Attention: Psy3051 Lecture - Monash University

Attention Katherine Dixon PSY3051 Monash University Week 6, 2025 image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Brugel_the_elder.jpg  What is attention? A first go at a definition of attention: Attention refers to the cognitive processes that...

Attention Katherine Dixon PSY3051 Monash University Week 6, 2025 image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Brugel_the_elder.jpg  What is attention? A first go at a definition of attention: Attention refers to the cognitive processes that YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS help us to sustain focus on some things at the expense of other things ATTENTION The reason a cognitive system needs attention is the same reason a popular nightclub needs a bouncer: to stop it from being overwhelmed by demand ○ At each moment, there is vastly more information arriving at our senses than our minds are capable of processing! PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Overview of this week’s videos & links to learning outcomes Mini-lecture 1: What is attention? LO1: Define attention, and explain what is meant by its ‘capacity limitations’ LO2: Describe the different kinds of attention, including internal/external, overt/covert, voluntary/reflexive, and sustained/divided Mini-lecture 2: How does attention work? LO3: Explain the principles that underlie the different kinds of attentional selection LO4: Articulate why it is said that attention helps us to perceive a coherent world Mini-lecture 3: What happens when attention goes wrong? LO5: Identify the principles that lead to failures of attention, including phenomena such as distractibility and change blindness, and apply those principles to explain how to improve attention in everyday life PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Apollo Robbins - Famous magician & pickpocket link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d54ydsKUNGw PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon Mini-lecture 1: What is attention? PSY3051 Attention Katherine Dixon  What is attention? Our first go from the introduction video: Attention refers to the cognitive processes that YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS help us to sustain focus on some things at the expense of other things ATTENTION The reason a cognitive system needs attention is the same reason a popular nightclub needs a bouncer: to stop it from being overwhelmed by demand ○ At each moment, there is vastly more information arriving at our senses than our minds are capable of processing! PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Attentional selection A core function of attention is to select some information for further processing and filter out other information → this is a key cognitive process There are different ways that this selection can happen ○ Sensory attention: attention to a specific sensory modality as a whole ○ Feature-based attention: attention based on different low-level sensory features ○ Object-based attention: attention to an object as a whole This gives you some idea of how flexibly your mind can deploy attention when it needs to PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Sensory attention At a fundamental level, attention can select for one sensory modality over another ○ At any given time, we are usually attending to information coming in from vision Try attending to a less commonly used sense, like taste ○ Note that this might be easier if you close your eyes – this is a sign of how dominant vision over our other senses PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature-based attention As well as different locations, we can pay attention to the same feature across multiple different spatial locations Examples of visual features: colour, shape, direction of motion, orientation, spatial frequency,... Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtjOCfIRqLE Examples of auditory features: pitch, timbre ○ When you concentrate on a song’s bassline, you are using auditory feature-based attention Also possible for other modalities, e.g., attending to ‘citrus notes’ in a wine tasting PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature-based attention When searching for an app on a smartphone, most people use feature-based attention as their first strategy ○ Searching for the calendar by looking for apps that are white with a number on them This can cause problems when two apps share features! Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/jie6b7/for_opening_home_instead_of_drive_gang/ PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Object-based attention O’Craven et al., 1999, Nature We can pay attention to a single visual ‘object’, even when it overlaps with another object in space Paying attention to one feature of an object enhances cognitive and neural processing of the rest of the object ○ e.g., paying attention to the direction of motion of the face enhances processing of the face’s other features (expression, orientation, etc.) PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  What is attention? Our first go from the introduction video: Attention refers to the cognitive processes that YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS help us to sustain focus on some things at the expense of other things ATTENTION The reason a cognitive system needs attention is the same reason a popular nightclub needs a bouncer: to stop it from being overwhelmed by demand ○ At each moment, there is vastly more information arriving at our senses than our minds are capable of processing! Let’s look at some helpful dichotomies to understand the different kinds of attention and what they all have in common PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Dichotomy #1: External vs. internal attention Attention operates by selecting some things for further cognitive processing at the expense of other things. ○ What kinds of things, and how are they selected? We’ll cover these topics in this lecture. External attention is when the things that attention selects are in the external world (i.e., outside the mind) ○ e.g., stop and listen to all of the sounds