Lecture on Selective Attention

Key Concepts

• Attention as a Limited Resource
  • We cannot focus on everything in our environment simultaneously.
  • Selective attention allows us to focus on relevant tasks while ignoring other information.

Selective Attention

• Definition: The ability to focus on something relevant to the task at hand while ignoring other information.
• Example: In a loud crowded room, you can focus on one person talking to you but still hear bits of other conversations.

Studying Selective Attention

• Shadowing Task:
  • Participants wear headphones with different information in each ear.
  • Task is to repeat everything from one ear, requiring attention to one channel while ignoring the other.

Theories of Selective Attention

Broadbent’s Early Selection Theory

• Process:
  • Sensory register receives all environmental input.
  • Selective filter identifies what to attend to via basic physical characteristics (e.g., voice, pitch).
  • Selected information is then processed perceptually to assign meaning.
  • Cognitive processes follow to decide responses.
• Limitations:
  • Cannot explain the cocktail party effect (recognizing your name in unattended channels).

Deutsch & Deutsch Late Selection Theory

• Process:
  • All input is registered and assigned meaning.
  • Selective filter then decides what reaches conscious awareness.
• Considerations:
  • May be inefficient due to the brain’s limited resources.

Treisman’s Attenuation Theory

• Process:
  • Attenuator weakens but does not eliminate unattended input.
  • Some unattended information is processed perceptually but with lower priority.
  • Attention switches if unattended information becomes important.
• Influence of Task Difficulty: Affects when filtering occurs and its duration.

Importance of Selective Attention

• Crucial for cognitive functions and daily activities.
• Allows infants to learn spoken language by focusing on human voices.
• Enables quick refocusing to notice critical changes in the environment, like an approaching car or a shouted warning.

Conclusion

• Still debate over the best theory of selective attention.
• Understanding attention is vital as it underpins all cognitive functions.