Attention and Consciousness

Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J.
Sternberg
Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Attention and

Consciousness
Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 4
Attention Is…
• The concentration of mental energy
that must be used to process incoming
information
– Selective
– Limited
– Both conscious and preconscious
Chapter 4
Preconscious Attention
• Items that lie outside our conscious

awareness, some may be made
conscious, some not
Chapter 4
Priming
BREAD NURSE CAT
BUTTER DOCTOR DOG
• How quickly do you process the second word?

• Faster if you have been primed with a related
word.
Chapter 4
Marcel (1983)
Condition Subliminally Consciously
Present Prime Present Prime
Prime PALM PALM

Mask XXXX
Target PINE OR WRIST PINE OR WRIST
Response Body part or Plant? Body Part or Plant?
Reaction time How fast? How fast?

Chapter 4
Marcel’s Procedure with Participants
PALM
XXXX
PINE PALM
PINE
It’s a Plant. Umm, It’s a Plant.
Subliminal Condition Conscious Condition

Chapter 4
Marcel (1983) Results

Condition Subliminally Consciously Present
Present Prime
Prime
Targets: Found faster RT Found faster RT for
PINE or for both target one of two target
WRIST words words, slower RT
for the other target
Interpretation Both meanings Only one meaning is
were primed primed, the other
inhibited
Chapter 4
Priming Can Speed or Slow Processing

• Facilitative Priming
– Target stimuli (e.g., BUTTER) are processed
faster if preceded by a related word (e.g.,
BREAD)
• Negative Priming Effect
– Target stimuli (e.g., PINE) is processed
slower if preceded by a word related to
target’s alternate meaning (PALM relating to
hand)
Chapter 4
Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard &

Parker (1990)
Triad A Triad B
B AL L
Basket Swan
Room Army
Foot Mask
Which of these triads is coherent?
What is the 4th word that ties them together?

Chapter 4
Bowers (et.al.) Results

• Even if participants could not generate
the 4th word, they still selected the
coherent triad
• Results demonstrate preconscious

processing
Chapter 4
Tip-of-the-Tongue Experiences (TOT)

• You know you know the word but you
cannot fully retrieve the word
• Paradigms used to generate TOT states
– Show pictures of famous people or
politicians and have participants name
them
– Ask general knowledge questions to
generate TOTs
Chapter 4
TOT Demonstration
• What is the name of Dagwood Bumstead’s dog?
• Who wrote Paradise Lost?
• What is a wheeled hospital cart called?
• Do any of these questions put the answer on the

tip of your tongue?
Chapter 4
Blindsight
• Person cannot consciously see a certain
portion of their visual field but still
behave in some instances as if they can
see it
• Being aware of doing something is
distinguishable from doing something
Chapter 4
Controlled vs. Automatic Processing

• Automatic processing
– Requires no conscious control
• Controlled processing
– Requires conscious control
Chapter 4
Is Typing Automatic or
Controlled for You?
• Do you type without thinking where your
fingers are? Are you a search-and-peck
typer?
• If you do type without using attention, what
happens when you think about the letters as
you are typing them?
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Automatization - Two Explanations

• Integrated components theory-
Anderson
– Practice leads to integration; less and less
attention is needed
• Instance Theory - Logan
– Retrieve from memory specific answers,
skipping the procedure; thus less
attention is needed
Chapter 4
Effect of Practice on Automatization
Negative-
Acceleration
Curve
• Rate of learning slows as amount of

learning increases
Chapter 4
Habituation
• Decrease in responsiveness when
exposed to a repeated stimulus
– People who smoke do not notice the
smell of cigarettes on their clothes, but
nonsmokers do
– People get used to hearing the chiming of
their clocks
Chapter 4
Dishabituation
• Change in familiar stimuli causes
one to notice it again
– Smokers who quit, suddenly notice how
much their clothes smell of smoke
– If clock breaks, suddenly owner notices
the clock isn’t chiming
Chapter 4
Habituation/Dishabituation Paradigm
• Allows psychologists to test abilities of
Infants and animals
• Measure subject’s arousal to see if a change
occurs when pattern or sound is changed
– If animal or infant dishabituates to a change,
then they can detect the change
– If the animal or infant does not dishabituate to a
change in stimuli, they did not detect the
change
Chapter 4
Functions of Conscious Attention
• Signal Detection
• Searching
• Selective Attention
• Divided Attention
Chapter 4
Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

