UNIT 2

Attention, Memory, Language, and Thinking

 Unit II: Perception, Memory, Language and Thinking
Attention: Selective and Divided Attention - Models of
Attention
Memory: Sensory Memory, Short-term Memory, Long-term
Memory - Models of Memory
Language and Thinking: Language Comprehension and
Production - Language Development - Psycholinguistics:
Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics
Types of Thinking: Deductive, Inductive, Design-Thinking -
Artificial intelligence and machine learning - Application to
mental health
Attention
Activity

1. Write words starting with SH (1 min)

2. Write words ending with ful (1 min)

3. Write as many 4-letter words with A as second

letter (1 min)
Attention
• Attention is your tendency to respond to some
stimuli more than others at any given time or
to remember some more than others
• Eg: Seeing or hearing your own name or seeing your
photograph

• The process through which certain stimuli are

selected from a group of others is generally
referred to as attention
 Definition of
Attention
• Attention can be defined as the cognitive
process that allows us to selectively focus
our mental resources on specific aspects
of our environment while ignoring others.
• Stress that attention acts as a filter,
determining which information gets
processed and which is discarded.
• Attention is essential for processing
information, making decisions, and
effectively interacting with the world
around us.
Is attention and concentration
same or different
• Attention is a broader concept that involves selectively
processing information and directing cognitive
resources to specific stimuli or tasks.

• Concentration is a more specific aspect of attention

that refers to the sustained focus on a particular task or
activity
• William James in his The Principles of
Psychology (1890), wrote that attention
"is taking possession by the mind, in
clear and vivid form, of one out of what
may seem several simultaneously possible
objects or trains of thought…It implies
withdrawal from some things in order
to deal effectively with others.”
Characteristics
• Attention is a selective process
• Attention has a focus as well as a fringe
• Attention involves
• Alertness
• Concentration
• Search
• Attention requires effort-Effort allocation
• The field of awareness is centered on a
particular object or event, it is called focus
or the focal point of attention.

• When the objects or events are away from

the center of awareness and one is only
vaguely aware of them, they are said to be
at the fringe of attention.
• Alertness refers to an individual’s readiness to
deal with stimuli that appear before her/him
• eg: School race
• Concentration refers to focusing of awareness on
certain specific objects while excluding others
for the moment
• eg: class room
• Search - an observer looks for some specified
subset of objects among a set of objects
• eg: picking up outfits
Types of Attention
● Selective Attention: The ability to focus on one particular
stimulus while ignoring others. For example, listening to a
friend's conversation at a noisy party.
● Divided Attention: The capacity to process multiple tasks or
stimuli simultaneously.
● Sustained Attention: The skill of maintaining focus on a
single task over an extended period, such as studying for
exams or driving long distances.
● Executive Attention: High-level control of attention,
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Selective Attention

● Selective attention is the process of directing mental

resources to a specific stimulus or task while filtering
out irrelevant information.
● The concept with the "cocktail party effect," where you
can focus on one conversation amid multiple
conversations in a crowded room.
● selective attention allows us to prioritize and process
information efficiently.
Cognitive Mechanisms

● Cognitive mechanisms involved in selective attention:

○ Attentional Capture: The phenomenon where certain
stimuli automatically grab our attention due to their novelty
or salience (e.g., a sudden loud noise).
○ Inhibition: The ability to suppress or ignore irrelevant
information or distractions, preventing them from interfering
with the primary task.
○ Attentional Switching: The skill of shifting our focus
between different stimuli or tasks as needed, allowing us to
Divided Attention

● Divided attention is the capacity to split one's attention

between multiple tasks or stimuli.
● It emphasizes the limitations of divided attention, as it
can lead to reduced performance on each task and an
increased cognitive load.
● real-world examples of divided attention, such as texting
while driving and its potential dangers.
Sustained Attention

● Sustained attention is the capacity to maintain

focus on a single task or stimulus for an
extended period.
● importance in tasks like studying, reading, or
attending lectures.
● Note that sustaining attention can be
Executive Attention

● Executive attention is the higher-order control

mechanism responsible for managing attention
resources.
● its role in goal-directed behavior, decision-
making, and cognitive flexibility.
● executive attention helps us prioritize and
allocate attention according to our goals.
Processes
●Pre-attentive process
○The stimuli stands out immediately - you
don’t have to shift attention from one
object to another.

