Deck 12: Attention

Question 1

Controlled processes require:

A) awareness.
B) serial processing.
C) intentional effort.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

All of the above.

Question 2

Automatic processes require:

A) no attention.
B) awareness.
C) serial processing.
D) All of the above.

Answer 2

no attention.

Question 3

According to signal detection theory, the ability to detect a signal depends on:

A) early selection.
B) the perceptual sensitivity of the observer.
C) the decision criterion of the observer.
D) B and C.

Answer 3

B and C.

Question 4

According to signal detection theory, perceptual sensitivity is affected by:

A) expectations.
B) fake signals.
C) the frequency of the signal.
D) feedback.

Question 5

According to research on signal detection theory, the decision criterion is affected by:

A) feedback.
B) training the observer.
C) becoming familiar with the signal.
D) the event rate.

Question 6

The 'cocktail party' phenomenon is:

A) zooming in visually on someone across the room at a party.
B) dividing attention between two conversations at a party.
C) the ability to listen selectively to a conversation at a party.
D) not being able to attend for very long to one person at a party.

Question 7

Broadbent's (1958) theory of selective attention argues that the attended message is selected on the basis of:

A) whether you need to respond to it.
B) the physical characteristics of the message.
C) the importance of the message.
D) All of the above.

Question 8

Treisman's (1964) model of selective attention accounts for which of the following results in a dichotic listening task?

A) Participants being able to recognize the same message in different languages.
B) Participants being able to hear their own name in the unattended ear.
C) Participants being able to recognize the identity of messages with a lag between them.
D) All of the above

Question 9

Deutsch & Deutsch (1963) argue that the selection of an auditory input occurs:

A) at the response stage.
B) early in processing.
C) through attenuation.
D) A and B but not C.

Question 10

The ability to focus on one visual stimulus to the exclusion of other stimuli is referred to as:

A) the zoom lens analogy.
B) the spotlight analogy.
C) divided attention.
D) the decision criterion.

Question 11

Posner's experiment on shifting visual attention showed that participants could:

A) resist distraction by extraneous stimuli.
B) be distracted by extraneous stimuli.
C) shift attention overtly.
D) shift attention covertly.

Question 12

The ability to do more than one thing at a time is studied in:

A) overt attention.
B) covert attention.
C) divided attention.
D) selective attention.

Question 13

The ability to broaden or narrow the scope of visual attention is referred to as:

A) divided attention.
B) the spotlight analogy.
C) the decision criterion.
D) the zoom lens analogy.

Question 14

Unilateral visual neglect is a condition in which participants:

A) cannot focus on one half of visual space.
B) ignore one half of visual space.
C) cannot see one half of visual space.
D) All of the above.

Question 15

Unilateral visual neglect occurs because of:

A) a visual deficit.
B) a perceptual deficit.
C) an attentional deficit.
D) A and B but not C.

Question 16

Kahneman's capacity model of attention states that:

A) the number of messages that can be processed depends on their difficulty.
B) the number of messages that can be processed is limited.
C) only one message can be processed at a time.
D) A and B but not C.

Question 17

Wickens & Gopher (1977) showed that the relative allocation of attention by a person when doing two tasks is determined by:

A) a strategic decision by the person.
B) the capacity of the system.
C) the importance of the tasks.
D) which task comes first.

Question 18

In the cognitive stage of skill acquisition, knowledge is:

A) procedural and not in awareness.
B) declarative and not in awareness.
C) declarative and in awareness.
D) procedural and in awareness.

Question 19

Segal & Fusella (1970) found that two dissimilar tasks can be performed more easily than two similar tasks. This is best explained by:

A) a central resource model of limited capacity.
B) a central resource model of unlimited capacity.
C) a multiple resource model of unlimited capacity.
D) a multiple resource model of limited capacity.

Question 20

In the field of human error, we can attribute the errors people make to:

A) a systems approach.
B) a person approach.
C) both a person and a systems approach.
D) neither a person nor a systems approach.

Question 21

An example of an error caused by the malfunctioning of skilled process is:

A) making tea when you went to make coffee.
B) designing a wobbly bridge.
C) crashing because you went through a red light.
D) All of the above.

Question 22

An example of an error caused by malfunctioning of rule-based processes is:

A) getting on the wrong bus without thinking.
B) getting lost in an area you do not know.
C) ignoring a fire alarm and having to be rescued.
D) None of the above.