Attention …is a process …is a resource Exogenous and endogenous attention “Attention as a spotlight” metaphor

An example similar to Posner’s study

Becklen & Cervone (1983): the spotlight is attentional, not just positional

Looking for the ‘primitives’ via exogenous attention processes: Visual Search Tasks

Conjunctive Search

Treisman’s FIT Treisman with Dan Kahneman at a cognition conference

Treisman’s FIT 2-stages of processing: 1) Preattentive stage -primitives identified in the visual array -independent of one another, and spatial location (if attention prevented) “…if focused attention is prevented, the features of unattended objects may be free floating spatially, as well as unrelated to one another. Thus we may detect the presence of critical features without knowing exactly where they are located, although we can certainly home in on them rapidly.” (Treisman, 1980, p.100) -rapid, parallel processing 2) Focal attention stage - Gestalt perception requires focal attention on locations -serves to bind & integrate features -slow, serial processing

Treisman’s FIT -can account for variations in simple, disjunctive and conjunctive search times -makes novel predictions that bear out in the lab: illusory conjunctions

Controlled/voluntary/endogenous/selective attention -started with Cherry’s split-span studies

Donald Broadbent’s ‘bottleneck’ model Problems: -cocktail party effect -GSR study of conditioned words in unattended ear -Treisman’s dichotic shadowing studies -Lackner & Garrett’s (1973) disambiguation studies -Wood & Cowan’s (1995) error monitoring study

Treisman’s ‘later selection’ model of attention (“attenuation theory”)

Deutsch & Deutsch’s later selection model:

Don Norman’s model

Johnson & Heinz’s model

Bottlenecks versus capacity models: -resource allocation determines attentional limits Suppose you have $100 worth of “attention” to spend. How much does it cost to: Watch television eat Listen to music Talk on a cell phone walk Drive somewhere unfamiliar Read a book Drive somewhere familiar Listen to a lecture Study for an exam

(how much attention you think is required for it) Kahneman’s model of attention: resource allocation (task enjoyment level) (General rules) I need the car keys NOW! (how much attention you think is required for it)

Is attention necessary for processing? -NO: dichotic listening, priming Does attention guarantee processing takes place? NO: change blindness

Does the image have to flicker?

Yeah, fine, but that was still just a picture, not real life.

So what good is attention? -selects some information for ‘deep’ processing from the large array available -visual memory doesn’t have the capacity to retain everything, so sacrifices made -no real need to retain everything, since the environment usually serves as its own memory -limitations only apparent when we bring it into the lab

Hemineglect