●Attentive process
○It requires searching through the items
in series
Cognitive Processes
how attention influences various cognitive processes:
● Perception: Attention determines what we perceive by
focusing on certain aspects of our sensory input.
● Memory: Attention is essential for encoding and retrieving
information, as we are more likely to remember what we
have actively attended to.
● Problem-solving: Attention helps us concentrate on relevant
information and devise effective solutions.
● Decision-making: Attention influences our choices by
directing us toward relevant information and priorities.
 Neural Basis
● Prefrontal cortex:
Responsible for executive
control and goal setting.
● Parietal cortex: Involved in
spatial attention and
integrating sensory
information.
● Other brain areas
contribute to attention,
showing the distributed
nature of attentional
Factors Influencing Attention
Factors that influence attention includes
● Bottom-up vs. top-down processing: Bottom-up
processes are driven by sensory input, while top-
down processes are guided by our goals and
expectations.
● Task relevance: We tend to allocate more attention
to stimuli or tasks that are relevant to our goals.
● Emotional salience: Emotionally charged stimuli
often capture our attention more readily.
MODELS OF
ATTENTION
Bottleneck theories
● Bottleneck theories of attention propose that there is a
limiting factor or bottleneck in the human cognitive system
that restricts the amount of information that can be
processed at any given time.
● These theories suggest that while our sensory organs can
take in a vast amount of information, only a fraction of that
information can be attended to and processed for further
cognitive analysis.
● Here are two prominent bottleneck theories of attention:
○ Filter theory
○ Attenuation theory
 Filter Theory (Early Selection
Theory):
● Proposed by Donald Broadbent in the 1950s.
● Suggests that there is an early selection filter that operates shortly
after sensory input is received.
● According to this theory, sensory information is filtered based on
physical characteristics (e.g., pitch, loudness, location) before it
reaches higher-level processing stages.
● Only the selected, relevant information is allowed to pass through the
filter and undergo further processing in working memory and
conscious awareness.
● Unattended or irrelevant information is blocked at this early stage and
does not reach conscious perception.
Attenuation Theory (Late Selection
Theory):
● Developed by Anne Treisman in the 1960s as a modification of
Broadbent's theory.
● Proposes that rather than being completely blocked, unattended
or irrelevant information is attenuated or weakened in its
processing.

● Sensory information is initially processed for physical

characteristics (e.g., pitch, loudness) regardless of its relevance.
● After this initial processing, a selection mechanism operates to
determine which information is relevant based on semantic or
meaning-related features.
● Relevant information is processed more deeply, while irrelevant
information is processed to a lesser degree.
● This allows some unattended information to still influence
● In both bottleneck theories, the key idea is that attention
acts as a filter or bottleneck that limits the amount of
information that can be processed at a conscious level.

● The difference lies in when and how the filtering or

selection process occurs.

● It's important to note that more recent research has

suggested that attention may not operate as a strict
bottleneck in the way these early theories proposed.
● Instead, attention may involve more complex mechanisms
that allow for both selective processing and some degree of
parallel processing of information.
● These newer models, such as the "biased competition
theory" and "load theory," take a more nuanced view of
Deutsch-Norman Selection
Model
● Attention is a crucial cognitive process that
allows us to select and process information
from our environment.
● The Deutsch-Norman Selection Model is a
theoretical framework that provides
insights into how attention operates.
● Early vs. Late Selection Models:
○ Broadbent's early selection model proposed that attention
operates as a filter before semantic processing.
○ Deutsch-Norman's model challenges this by suggesting
that all sensory information is processed to some extent,
regardless of whether it is attended or unattended.

● Two-Stage Processing:
○ In the Deutsch-Norman model, attentional processing
occurs in two stages.
■ Stage 1: Initial processing of all incoming sensory
information.
■ Stage 2: Selection of relevant information based on
semantic processing.
● Semantic Processing:
○ Semantic processing is a key component of the
model.
○ It involves the understanding of the meaning of
sensory information.
○ Deutsch-Norman suggests that semantic processing
occurs for all information, attended or unattended.

● Selection Mechanisms:
○ The model proposes that selection mechanisms
operate based on semantic content.
○ Information with relevant semantic content is more
likely to be selected for further processing.
● Reduced Processing of Unattended
Information:
Unattended information may still undergo some
level of processing, but it is typically reduced in depth
and detail compared to attended information.

● Practical Application
○ The model has practical implications in fields like:
User interface design: Understanding how users
process information can lead to better design
choices.
○ Advertising: Knowing how attention operates can
inform advertising strategies.