Question 1

A typical study of change blindness uses the rapid alternation of two photos, with each presented for about one-quarter of a second and with a brief blank interval after each exposure. How many alternation cycles does an observer require to detect the change in the photos?
A) around 10
B) around 12
C) around 9
D) around 7

Accepted Answer

B

Question 2

According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention, sensory information is registered as physical signals and that attention selects only some of those signals to be interpreted for meaning and the rest are:
A) processed for other characteristics.
B) directed to different spatial locations.
C) stored for later processing.
D) discarded and unavailable for later recall.

Accepted Answer

According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention, sensory information first enters a sensory buffer, where it is registered as physical signals. Attention then acts as a filter, selecting some of these signals based on physical characteristics for further processing and interpretation for meaning. The signals that are not selected by the filter are discarded and become unavailable for later recall. This theory suggests that unattended information does not pass through the filter and thus is not processed for meaning or stored for later use.

Question 3

Why did the participants in Raymond et al. (1992) study on attentional blink, have a difficult time identifying the probe when it was placed 2 to 6 letters after the target stimulus?
A) The participants were blinking after the target, so they could not see the probe.
B) The probe was below the threshold level of detection.
C) The target stimulus was of a different color and interfered with the processing of subsequent letters.
D) The participants were focused on identifying the target stimulus and could not attend to the probe.

Accepted Answer

The difficulty in identifying the probe when it was placed 2 to 6 letters after the target stimulus in the study by Raymond et al. (1992) is attributed to the phenomenon known as attentional blink. This occurs because the participants' attention is heavily focused on identifying the target stimulus, which temporarily impairs their ability to attend to and process subsequent stimuli, including the probe.

Question 4

_____ attention refers to being acutely aware of only one thing at a time.
A) Focused
B) Overt
C) Divided
D) Covert

Accepted Answer

Focused attention is the psychological process of concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring others, which aligns with the definition given in the question.

Question 5

Which statement regarding the findings on change blindness is NOT true?
A) Observers fail to notice the difference between two scenes, even when their eyes are pointed at the critical object.
B) Observers might pay attention to one feature of an object when the change involves some other feature.
C) Observers fail to notice the differences in two pictures because visual acuity is lower in the periphery of the visual field.
D) Observers require 10 to 20 seconds or more to detect the difference between two scenes.

Accepted Answer

Observers fail to notice the differences in two pictures because visual acuity is lower in the periphery of the visual field is not true.

Question 6

An individual's ability to attend to several things at one time is called:
A) focused attention.
B) attentional blink.
C) divided attention.
D) attentional cueing.

Accepted Answer

Divided attention refers to the ability to process different information sources or perform more than one task simultaneously.

Question 7

Colin Cherry coined the term _____ to describe the challenge of comprehending speech in a real-world noisy environment.
A) attentional blink
B) perceptual bistability
C) binding problem
D) cocktail party problem

Accepted Answer

Colin Cherry introduced the term "cocktail party problem" to describe the difficulty of focusing on a single conversation in a noisy environment, such as a cocktail party, where multiple conversations and background noises are present.

Question 8

According to the study of inattentional blindness conducted by Mack and Rock (1998), when the participants were told to ignore the large cross and just report if they saw anything else appear in the display: _____.
A) almost everyone reported that they did not see any other shape.
B) almost everyone reported that they saw the critical stimulus.
C) everyone accurately judged the lengths of the arms.
D) almost everyone reported the content of the message in the unattended ear.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the study of inattentional blindness...

Question 9

According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention, the mechanism that performs the selection of signals for access to a limited-capacity system is attention, which serves as a filter, and the limited-capacity system permits:
A) awareness of and other cognitive responses to stimuli.
B) awareness and the storage of information in memory.
C) the brain to resolve the competition for neural representation.
D) the observer to detect the unique feature.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention,...

Question 10

The text defines attention as the selection of some source of sensory stimulation for increased:
A) dynamic cues.
B) cognitive processing.
C) feature search.
D) neural responses.

Accepted Answer

Attention involves selecting certain sensory inputs for enhanced cognitive processing, allowing the brain to focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others.

Question 11

In the context of the critical trial of inattentional blindness conducted by Mack and Rock (1998), the participants who stated which arm of the cross was longer were asked if they had seen anything in the display other than the large cross. Between 60 percent and 80 percent of the participants indicated that they:
A) did not see the critical stimulus.
B) saw a small shape unexpectedly appear at the fixation point.
C) could not accurately judge the lengths of the arms.
D) did not hear the message in the unattended ear.

Accepted Answer

In the study by Mack and Rock (1998) on inattentional blindness, a significant portion of participants failed to notice a critical stimulus (an unexpected object) that appeared in the visual display while they were focused on judging the length of the arms of a cross. This phenomenon illustrates how attention can be so focused that obvious objects in one's visual field can go unnoticed.

Question 12

Which statement BEST describes Broadbent's filter theory of attention?
A) Joseph is having difficulty hearing his friend's voice in a noisy room filled with other men talking with similar deep voices.
B) Mary is focusing on what the TV anchor is saying while not hearing the conversation in the next room.
C) John is having a conversation with his friend and then having his attention diverted to an unattended conversation nearby as he notices his own name spoken.
D) Jack is focusing on a conversation with his best friend on the phone and not noticing when his mother calls his name.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which statement BEST describes Broadbent's filter theory...

