Attention is the concentration of mental energy needed to process incoming information. It is selective and limited. There are two types of attention: conscious attention which we are aware of, and preconscious attention which occurs automatically below our awareness level. Examples of preconscious attention include priming effects, tip-of-the-tongue experiences, and automatization from repeated exposure or habituation to stimuli. With practice, attention becomes more automatic through habituation and less mental effort is required for certain tasks. Divided attention research shows that humans can perform multiple tasks simultaneously but performance suffers when tasks make competing demands on our limited attentional resources.

1. Chapter 3: Attention and Consciousness http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/11.html http://viscog.beckman.uiuc.edu/grafs/demos/12.html

5. Marcel (1983) How fast? How fast? Reaction time Body Part or Plant? Body part or Plant? Response PINE OR WRIST PINE OR WRIST Target XXXX Mask PALM PALM Prime Consciously Present Prime Subliminally Present Prime Condition

7. Marcel (1983) Results Only one meaning is primed, the other inhibited Both meanings were primed Interpretation Found faster RT for one of two target words, slower RT for the other target Found faster RT for both target words Targets: PINE or WRIST Consciously Present Prime Subliminally Present Prime Condition

9. Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard & Parker (1990) Which of these triads is coherent? What is the 4 th word that ties them together? BALL 0 Mask Foot Army Room Swan Basket Triad B Triad A

22. Signal Detection Theory (SDT) Decision Signal Correct Rejection Miss Absent False Alarm Hit Present Absent Present

25. Conjunctive vs. Feature Search Which box is it easier to detect a letter that is different? The box on top is a feature search The box on the bottom is a conjunction search L L L L L L L L L T L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L O L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L

27. Another Feature Search T T T T T T T Is there a red T in the Display? T T Target is defined by a single feature According to feature integration theory the Target should “pop out” No attention required T T T T T T T T

28. Another Conjunction Search X T T X T T T Is there a red T in the Display? X X Target is defined by two Features: shape and color According FIT, the features must be combined and so attention is required Need to examine one by one X X T X T T

32. Cherry’s Shadowing Technique The lawyer defended his client as the trial began. He was able The doctor went to the park to find the homeless man. He was ….. The doctor went to the park….. Listen to two different conversations and repeat one of the messages, may be binaural or dichotic Attended Ear Unattended Ear 0

37. Treisman Attenuation Model Long Term Memory Working Memory Attenuation of Unattended Sensory Stores Filter weakens the strength of unattended information. Arrow colors represent different levels of strength If arrow reaches circle, info will be activated in working memory Note some circles are closer due to different thresholds of information 0

38. Late Selection Theory Long Term Memory Working Memory Sensory Stores All stimuli is processed to the level of meaning, relevance determines further Processing and action Deutsch & Deutsch (1963) 0