in the room around you that you normally tune out Internal attention is when the things that are selected are in your internal world (thoughts, feelings, memories) ○ e.g., how many rooms were in the house that you lived in when you were a child? This is not a perfect dichotomy ○ You drop a hammer on your toe and for a moment your mind focuses on the pain in your foot. Is this internal or external attention? PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Dichotomy #2: Overt vs. covert attention Overt attention is when external visual information is selected via movements of the eyes ○ We say that the information is foveated Covert attention is when external visual information is selected without eye movements Note that these are both kinds of external attention. Image credit: https://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-care/eye-anatomy/fovea/ PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  More on covert attention Covert attention is when visual information is selected for processing without making an eye movement to the source of the information link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOcxVCFoRj8&ab_channel=NBA PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Dichotomy #3: Voluntary vs. reflexive attention Things can become the focus of attention as the result of either conscious or unconscious processes Voluntary attention is when we direct attention to an object by conscious volition ○ e.g., if you relax yourself by paying attention to the feeling of the breath going in and out of your lungs Reflexive attention is when something captures our attention because of unconscious processes Both voluntary and reflexive attention can be either internal or external ○ For visual stimuli, reflexive external attention is usually overt (unless we really exert effort) PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Dichotomy #4: Sustained vs. divided attention So far, we’ve mostly talked about attention to a single stimulus – but that isn’t always the case Sustained attention is when attention selects a single stimulus for subsequent processing ○ e.g., complete focus on your notes while studying Divided attention is when attention selects multiple stimuli for processing at the same time ○ But note that all attention is capacity-limited – there is an upper limit on how many things we can attend to at the same time ○ If you think about it, the fact that there are also capacity limits for other cognitive processes in the mind is the reason why we need attention in the first place When we divide our attention across multiple tasks, performance on those tasks suffers ○ This is why texting while driving is a really bad idea! PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  What is attention? Our vague first definition of attention from the introduction video: Attention refers to the cognitive processes that help us to sustain focus on some things at the expense of other things Let’s refine that definition and add a bit more detail: Attention is a family of capacity-limited processes by which certain information is prioritised for processing (or ‘selected’ ) over other information ○ There are different ways that we ‘select’ information to attend to (sensory, feature-based, object-based) ○ The information that is selected may be external (in our environment) or internal (like memories or feelings) ○ External attention may or may not involve moving your eyes to look at something directly ○ Attention can be directed to a thing voluntarily, or can be reflexively captured ○ A single thing might be selected (sustained attention), or multiple things might be selected at the same time (divided attention) ○ There are capacity limitations on attention, meaning that here is an upper limit on how many things we can attend to at the one time PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Relation to learning outcomes Mini-lecture 1: What is attention? DONE LO1: Define attention, and explain what is meant by its ‘capacity limitations’ LO2: Describe the different kinds of attention, including internal/external, overt/covert, voluntary/reflexive, and sustained/divided UP NEXT: Mini-lecture 2: How does attention work? LO3: Explain the principles that underlie the different kinds of attentional selection LO4: Articulate why it is said that attention helps us to perceive a coherent world LATER: Mini-lecture 3: What happens when attention goes wrong? LO5: Identify the principles that lead to failures of attention, including phenomena such as distractibility and change blindness, and apply those principles to explain how to improve attention in everyday life PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon Mini-lecture 2: How does attention work? PSY3051 Attention Katherine Dixon  When does attention happen? Last mini-lecture: what is attention, and what kinds of things can it select for? This video: how does the attentional selection process work? ○ When in the overall sequence of cognitive operations does attention occur? ○ Another way of asking this: is semantic meaning extraction pre-attentive or post-attentive? Attention ? ? Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features meaning external memory buffer extracted extracted world PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Early attentional selection theories Early selection theories propose that attention operates after low-level features are extracted, but before stimuli are processed to the level of semantic meaning Attention Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features meaning external memory buffer extracted extracted world Evidence comes from dichotic listening experiments Participants are presented with different audio in their left vs. right ear They are instructed to pay attention to one ear only They typically cannot answer questions accurately about information from the unattended ear PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Early attentional selection theory: Broadbent’s filter model Broadbent (1958) Broadbent proposed that attention is a filter that selects a single message and screens all other messages out ○ Filtering is based on low-level