Information Processing and Attention PDF

**1.1.3 Information processing and attention** **Information processing and attention** Research has debated whether perceptual organisation relies on attention. It is certain, that in goal-oriented situations, humans deploy attention to gather the information that will help them achieve a goal. (...

**1.1.3 Information processing and attention** **Information processing and attention** Research has debated whether perceptual organisation relies on attention. It is certain, that in goal-oriented situations, humans deploy attention to gather the information that will help them achieve a goal. (Desimone and Duncan, 1995). If we know, for instance, where is the place of our target/goal, we can deliberately direct our attention to this place. However, is attention automatically deployed every time perceptual processing is activated? Kimchi et al (2007) conducted a study on whether perceptual organisation takes place without attention. The findings of the studies demonstrated that certain aspects of perceptual organisation such as figure-ground differentiation can occur without attention, while others rely on attentional processing. These findings contradict the traditional theories, which support that attention is not an essential element of perceptual organisation, as the latter can function attentively. **Models of attention:** **'Cocktail party problem':** Colin Cherry in 1953 identified that people have the ability to focus on one conversation at a party despite other stimuli, such as background noises or other conversations happening simultaneously. **Broadbent's filter model** This model explained the above phenomenon and suggested information is stored in short-term memory prior to going through a filter. The filter then selects the relevant stimuli to focus on. **MacKay's experiment on filter theory** Mackay suggested that information which is not attended or focused on is still perceived, even if it can not be recalled. **Attentional bias: **is being able to attend to an important stimulus despite trying to attend to another. **Measuring attention:** Attention and information processing occur in the parietal and frontal lobes. The 'detection threshold' considers the limit at which people will detect information in their environment. Various techniques and tests can be employed to measure attention. Tests include: - Visual probe technique - Continuous performance test (Conners CPT 3) - Spatial attention tasks **Visual probe technique -** Assesses selective attention. Used to determine whether an individual is more of less prone to being influenced by certain surrounding stimuli. Commonly used in neuropsychological assessments to determine the present and severity of anxiety type. **Continuous performance test (Conners CPT 3) -** Used to help diagnose ADHD. Assesses whether attentional deficits are impulsive or inattentive. **Spatial attention tasks -** Spatial attention is the process of attending to visual stimuli over a specific area, that is directing attention to a location in space. Spatial attention tasks can be used to determine any issues with initiating, stopping, shifting or switching attention. **Illusions** Dehaene et al. (2006) supported that cognitive illusion is a reflection of the observer's over-confidence that they see everything in a scene, while they are only able to see specific objects. In other words, they are so confident in their ability to obtain information from their environment, that they believe that the speculations they make reflect what it truly exists in a visual scene. The classical Sperling paradigm (Sperling 1960) shows that the participants were inclined to report that they see a whole array of letters, although one of the items was not a letter, but a catch symbol that looked like a letter (Kouider et al., 2007). These results prove that the observer can only capture limited information in the visual environment. Yet, observers are often ignorant of this limitation and tend to rely on predictions and generalities. However, we should not view illusions as falsities of our perceptual system. Instead, Gregory (2009) argued that human perception is by nature made to function in a way that amplifies sensory/visual stimuli to understand the environment more efficiently and act accordingly. Therefore, he did not see illusions as failures of our perception or dysfunctions of our apparatus, but instead he viewed them as expressions of the power of human perception. **Hallucinations** Our brain combines 'bottom-up' information gathered by our sensory system with 'top-down' information/predictions drawn from what we already know. 'Top-down' cognitive processing is often deployed by the human brain in order to interpret new information and infer what it is sensing (Helmholtz HV, 1867). Hallucinations are often affected by one's emotional state. For instance, in cases of people experiencing depression, hallucinations are often expressed with themes of illness and guilt. The relation between hallucinations and one's affective state is also evidenced by experiments around mood manipulation. (Winokur et al, 1985). According to Dewi Rees' study (1971), hallucinations often occur during periods of grief. According to Johns LC (2002) people who experience hallucinations of their loved ones do not undergo any impairment in their cognitive functioning. Thus, hallucinations may be nonclinical and should not be confused with other psychotic disorders. There are a vast number of cognitive theories in the literature covering hallucinations, including self-monitoring and source-monitoring defects. Along with the opposing theories, this field of psychiatry and neurology continues to be investigated. Functional imaging shows the involvement of associative sensory areas. Visual hallucinations are more likely to be associated and typical or organic pathology. Auditory hallucinations have associations with volume changes within the superior and medial temporal gyri. She blue and orange highlighted parts in this picture. **Attention in Schizophrenia** Attention is a key mechanism of our perceptual system, which enables us to gather and process information precisely and rapidly. Very importantly, attention interacts with other parts of our cognitive system, such as senses, memory, language etc. Galaverna et al (2012) assessed the role of attention in schizophrenia by firstly analysing its different components. Patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia were assessed with the Scale for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms against a healthy control group. The results showed that schizophrenic patients obtained lower scores in all areas of attention in comparison with the control group. Among the areas that were considered most impaired were inhibitory control and sustained attention. People who suffer from schizophrenia process facial expressions differently from people without schizophrenia. Studies of attention suggest that schizophrenics have a reduced ability to shift away from irrelevant stimuli. Thought to be an involuntary process of remaining fixated on something which is irrelevant, such as the forehead, which will not provide the full understanding of what the person they are interacting with is expressing. Delusions are thought to occur because they make inferences with irrelevant information and unrelated events. When combined with an abnormal style of reasoing then delusions can result. Hallucinations could occur because of a heightened awareness of unstructured and ambiguous sensory input. When combined with an intrusion of irrelevant material from the patient's long-term memory then hallucinations can result. Reduced capacity to shift attention away from uncomfortable intrusions would gradually lead to an accumulation of rage and annoyance, which could lead to aggressiveness. Because of the type of delusion or hallucination they are experiencing, the person with schizophrenia may simply consider aggression as necessary for self-preservation or defence. According to others, the central cognitive function provides feedback on our intentions and plans. This feedback process is thought to be disturbed in schizophrenia. If internally produced goals and plans enter the conscious without an appropriate feedback system, they may be attributed to coming from outside rather than from inside. Passivity phenomena are actions and intents that are perceived to originate externally (Frith, 1995). **Attention in other disorders** **ADHD: **Using CPT (continuous performance test), attentional deficits and different types of error occur more frequently in ADHD than in controls (Epstein et al, 2003). **Depression: **Often poor memory is a symptom mentioned by patients suffering from depression. This is likely caused by impaired attention, which is a biological symptom of reduced concentration. **Anxiety: **In anxiety disorders, there is often heightened attention. Physical anxiety may show reduced impulsivity and greater response inhibition.