Signal
Present Absent
False
Decision Present Hit Alarm
Correct
Absent Miss Rejection
Chapter 4
Vigilance and SDT

• Vigilance is attending to a set of
stimuli over a length of time in order to
detect a target signal
• Vigilance decreases rapidly over time
(fatigue), thus misses and false alarms
increase
Chapter 4
Search
• Actively searching for a target
• Number of targets and distracters
influence accuracy
• Feature search versus conjunctive
search
Chapter 4
Conjunctive vs. Feature Search

L L L L L L L
Which box is it easier
L L L L L L L
to detect a letter that is
L O L L L L L
different?
L L L L L L L
L L L LThe box on top is a feature

L L L
L L L L L L L search
L L L L T L L
The box on the bottom is a
L L L L L L L
conjunction search
Chapter 4
Treisman’s Feature-Integration Theory

• Individual Feature processing is done in
parallel. Simultaneous processing is done on
the whole display and if feature is present-- we
detect it.
• Conjunctive searching requires attention to the
integration or combination of the features.
Attention to particular combination of features
must be done sequentially to detect presence of
a certain combination.
Chapter 4
Another Feature Search

Is there a red T in the
T T
Display?
T
T T T T
Target is defined by a T
single feature
T T T
According to feature
integration theory the T T T T
Target should “pop out” T
T
No attention required
Chapter 4
Another Conjunction Search

Is there a red T in the
Display?
X X T
Target is defined by two
Features: shape and color
T X T
T X X
According to FIT, the T
features must be combined X X
and so attention is required T
T T
Need to examine one by one
Chapter 4
Similarity Theory
• Disagrees with Treisman’s FIT theory
• Similarity between targets and distracters
is important; not number of features to be
combined
– The more shared features among items in
display, the more difficult to detect a
particular target
• Some findings cannot be explained by FIT
Chapter 4
Guided Search
• Cave and Wolf (1990)
• All searches have 2 phases
– Parallel phase
– Serial stage
Chapter 4
Selectivity of Attention
• Cocktail Party Problem
– How are we able to follow one
conversation in the presence of other
conversations?
Chapter 4
Cherry’s Shadowing Technique

Attended Ear Unattended Ear
The doctor went to The lawyer
the park to find the defended his client
homeless man. He as the trial began.
was He was able
…..The doctor went to

the park…..
Listen to two different conversations and repeat

one of the messages, may be binaural or dichotic
Chapter 4
Cherry’s Study Results

• Noticed in unattended ear:
– Change in gender
– Change to a tone
• Did not notice in unattended ear:
– Changed language
– Changed topic, same speaker
– If speech was played backwards
Chapter 4
Models of Selective Attention
• Do they have a filter?
• Where does the filter occur?

Chapter 4
Broadbent’s Model
Sensory Sensory Working

Stores Filter Memory
• Only one sensory channel is allowed Long

to proceed Term
• Stimuli filtered at sensory level Memory
Chapter 4
Broadbent’s Model Could Not Explain

• Participant’s name gets through
• Participants can shadow meaningful
messages that switches from one ear to
another
• Effects of practice on detecting
information in unattended ear (e.g.,
detect digit in unattended ear for naïve
and practiced participants)
Chapter 4
Treisman Attenuation Model

Attenuation of
Unattended
Sensory Working
Stores Memory
Filter weakens the strength of unattended information.

Arrow colors represent different levels of strength Long
Term
If arrow reaches circle, info will be activated in Memory
working memory
Chapter 4
Late Selection Theory
Sensory Working
Stores Memory
All stimuli is processed to the level of

Long
meaning; relevance determines further
Term
Processing and action Memory
Deutsch & Deutsch (1963)
Chapter 4
Multimode Theory
• Johnston & Heinz (1978)
• Difficulty of a task is determined by
when the selection takes place
Chapter 4
Neisser’s Synthesis
• Preattentive Processes
– Parallel
– Note physical characteristics
• Attentive Processes
– Controlled processes occur serially
– Occur in working memory
Chapter 4
Attentional-Resource Theories
• Model A represents Kahneman (1973) model