Question 13

Which task was designed as a laboratory version of the real-world cocktail party problem?
A) inattentional blindness
B) dichotic listening
C) binding problem
D) rapid serial visual presentation

Accepted Answer

Dichotic listening tasks were designed as laboratory versions of the real-world cocktail party problem, where participants are required to focus on one auditory stream while ignoring another, mimicking the challenge of focusing on a single conversation in a noisy environment.

Question 14

_____ refers to unawareness of stimuli in an attended location if the stimuli occur when we are processing something else.
A) Dichotic listening
B) Inattentional blindness
C) Change blindness
D) Attentional blink

Accepted Answer

The answer of _____ refers to unawareness of stimuli in...

Question 15

The procedure of listening through headphones to two different messages that transmit one spoken message into one ear and a different spoken message into the other ear is called _____ listening.
A) dichotic
B) effective
C) value-driven
D) selective

Accepted Answer

Dichotic listening refers to a psychological test where two different audio streams are played into each ear simultaneously, requiring the listener to process and often repeat or respond to one of the messages, testing attention and selective listening skills.

Question 16

Broadbent's filter theory of attention states that the sensory stimuli are filtered by attention based on:
A) the semantic content of the ignored message.
B) valid cues.
C) the fixation point at the center of the display.
D) physical features.

Accepted Answer

Broadbent's filter theory of attention, also known as the early selection model, posits that stimuli are filtered or selected for further processing based on their physical characteristics, such as pitch or loudness, rather than their meaning (semantic content).

Question 17

William is reading the instructions of a recipe for dinner and simultaneously listening to a song on the radio. This type of attention is called:
A) focused attention.
B) attentional blink.
C) divided attention.
D) covert attention.

Accepted Answer

Divided attention refers to the ability to process different information sources or perform more than one task simultaneously, such as reading a recipe and listening to music at the same time.

Question 18

Which process involves the listener to repeat one of the two messages as it is being presented in order to ensure that the person is perceiving and understanding the message?
A) shadowing
B) attentional cueing
C) feature integration
D) attentional capture

Accepted Answer

Shadowing is a technique used in psychology experiments where a participant repeats a message or speech immediately as it is heard, ensuring that they are focusing on and understanding the message being presented.

Question 19

The failure to perceive a fully visible but unattended visual object is called:
A) inattentional blindness.
B) change blindness.
C) attentional blink.
D) covert attention.

Accepted Answer

Inattentional blindness refers to the phenomenon where an individual fails to perceive an unexpected stimulus that is in plain sight, simply because their attention was engaged elsewhere. This can occur even if the stimulus is important or distinctive, highlighting the limitations of human attention and awareness.

Question 20

The inability to quickly detect changes in complex scenes is called:
A) inattentional blindness.
B) change blindness.
C) object-based attention.
D) selective attention.

Accepted Answer

Change blindness is the phenomenon where observers fail to notice changes in a visual scene, particularly when those changes occur during a brief distraction or interruption. This inability to detect alterations is not due to a lack of attention to the details of the scene but rather to the failure to compare old and new scenes or to notice that a change has occurred.

Quiz 9: Attention and Awareness

A typical study of change blindness uses the rapid alternation of two photos, with each presented for about one-quarter of a second and with a brief blank interval after each exposure. How many alternation cycles does an observer require to detect the change in the photos?

According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention, sensory information is registered as physical signals and that attention selects only some of those signals to be interpreted for meaning and the rest are:

Why did the participants in Raymond et al. (1992) study on attentional blink, have a difficult time identifying the probe when it was placed 2 to 6 letters after the target stimulus?

_____ attention refers to being acutely aware of only one thing at a time.

Which statement regarding the findings on change blindness is NOT true?

An individual's ability to attend to several things at one time is called:

Colin Cherry coined the term _____ to describe the challenge of comprehending speech in a real-world noisy environment.

According to the study of inattentional blindness conducted by Mack and Rock (1998) , when the participants were told to ignore the large cross and just report if they saw anything else appear in the display: _____.

According to Broadbent's filter theory of attention, the mechanism that performs the selection of signals for access to a limited-capacity system is attention, which serves as a filter, and the limited-capacity system permits:

The text defines attention as the selection of some source of sensory stimulation for increased:

Which statement BEST describes Broadbent's filter theory of attention?

Which task was designed as a laboratory version of the real-world cocktail party problem?

_____ refers to unawareness of stimuli in an attended location if the stimuli occur when we are processing something else.

The procedure of listening through headphones to two different messages that transmit one spoken message into one ear and a different spoken message into the other ear is called _____ listening.

Broadbent's filter theory of attention states that the sensory stimuli are filtered by attention based on:

William is reading the instructions of a recipe for dinner and simultaneously listening to a song on the radio. This type of attention is called:

Which process involves the listener to repeat one of the two messages as it is being presented in order to ensure that the person is perceiving and understanding the message?

The failure to perceive a fully visible but unattended visual object is called:

The inability to quickly detect changes in complex scenes is called: