2. Attention What is attention? How does attention work? Why do we need less attention for some tasks? Why don’t we always notice things?

3. Defining Attention James: “the footlight of consciousness” Location-based precueing (Posner et al.,1980) Object-based unilateral neglect, even as object rotated to other visual field (Tipper & Behrmann,1996)

4. Broadbent’s Filter Theory: Where is the Filter? Sensory Input Pattern Recognition Response Selection Physical Filter

5. Treisman’s Attenuation Theory Filter attenuates irrelevant information. Explains how unattended information can get through. Cocktail-party phenomenon

6. Treisman’s Attenuation Theory Sensory Input Dictionary Unit Response Selection Attenuator

7. MacKay: Late Selection Sensory Input Pattern Recognition Response Selection Meaning Filter

9. Where is Selection? Ability to switch ears in dichotic listening based on meaning (Gray & Wedderburn,1960) Biasing word presented to unattended ear affects interpretation of ambiguous sentence (MacKay,1973) Task load (Lavie,1995) –High load: early selection –Low load: late selection

10. Automatic and Controlled Processing automatic processing – requires little or no attention – involuntary – unconscious controlled processing – requires attention – voluntary – conscious

11. Change Blindness Attention is a limited resource Some information is processed without attention (Li et al.,2002) Changes in details are often missed due to inattention (Levin & Simons,1997)

12. Evolutionary Psychology How is attention adaptive? Why is it limited? Why is it both location-based and object- based?