1. Introduction to Attention and Theories of Selective Attention
Psychology 355: Cognitive Psychology Instructor: John Miyamoto 04/09/2018: Lecture 03-1
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2. Lecture probably ends here
Outline
Humans are limited capacity information processors
Capacity limitations shape the mental strategies that humans use.
Examples of capacity limitations in human information processing
Selective attention is one of many human adaptations to limits in human information processing.
Theories of selective attention.
Lecture probably ends here
Example 1: Capacity Limitation in Spatial Attention
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

3. Example 1: Attention To a Location Enhances Information Processing at that Location
Information processing is superior when the subject pays attention to only a few locations.
Information processing is inferior when the subject is required to pay attention to a larger number of locations.
Display Array of Multiple Locations
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

4. Searching Multiple Locations for a Target Letter
o indicates a possible position for the target letter.
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Same Display with Numbers that Label Positions
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

5. Searching Multiple Locations for a Target Letter
Numbers are labels for positions. +
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Start Trial 1
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

6. Trial 1: Target Letter is “F”
An array of letters will appear when I click the slide. Identify the location of the letter “F”.
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Where was the “F”?
Trial 1 Solution
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

7. Trial 1 Solution: Target Letter is “F”
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Start Trial 2: Another Example of a “No Cues” Trial
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

8. Trial 2 (NO CUES): Target Letter is “F”
An array of letters will appear when I click the slide. Identify the location of the letter “F”. +
Where was the “F”?
Identify the Correct Response to Trial 2
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

9. Trial 3 (NO CUES): Target Letter is “F”+
Where was the “F”?
Explain Cueing for Potential Target Location
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

10. Cueing the Potential Target Position
Just before the target array is displayed, you will see 2 circles that indicate the potential location of the target.
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Letter Array for Cueing Example
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

11. Task: Find the “F” B Trial 4 with Cues for Target Position
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Trial 4 with Cues for Target Position
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

12. Trial 4: Target Letter is “F”
Get ready for the cues and the letter array.
* Grid display was created in <\p355\img\attn.letter.array.docm>.
Trial 4 Solution
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

13. Trial 4 Solution: Target Letter is “F”+
Conclusion: Increasing the Target Locations Makes the Task More Difficult
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

14. Conclusion from Demonstration 1
Letter detection is hard when we attend to many locations.
Letter detection is easier when we attend to only a few locations.
Rate and quality of perceptual information processing increases when we know where to focus attention.
Duh?
If we couldn’t focus attention, we couldn’t benefit from the improved perceptual processing when attention is focused.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Question to Class: Which Demo to Use?

15. Ask Class: Have They Seen Dan Simon's Famous G-r---a Study
Should I show the G study or the D study?
Raise your right hand if you have seen a video that is associated with:
Dan Simon (psychologist)
Students bouncing a basketball in an office building
Students wear black tee shirts or white tee shirts
Should you focus talk on G study or D study?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Demonstration 2: Basketball in the Hallway

16. Example 2
Show in browser 1:21 length
When I switch to the browser, you will see a short video that shows two groups of people passing basketballs back and forth.
One group wears white tee shirts; the other group wears black tee shirts.
Each group has a basketball and the group members pass the ball back and forth to other group members.
Note to self: Start at 11 seconds. Pause at 11 seconds.
Note to self: Stop demo at Time = 41 seconds
Task Instructions
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

17. Classroom Demonstration – Your Task
YOUR TASK: Count ...
.... the number of times someone in a WHITE shirt passes the ball to another person in a WHITE shirt, PLUS ...
.... the number of times someone in a WHITE shirt bounces the ball on the ground, either to themselves or to a team mate.
The activities of people in BLACK are not relevant to this task.
TASK = Count PASSES + BOUNCES of people in white shirts
NOTE: The video only asks you to count the number of passes; I want you to count the number of passes plus the number of bounces.
Correct Answer for PASSES + BOUNCES
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

18. Questions for the Class
How many times did the people in the white tee shirts pass the ball or bounce the ball?
15 Passes Bounces = 25 Passes & Bounces
Did you notice anything else that was strange? Raise your hand if you noticed anything strange about the video.
Only people who got the total number of passes and bounces can answer the question about what was strange!
Repeat video
Attention & Capacity Limits Are Complementary Aspects of Cognition
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

19. The Door Study
Very funny recreation of the Door study:
Original Door Study (one example):
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18

20. Attention & Capacity Limits Are Complementary Aspects of Cognition
We need attentional functions because we have information processing limitations.
Attentional functions enhance information processing despite our capacity limits.
(Comment on limitations on working memory)
Quotation from C. Eastwood
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

21. “A man's got to know his limitations”
Actor: Clint Eastwood Role: Harry Callahan Movie: Magnum Force
YinYang of Attention & Cognitive Resource Limitations
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

