COGNITIVE PSY – MIDTERMS pick out the few important stimuli when they are
embedded in a wealth of irrelevant, distracting
ATTENTION and CONSCIOUSNESS
stimuli.
Attention is the means by which we actively process a
When we try to detect a target stimulus (signal), there
limited amount of information from the enormous
are four possible outcomes:
amount of information available through our sense, our
stored memories, and our cognitive processes Hits (true positives) – correctly identifies the
presence of a target
It includes both conscious and unconscious processes
False alarms (false positives) – incorrectly
Attention allows us to use our limited mental resources identifies the presence of a target that is
judiciously. By dimming the light on many stimuli from actually absent
outside (sensations) and inside (thoughts and Misses (false negatives) – fails to observe the
memories), we can highlight the stimuli that interest us presence of a target
Correct rejections (true negatives) – correctly
The heightened focus increases the likelihood that we identifies the absence of a target
can respond speedily and accurately to interesting
stimuli Signal-detection theory can be discussed in the context
of attention, perception, or memory:
How does attention work?
• attention—paying enough attention to perceive
At any point in time, we perceive a lot of sensory
objects that are there
information. Through attentional processes (which can
be automatic or controlled), we filter out the • perception—perceiving faint signals that may or may
information that is relevant to us and that we want to not be beyond your perceptual range
attend to. Eventually, this leads to our taking action on
• memory—indicating whether you have/have not been
the basis of the information we attended to.
exposed to a stimulus before
Heightened attention also paves the way for memory
- Vigilance - refers to a person’s ability to attend to a
processes. We are more likely to remember information
field of stimulation over a prolonged period, during
to which we paid attention that information we ignored
which the person seeks to detect the appearance of a
Consciousness includes both the feeling of awareness particular target stimulus of interest
and the content of awareness, some of which may be
2. Search: We try to find a signal amidst distracters
under the focus of attention. Therefore, attention and
consciousness form two partially overlapping sets 3. Selective attention: We choose to attend to some
stimuli and ignore others.
Conscious attention serves three purposes in playing a
casual role for cognition: 4. Divided attention: We prudently allocate our
available attentional resources to coordinate our
1. It helps in monitoring our interactions with the
performance of more than one task at a time.
environment. Through monitoring, we maintain
our awareness of how well we are adapting to
the situation in which we find ourselves
2. It assists us in linking our past (memories) and
our present (sensations) to give us a sense of
continuity of experience. Such continuity may
even serve as the basis for personal identity
3. It helps us in controlling and planning for our
future actions. We can do so based on the
information from monitoring and from the links
between past memories and present
sensations.
FOUR MAIN FUNCTIONS OF ATTENTION
1. Signal detection and vigilance: We try to detect the
appearance of a particular stimulus.
- Signal Detection – Measure sensitivity to a target’s
presence. It is a framework to explain how people
