Chapter 4
Chapter 4:
Attention and
Consciousness
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Some Questions of Interest
• What are some of the functions of attention?
• What are some theories to explain attentional processes? • Can we actively process information, even if we are not aware of doing so?
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Main Functions of Attention
1.
2.
3.
4.
Signal detection and vigilance
Search
Selective attention
Divided attention
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Signal Detection Theory (SDT)
• Measure sensitivity to a target’s presence Signal
Decision
Present
Present
Hit
Absent
Miss
Absent
False
Alarm
Correct
Rejection
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
cogLab: Signal Detection
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Vigilance and SDT
• Vigilance is attending to stimuli over time to detect a target
• Vigilance decreases rapidly over time (fatigue)
– misses and false alarms increase
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Search
• Actively searching for a target
• Number of targets and distracters influence accuracy
• Feature search versus conjunctive search Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
cogLab: Visual Search
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Conjunctive Search
• Find the letter T
– Which panel is easier? Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Feature Search
• Find the letter O
– Easier or harder than the previous one? Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Feature-Integration Theory (FIT)
• Feature processing is done in parallel
• Conjunctive searching requires attention to the integration or combination of the features – must be done sequentially