• Model B represents individual pools for each
modality
Chapter 4
Stroop Effect
Say the color the words red
are printed in as quickly yellow
green
as you can
blue
What errors do you make?
red
blue
Reading interferes with your
yellow
ability to state the color and
green
your reaction time is slower blue
red
Chapter 4
Divided Attention
• How many tasks can you do at once?
– e.g. driving & talking, radio, phone...
Chapter 4
Dual Task Paradigm

• Task 1 may require a verbal response
to an auditory stimulus
• Task 2 may require a participant to
push a button in response to a visual
stimulus.
• Results indicate that responses to the
second task are delayed
Chapter 4
Real Life Dual Task

• Driving and
– Cell phones
– Adjusting music
– Watching the scenery
• Almost 80 % of crashes and 65 % of
near-crashes involved some form of
driver inattention within three seconds of
the event
Chapter 4
Strayer & Drews (2007)

• Naturalistic Observation of cell phone
use and driver behavior
Failed to Stopped
stop properly
On Cell Phone 82 28
No Cell Phone 352 1286
Chapter 4
Strayer & Drews (2007) Results

• Impact of hands free cell phone
conversations on simulated driving:
– Cell-phone conversation led to
inattentional-blindness
– Even if they looked at an object,
participant did not remember the object
Chapter 4
Complex Mental Processes

• Access to conscious Mental Processes
– Some say we do (Ericsson & Simon)
– Some say we do not (Nisbett & Wilson)
• Evidence on both sides:
– Protocol analysis
– Change Blindness
Chapter 4
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

(ADHD)
• Symptoms
– Inattention
– Hyperactivity
– Impulsivity
– Not everyone who is overly hyperactive,
inattentive, or impulsive has ADHD
– Behavior must be demonstrated to a degree that
is inappropriate for the person's age
Chapter 4
Spatial Neglect
• Lesion on one side of brain causes
person to ignore half of their visual
field
Chapter 4
Posner & Attention

• Two attention systems; two functions
– Anterior frontal lobe system
• Tasks requiring awareness (planning or
writing)
– Posterior parietal lobe system
• Tasks involving visuospatial abilities
(playing Tetris, vigilance tasks)
Chapter 4
ERP and Attention

• Changes in electrical activity noted
• Method enables localization of
attentional processes in the brain

Attention and Consciousness

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Cognitive Psychology, Fifth Edition, Robert J.

Chapter 4: Attention and

• Items that lie outside our conscious

BUTTER DOCTOR DOG

• How quickly do you process the second word?

Prime PALM PALM

Target PINE OR WRIST PINE OR WRIST

Response Body part or Plant? Body Part or Plant?

Reaction time How fast? How fast?

Marcel’s Procedure with Participants

It’s a Plant. Umm, It’s a Plant.

Subliminal Condition Conscious Condition

Marcel (1983) Results

Priming Can Speed or Slow Processing

Bowers, Regehr, Balthazard &

What is the 4th word that ties them together?

Bowers (et.al.) Results

• Results demonstrate preconscious

Tip-of-the-Tongue Experiences (TOT)

• Who wrote Paradise Lost?

• What is a wheeled hospital cart called?

• Do any of these questions put the answer on the

Controlled vs. Automatic Processing

Automatization - Two Explanations

Effect of Practice on Automatization

• Rate of learning slows as amount of

Functions of Conscious Attention

Signal Detection Theory (SDT)

Vigilance and SDT

Conjunctive vs. Feature Search

L L L LThe box on top is a feature

Treisman’s Feature-Integration Theory

Another Feature Search

Another Conjunction Search

Cherry’s Shadowing Technique

…..The doctor went to

Listen to two different conversations and repeat

Cherry’s Study Results

Models of Selective Attention

• Do they have a filter?

• Where does the filter occur?

Sensory Sensory Working

• Only one sensory channel is allowed Long

Broadbent’s Model Could Not Explain

Treisman Attenuation Model

Filter weakens the strength of unattended information.

Late Selection Theory

All stimuli is processed to the level of

• Model A represents Kahneman (1973) model

Dual Task Paradigm

Real Life Dual Task

Strayer & Drews (2007)

Strayer & Drews (2007) Results

Complex Mental Processes

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Posner & Attention

ERP and Attention

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