sensory features (e.g., high pitch versus low pitch) in the previous example ○ Because attention operates before meaning is extracted, this is a kind of early-selection model Attention Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features Filter meaning external memory buffer extracted extracted world But other dichotic listening studies have challenged the filter model ○ If a person’s name is presented in the unattended ear, they are more likely to notice it ○ Why is this a challenge? Because the model has trouble explaining why meaning is extracted in some situations but not others PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  The ‘Dear Aunt Jane’ experiment Gray & Wedderburn (1960) If participants were attending solely to the left ear, they should report “Dear 7 Jane”. Instead, they are more likely to report “Dear Aunt Jane”. PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon Early attentional selection theory: Treisman’s attenuator model Treisman (1964) To explain this apparent discrepancy, Anne Treisman proposed that attention should be thought of as an attenuator rather than a filter (Note: attenuate = weaken, reduce, lessen) ○ Attention is not all-or-nothing; instead, it amplifies the selected message and attenuates others ○ Since the attenuator operates before semantic information is extracted, this is still an early-selection model Attention Information Sensory Low-level from Dictionary Working memory features Attenuator external unit memory buffer extracted world The attenuated information is then passed to a ‘dictionary unit’ that analyses meaning ○ Some words in the dictionary have a higher threshold for activation, which means it takes more input for them to be passed on ○ A person’s own name has a very low threshold for activation  Late attentional selection theories Deutsch & Deutsch (1963) Late-selection models place a filter after the extraction of semantic memory ○ In other words, the meaning of all stimuli is analysed fully Attention Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features meaning Filter external memory buffer extracted extracted world These models have a hard time accounting for data from dichotic listening experiments PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Flexible attentional selection Lavie (1995) Nilli Lavie’s load theory showed that semantic processing of unattended information depends on the cognitive load of the attended task ○ You can think of cognitive load in terms of how easy or automatic a task is Under low cognitive load, there are spare attentional resources that are automatically used for semantic processing of unattended stimuli ○ This resembles late selection models Under high cognitive load, there are no spare attentional resources, and so unattended stimuli receive no semantic processing ○ This resembles early selection models PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  An example of load theory Forster & Lavie (2008) The more automatic a task is, the more capacity is left over for processing distracting information This predicts that phone-based distractions will affect experienced drivers more than learners! PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  When does attention happen? Do we extract semantic meaning from stimuli that we do not attend to? ○ Early selection theories: no ○ Late selection theories: yes ○ Load theory: it depends on cognitive load Attention ? ? Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features meaning external memory buffer extracted extracted world PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature extraction and binding Previously, we assumed that the extraction of low-level sensory features is pre-attentive ○ Here, we will show how we know that this is the case Attention Information Sensory Low-level Semantic from Working memory features meaning external memory buffer extracted extracted world Feature integration theory proposes that the act of attending to a stimulus binds its various features together into a coherent percept (Anne Treisman & Garry Gelade, 1980) ○ If we do not attend to a stimulus, its features are not bound together ○ Some individuals with brain damage in the parietal lobe show impaired feature binding PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature extraction and binding Treisman (1986, 1988, 1999) Before we attend to an object, it its represented in our minds as a set of unconnected features ○ Visual objects: colour, shape, motion, location, etc. ○ Auditory objects: pitch, direction, loudness, etc. By attending to an object, those different features are bound together (or ‘integrated’) ○ Another way of saying this is that attention helps our minds to solve the binding problem We can’t consciously perceive these free-floating features! ○ Treisman would say that this is because feature integration happens prior to conscious awareness ○ But how do we know that that is really what is going on? PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Illusory conjunctions Treisman (1986, 1988, 1999) The first piece of evidence that features are free-floating before we attend to them comes from illusory conjunction experiments ○ In these experiments, features from two different objects are erroneously bound together into a single percept 5 2 Report the black numbers PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Illusory conjunctions Here’s what you just saw An example of an illusory conjunction would be reporting that you saw a red triangle, or a yellow square ○ This is evidence that the features were not bound into a single object when you saw them PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature search vs. conjunction search Feature search Conjunction search Find the L Find the green L PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Feature search vs. conjunction search Q: Why is conjunction search harder than feature search? ○ A: Because conjunction search requires feature binding by attention, whereas feature search does not PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Relation to learning outcomes Mini-lecture 1: What is attention? DONE LO1: Define attention, and explain