22. Attention x Capacity Limits: Complementary Aspects of Cognition
Cognitive Capacity Limitations
Human Are Limited Capacity Information Processors
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

23. Humans Are Limited Capacity Information Processors
Humans cannot encode and represent ALL of the perceptual information available to them.
Selective attention performs two cognitive functions:
Selection of the information for thorough processing
Neglecting or excluding other parts of the information.
Main Question of Remainder of this Lecture: Where does selection occur?
Does selection occur near the sensory periphery?
Does selection occur after higher processes like meaning-extraction and pattern recognition have begun to take place?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Shadowing & Dichotic Listening

24. "Shadowing" During Dichotic Listening Study
Dichotic Listening Listening with 2 ears Monotic Listening Listening with 1 ear
"Shadowing" Subject is instructed to repeat out loud the message(s) in one ear, e.g., left ear only.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Results for Shadowing

25. Shadowing While Engaged in Dichotic Listening: Results
Participants could not report the content of the message in unattended ear
Knew that there was a message, but had no idea what it was
Knew the gender of the speaker
Did not know that the same word was repeated 35 times
Unattended ear is being processed at some level
Cocktail party effect
Change in gender is noticed
Change to a tone is noticed
How to explain the lack of awareness regarding information in the unattended ear?
Attentional Filter – What Is It?
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

26. Attentional Filter Filter Inputs
Filter Hypothesis: There is a cognitive mechanism called a "filter" that allows some sensory inputs to pass to deeper levels of processing, and blocks other inputs from continued processing.
Where is the attentional filter in the cognitive process?
Early selection model: Broadbent’s filter model
Intermediate selection model: Treisman’s attenuation theory
Late selection model: McKay (1973)
Filter
Inputs
Early filter models assume that attentional selection precedes the extraction of meaning. So early selection models must distinguish between inputs based on physical features like which ear has the sound, or color.
Broadbent's Filter Model: An Early Selection Theory
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

27. Broadbent's (1958) Filter Model (Early Selection Model)
Messages:
Sensory memory
Filter:
Detector:
Short-Term Memory
Broadbent's Filter Model – Messages & Sensory Memory
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

28. Broadbent's (1958) Filter Model
Messages: Information coming in from the environment.
Sensory memory: Temporary, high capacity information storage. Information is transcient. Only physical properties of stimulus are processed here.
A.k.a. "sensory store," "iconic store" for vision; "echoic store" for audition.
Broadbent's Filter Model – Filter
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18

29. Broadbent's (1958) Filter Model
Messages: Information coming in from the environment.
Sensory memory: Transient, high-capacity sensory storeage
Filter: Blocks most input messages, but lets one (and only one) message pass through. Broadbent’s filter model assumes that:
The filter blocks unattended messages in terms of their physical characteristics, not in terms of meaning.
It takes time to switch attention from one message to another.
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Broadbent's Filter Model – Detector & STM

30. Broadbent's (1958) Filter Model
Messages: Information coming in from the environment.
Sensory memory
Filter: Blocks most input messages, but lets one pass through.
Detector: High quality processor of the message that was selected by the filter.
Short-Term Memory: Active processing of information that has passed through the filter (the attended message).
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Broadbent’s Split Scan Experiment

31. Broadbent's (1958) Split-Scan Experiment
Trials 1, 2 & 3 occur in rapid succession.
Cond 1: Report letters in any order.
Typical Result: Subjects says: "M, R, W", then "H, S, P".
65% correct
Cond 2: Report letter pairs for each trial (pair 1, then pair 2, then pair 3)
TypicalResult: Subjects says: "M, H", "R, S", "W, P".
20% correct.
Subjects say Cond 2 is more difficult than Cond 1. 1. M H 2. S R 3. P W
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
How does Broadbent's filter model explain this pattern of results?

32. Monday, 9 April, 2018: The Lecture Ended Here
Psych 355,, Miyamoto, Spr '18

33. How does Broadbent's (1958) filter model explain this pattern of results?
Switching attention requires a change (retuning) of the filter. This takes time and cognitive effort.
Cond 1 requires 1 switch of attention;
Cond 2 requires 5 switches of attention. Therefore Cond 2 is harder (more errors; feels more difficult).
NOTE: Later research has shown that the cognitive process is more complex. This example only illustrates how a Broadbent’s Filter Model explains the findings of the split scan experiment. P W S R H M
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Problems with Broadbent's Filter Model

34. Problems with Broadbent's Filter Model
Problems with Broadbent’s filter model are due to the assumption of early selection (selection precedes the extraction of meaning).
Cocktail Party Phenomenon: People remember hearing their own name even if it is presented in the unattended ear.
Broadbent's filter model says that unattended messages are completely blocked. Cocktail Party Phenomenon should not occur.
Gray & Wedderburn's (1960): "Dear Aunt Jane" experiment
Psych 355, Miyamoto, Spr '18
Grey & Wedderburn – Dear Aunt Jane Experiment