Processing takes place in a series on phases. Cognition = going through steps.

Names to know: Sternberg

Had subjects memorize list of digits. After, subjects presented with probe ("was letter 4 there?"). In order to do this needed to :

• 1. See external stimulus
•  2. recode stimulus
• 3. pattern recognition
• 4. remember what you are looking for
• 5. Match probe to array
• 6. Make decision
• 7. Output

Conclusions: Placement in array doesn't matter but number in set size does. We process info in serial search manner.

Model of Cognition

(According to Sternburgh and others)

• Sensory register (codes info)
• Short term/ working memory (info goes here to be stored, processed, manipulated)
• Long term/ knowledg (long term storage)

STM -> LTM (encoding)

LTM -> STM (retrieval)

Both of these systems work together in order to understand the things we experience

How much info can we take from visual world and how long can we remember it?

• Used array of 4X4 items (letters) presented briefly
• Asked subjects to remember what they saw
• Sometimes cued to certain area, row, etc

Conclusions: Sensory system can remember LOTS of things but by the time you recall about 4 items, this information has decayed.

• Show 4x4 array
• Report as many objects as you can
• Subjects could report 4 objects

• Shown 4x4 array
• Cue given to recall only certain row (with tones)
• Can impose delay before cue given
• Cue allows for selective searching of mental image
• With small lag, could retrieve 3-4 out of any row (75-85% correct from whole array)
• Could also use line as cue

• Used in Spearlings 4x4 task
• Instead of line as cue, use something similar to a letter like 0
• People are then unable to recall letter
• Cue is taking up same visual space and replacing original letter

"Everyone knows what attention is"

• Attention = consciousness
• Narrowing of attention to certain things at detriment to other things
• Too narrow of a view: not all attention is conscious

Focused: only 1 thing needed to focus on. Primarily auditory or visual

Divided: Attention is split.

Uses dual task paradigm.

Things that can effect divided attention:

-Task similarity

-Difficulty

-Practice

Cherry (MIT)- Created dichotic listening task (diff messages in each ear)

-Found selection of attention based on physical characteristics (location, pitch, gender)

-Created shadowing (respond to stim as you hear it)

Morey- Dichotic listening task with participant's name

Filter model: Filtering process that applies early in registering of information

Sensory register -> filter ->STM

-Even filtered info is still there

-Info is cued up according to attended time and then passed on

Contradictory evidence:

-skin potential change to unattended shock word

-stimuli grouped based on semantics

-switching of ears for sentences

Attenuation Modal:

Information passes through register, attenuator magnifies or selects out information

-Hierarchy of mag: first raw physical char, then semantics

-Allows for 'processing bottleneck' where certain info priviledged by attenuator

-Too flexible?

Late Selection Model:

-Response to over-flexibiilty of Treisman

-All info makes it into STm and we select from it later in processing

Visual Attention-

As spotlight/zoom lense

-First evidence of attention as spotlight

-Subjects see word

-Later asked either meaning of word or if letter was found in word

-If processing meaning, no effects of placement

-If processing letter, ones in middle had smaller reaction time (b/c in center of spotlight)

Ring study

-Subjects told to focus on certain ring

-Then asked to remember things in all rings

-If cued to outside ring, did not see things in the middle

-So not QUITE like a spotlight

Cave (1999) Article

Is attention like a spotlight?

Is attention like a spotlight?

-Spotlight: selects all attention from a particular region and excludes others outside of it

    -Spatial location does seem to be important, smaller RT when things are in 'center' of visual field, when objects placed closer together (but only when there are landmarks)

     -Distractors closer to target cause more problems with naming target

     -Neural mechanisms support idea of location as important

-Object-based selection: Duncan used overlapping stim in same location and asked participants to report various aspects of stim. Even if in same 'spotlight' area, had hard time when two many factors of objects involved. So maby object is more important than location

-Can use both theories together: First group objects according to location THEN according to object-based similarities

Cave (1999)

Does attention pass over in-between locations?

-No, seems to jump from one to another

Cave (1999)

What is the size of the spotlight and flexibility in adjusting it?

Cave (1999)

Is everything within visual spotlight selected equally?

Cave (1999)

5 paradigms of attention

1. Spotlight as attention window

2. Spotlight as distributed resource

3. Spotlight as filter

4.Spotlight for action

5. Multiple attention systems

Biased Competition Model

-Objects in scene activate corresponding reps in the brain which compete for perceptual awareness

-Associations between objects: Visual, or cognitive

-Conclusions: associated objects grab attention, LTM can change how we allocate attention

-Looks at cocktail party phenom in a more controlled & online matter

    -Controls gender, includes shadowing, how long they shadow, online instead of just self-report, a control name, and inserts name in monotone

-Attempts to decide who was "right" in terms of explaination of phenomenenon. Is it because of early, late , or attentuating filters?

Results: Same as those in original Morey study (33% hear name)

-For those who reported hearing the name, slight shift occured for few seconds after hearing it

-Rule out "early filter" . think results are consistent with "attentuator" model where stim activates mental unit weakly (so some hear it but others don't)

-Reflexive vs voluntary control of attention

-Reflexive attention is driven by properties of stimulus.

    -Some thing that we set a goal off-line first (like keying up for a target) and then attention reflectively acts on this goal

     -So even involuntary can use top-down processes

-Voluntary Attention (Task switching & cueing)

     - Uses mostly top-down processes, but is also using introduction of new stim and so activates bottom-up

-Talks about effects of practive on dual tasks