Feature
Integration Theory, binding happens in 2 stages when
processing imagePreattentive stage – before we’re conscious of
objectObjects analyzed into separate features – shape, color,
movement

Proof?
Treisman & Schmidt (1982) – flashed display below
Illusory conjunctions – combos of features from different
stimuli
Showed that features exist independently, like scrabble tiles
Focused attention stage
Attention important in combining features to create perception
of whole objects
Follow up – told subj to pay attn to ONLY shapes -eliminated
IC
Studies with Balint’s subj –
parietal damage; trouble
focusing atten on
indiv objects
Another example of
Illusory Conjunctions
"Certain aspects of visual processing seem to be
accomplished simultaneously (for the entire field at once)
and automatically (without attention being focused on any
one part of the visual field). Other aspects of visual
processing seem to depend on focused attention and are
done serially, or one at a time, as if a mental spotlight
were being moved from one location to another.“
-- Anne Treisman (1986)
Treisman’s view – The spotlight metaphor

Schneider & Shiffrin(1977)
• Subjects saw a series of 20 rapidly (2.5 sec)
presented frames. Each had 4 stimulus locations
with either letters, digits, or dots. 1 – 4
stimuli could appear on any frame.
• Each subject had a set of targets to remember
and search for (either 1, 2, 3, or 4 targets).
• Frames were shown for variable durations,
from 40 – 800 milliseconds.
However, NOT everything can me made automatic…
sample frame
Consistent mapping
Improvement in
performance with
practice. The arrow
indicates when
the task had
become automatic.
Task: identify a target
from the memory set
if one was presented
The task entailed either
consistent or varied mapping
In CM, targets and distractors came from
different categories (digits vs. letters).
In VM, targets and distractors came from
the same category.

Also, in VM, targets in one trial
might be distractors in another…
Varied mapping condition for Schneider and Shiffrin’s (1977)
experiment. This is more difficult than the consistent mapping
condition because all the characters are letters and also because
a character that was a distractor on one trial (like the T) can
become a target on another trial, and a character that was in the
memory set on one trial (like the P) can become a distractor on
another trial.
Same task
as before
Results?
Under VM, never automatic…..always controlled processing
Distractions while DrivingDingus et al (2006) – cams in
car & front & rear windows82 crashes, 771 near crashes80%
crashes & 67% of near
crashes driver was inattentive 3s beforeMost distracting
activity was CELL PHONERedelmeier & Tibshirani (1997) –
crash risk 4x higher if driver using cellHands-free offered
NO advantage!
More….Strayer & Johnston (2001) – simulated driving task.
Press brakes ASAP when see red light (notice what I did

there?)While talking on phone, missed 2x more red
lightsIncreased time to press brakesEven for hands-free again!
A little more….Nationwide Ins (2008) Majority of subj thought
they were good drivers while talking on phone45% had been
hit/nearly hit by someone talking on phoneEveryone knows
phone use is dangerous….but we don’t think it applies to
us!!Hanowski et al (2009) –
truckers 23x more likely
to cause crash if texting
Why?Talking on phone uses cog resources that would otherwise
be used for drivingAnything that distracts attn can degrade
drivingPhonesGPSVoice activated apps, voice text,
emailTalking/texting is likely using MORE resources than
people thinkSometimes situation requires ALL resources
IMMEDIATELY!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DON’T ATTEND?
So….
Inattentional BlindnessWe can be unaware of clearly
visible stimuli if we aren’t directing attnAttention affects
perception!E.g., gorilla study (Simons & Chabris)46% failed to
notice gorillaE.g., looking in a
store window

Change
DetectionAttention is important in
detecting changeLevin & Simons (1997) – subj saw vids in
which some detail changed in EVERY shotOnly 10%
noticedFollow-up – showed same subj the same film again AND
told them there would
be changes in objects,
body position, or clothingSubj id’d fewer than ¼ of changes!
Change DetectionClassic study by Simons & Levin (1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWSxSQsspiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBPG_OBgTWg
Who Cares???
Choose a topic we have covered in class (e.g., perception,
attention, etc.) and discuss how research in that area should (or
should not) impact the real world…… answering the question,
“Who cares?”. That is, why should Average Joe on the street
care (or not care) about this topic. I am NOT asking whether
everyone should be up to par on the details of specific studies,
models, and theories. I AM asking whether Mr. Joe (A general
person) should care about attention, for example, or working
memory. So, answer the following: 1) should Mr. Joe care
about the topic of your choice? 2) If Mr. Joe knew some basics
about the topic of your choice, could he use that information in
some way to better his life? If so, HOW could he use it in his
everyday life? (BE SPECIFIC!)
The purpose of this assignment is to get you to think about the
various applications and value of cognitive research. The
purpose is NOT for you to automatically agree with me that
cognitive psychology is the best profession in the world. It is

perfectly okay for you to say Mr. Average Joe should not care
about cognitive psychology. Regardless of your position, make
sure you have thought your position through and back it up with
logical, well-thought-out statements. And BE SPECIFIC!
Your paper should be 2 pages double space, 12 font, and times
New Roman.
Do not use references, please don't use quotes. NO,
plagiarism.... USE YOUR OWN WORDS in your discussion.
You can also use slides to help in your paper.
· NO group work
· Make sure your paper is uploaded as a Word document
· No need for title or reference pages
· Make sure you are answering the question I am asking. DO
NOT include in your discussion whether cognitive psychology
can help a specific group of people – e.g., students. This is
NOT what I am asking. Keep the person general – we don’t
know anything about him or her.
On iCollege I have enabled you to see the amount of overlap
between your submitted paper and other sources. Use it! The
percentage displayed is the amount of overlap. A small amount
of overlap is usually not problematic, but try to keep your
percentage as close to zero as possible. If you ask me to grade
a paper that has more than 20% overlap, you will receive a zero
on that assignment. No questions asked.
Your paper should be uploaded to the ‘Who Cares?’ Dropbox on
iCollege by 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 18th.
*If you submit a file I cannot read, you will receive a zero for
that assignment/paper.*
Michael Smith: I WANT THIS PAPER TO BE ONATTENTION.
I will upload the slides you can add examples but we can not
use quotes. The paper needs to be on why do people need
attention.

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