Selective Visual Attention: The Spotlight Metaphor

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Selective Visual Attention The Spotlight Metaphor

• PS2009/10 Lecture 7

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Questions to be answered

• How do we select a subset of available visual
  information?
• What happens to the information that is not
  selected?

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Attention as an adjustable spotlight(LaBerge,
1983)

• Condition 1
• Participants categorise the central letter of a
  five letter word (HOUSE).
• Respond to probe as quickly as possible (_ _ _ 7
  _)
• Condition 2
• Participants categorise a five letter word
  (SUSAN).
• Respond to probe as quickly as possible (_ _ _ 7
  _)

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LaBerge (1983)
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The Attentional Spotlight
Visual Space
Attended Area
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Processing Outside the attentional Spotlight

• Semantic Interference
• Semantic Priming

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Semantic Interference - Stroop test
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Kahneman Henik (1981)
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Semantic Priming (Johnson Dark, 1985)
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Semantic Priming 2 - Prime
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Semantic Priming - Perceptual Clarification
Procedure
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Semantic Priming - Perceptual Clarification
Procedure
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The Attentional Spotlight and the Fovea (Posner,
Nissen, Ogden, 1978)
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The Attentional Spotlight and the Fovea
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What Kind of Spotlight ?
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Eagly Homa (1984)

• Ss fixate on central position.
• 2 letters appear (30-60msec).
• Ss name central letter report position of the
  other letter.
• Ss cued on position of 2nd letter

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Eagly Homa (1984) - 2

• Ss miscued letter will appear in the middle ring
• Letter appears in the inner ring
• What do we predict about response times?

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Perceptual Grouping (Neisser and Becklen (1976)
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Perceptual Grouping 2 Driver and Baylis (1989)