what is meant by its ‘capacity limitations’ LO2: Describe the different kinds of attention, including internal/external, overt/covert, voluntary/reflexive, and sustained/divided Mini-lecture 2: How does attention work? DONE LO3: Explain the principles that underlie the different kinds of attentional selection LO4: Articulate why it is said that attention helps us to perceive a coherent world UP NEXT: Mini-lecture 3: What happens when attention goes wrong? LO5: Identify the principles that lead to failures of attention, including phenomena such as distractibility and change blindness, and apply those principles to explain how to improve attention in everyday life PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon Mini-lecture 3: When attention goes wrong PSY3051 Attention Katherine Dixon  How can attention go wrong? The mini-lectures so far have focused on the ways that attention functions. Now, we are going to talk about the ways in which attention can dysfunction in two ways: Way 1: distractibility (paying attention to things we don’t want to pay attention to) ○ Including an overview of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Way 2: attentional blindness (not attending to things we might want to pay attention to) ○ Including inattentional blindness and change blindness PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  What is distraction? Broadly speaking, distraction is when attention to a primary task is interrupted by another task or stimulus In theory, distraction can be a good thing if the interrupting task or stimulus is more important ○ e.g., a fire alarm that goes off while you are in the library studying But in practice, we usually use the term distraction when the interrupting task or stimulus is less important than the primary task ○ e.g., you find it hard to study because you keep getting distracted by social media notifications PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  How do stimuli capture attention in the first place? Recall that earlier we drew a distinction between reflexive attention and voluntary attention Attentional capture is the process by which a stimulus attracts reflexive attention If a stimulus is very good at capturing attention, we say that the stimulus is highly salient ○ But what determines how salient a stimulus is? A visual scene A ‘saliency map’ of that scene PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Factors influencing stimulus salience 1. Distinctiveness Stimuli can acquire salience is if they do not share many perceptual features with the stimuli around them This is why the circled T captures attention on the right, but not on the left T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Factors influencing stimulus salience 2. Semantic meaning Stimuli that are very personally meaningful, like one’s own name, tend to capture attention PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Factors influencing stimulus salience MacLeod (1986) 3. Association with threat or reward Stimuli with strong positive or negative associations are highly salient In the “dot probe” task, stimuli that follow a very positive or very negative image are detected more quickly than stimuli that follow a neutral image This effect is particularly strong for negative images in individuals with an anxiety disorder PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  ADHD and distraction Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is frequently misunderstood ○ Inattention and hyperactivity are two different components of ADHD Increased distractibility: This is one of the key aspects of the inattention component of ADHD. ○ Individuals with ADHD are more easily pulled off task by external/internal stimuli. Heightened reflexive attention: Increased distractibility is often explained by a heightened sensitivity to reflexive attention. ○ In ADHD, reflexive capture seems to be stronger and more easily triggered by a wider range of stimuli. Potentially different saliency maps: The way individuals with ADHD perceive the salience of different stimuli, both in the external world and their internal thoughts, might be different. ○ Things that might not readily capture the attention of someone without ADHD could be much more salient and attention-grabbing for someone with ADHD. PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  What is attentional blindness? Attentional blindness involves situations where we don't attend to things we perhaps should or might want to notice PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Inattentional blindness Simons & Chabris (1999) Inattentional blindness is a class of phenomena that show we are unconscious of perfectly visible (or audible) stimuli unless we pay attention to those stimuli ○ e.g., the famous ‘gorilla experiment’ PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Change blindness We are incapable of detecting changes to stimuli unless we are paying attention to the relevant part of the stimulus Classic change blindness illusions show how easy it is to be ‘blind’ to changes in a stimulus ○ Video example Note the importance of iconic memory - something you’ve learned about before! PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Relation to learning outcomes Mini-lecture 1: What is attention? DONE LO1: Define attention, and explain what is meant by its ‘capacity limitations’ LO2: Describe the different kinds of attention, including internal/external, overt/covert, voluntary/reflexive, and sustained/divided Mini-lecture 2: How does attention work? DONE LO3: Explain the principles that underlie the different kinds of attentional selection LO4: Articulate why it is said that attention helps us to perceive a coherent world Mini-lecture 3: What happens when attention goes wrong? DONE LO5: Identify the principles that lead to failures of attention, including phenomena such as distractibility and change blindness, and apply those principles to explain how to improve attention in everyday life PSY3051 – Attention – Katherine Dixon  Attention Katherine Dixon PSY3051 Monash University Week 6, 2025 image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pieter_Brugel_the_elder.jpg