attention and performance

• Attention


  the taking into possesion of the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought
• typically refers to selectivity of processing

  attention
• modes of attention as distinguished by William James

  active and passive
• Active mode


  when controlled in a "top-down" way by the individual's goals or expectations
• Passive mode


  when controlled in a "bottom-up" way by external stimuli
• focused attention


  individuals try to attentd to only one source of information while ignoring other stimuli
• Divided attention


  two tasks are performed at the same time
• focused attention


  also known as selective attention
• Divided attention


  also known as multi-tasking
• External attention


  the selection and modulation of sensory information
• Internal attention


  the selection, modulation, and maintenance of internally generated information, such as task rules, responses, long-term memory, or working memory
• Edward Colin


  a British cognitive scientist whose main contributions were in focused auditory attention, specifically the cocktail party problem
• Cocktail party problem


  the capacity to follow one conversation while many other conversations are going on in a noisy room
• Dichotic listening task


  a different auditory message is presented to each ear and attention has to be directed to one message
• Cocktail party problem


  the difficulties involved in attending to one voice when two or more people are speaking at the same time
• shadowing


  repeating one auditory message word for word as it is presented while a second auditory message is also presented
• Broadbent's filter theory

  Treisman's attenuation theory

  Deutsch and deutsch's theory

  the bottleneck processes
• Broadbent's filter theory


  there is an early selection of information; the bottleneck is early in processing
• shadowing


  it is used on the dichotic listening task
• Treisman's Attenuation Theory


  the bottleneck's location is more flexible; later processes are omitted or attenuated if there is insufficient processing capacity
• Deutsch and Deutsch's theory


  all stimuli are fully analysed, with the most important or relevant stimulus determining the response
• Focused visual attention


  the ability to selectively process and attend to relevant visual information while filtering out irrelevant stimuli
• Split attention


  allocation of attention to two (or more) non-adjacent regions of visual space
• Hemifield


  one half of the visual field. information of each eye proceeds to the right hemisphere and information from the right hemifield proceeds to the left hemisphere
• Spaced-based attention


  allocation of cognitive resources to specific regions or location in the visual field
• Spaced-based attention


  involves directing attention to particular spatial locations regardless of the stimuli present there
• Object-based attention


  prioritizes processing of information associated with specific objects or perceptual units
• Object-based attention


  this mechanism allows individuals to selectively attend to relevant objects while disregarding irrelevant ones, facilitating tasks such as object recognition, tracking, and manipulation
• feature-based attention


  enhances the representation of image characteristics throughout the visual field
• feature-based attention


  prioritizes processing of particular features such as color, shape, orientation, or motion
• Load Theory


  distinguishes between perceptual and cognitive load
• Perceptual load


  refers to the perceptual demands of a current task
• Cognitive load


  refers to the burden placed on the cognitive system by a current task
• covert attention


  attention shifts to a given spatial location without an accompanying eye movement
• endogenous system


  controlled by the individual's intentions and is used when central cues are presented
• exogenous system


  it automatically shifts attention and is involved when uninformative peripheral cues are presented
• exogenous system


  stimuli that are salient or different from other stimuli (e.g., in colour) are most likely to be attended using this system
• Goal directed or top-down system


  identified by Corbetta and Shulman; it is influenced by expectations, knowledge, and current goals. It is used when a cue predicts the location or other feature of a forth-coming visual stimulus
• Stimulus-driven or bottom-up attention system


  identified by Corbetta and Shulman; used when an unexpected and potentially important stimulus occurs
• Neglect (or spatial neglect)

  involves a lack of awareness of stimuli presented t the side of space on the opposite side to the brain damage