MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 6b Attention Information Processing

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on 6b Attention Information Processing, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What is sustained attention (vigilance) in the context of attention?

Answer: Maintaining focus on a task or stimulus over an extended period. Sustained attention ensures prolonged engagement, vital for activities like monitoring that demand continuous vigilance without lapses.

Flashcard 2: In the serial position effect, which component is mainly linked to LTM encoding?

Answer: Primacy effect. The primacy effect stems from greater rehearsal opportunities, enabling transfer to long-term memory for early-positioned items.

Flashcard 3: What is selective attention?

Answer: Attending to one stimulus while filtering out competing stimuli. Cocktail party effect exemplifies this focused processing ability.

Flashcard 4: What is the cocktail party effect?

Answer: Selective attention that detects salient cues (for example, own name). Demonstrates that unattended info is monitored for relevance.

Flashcard 5: What is the episodic buffer in Baddeley's updated working memory model?

Answer: Integrates information across modalities and links to long-term memory. Added to explain how different systems interact coherently.

Flashcard 6: What is change blindness?

Answer: Failure to detect changes in a scene when attention is disrupted. Change blindness arises from disrupted attention during transitions, impairing the detection of alterations in visual scenes.

Flashcard 7: Identify the term for a cue that automatically captures attention due to its features (for example, a bright flash).

Answer: Exogenous (stimulus-driven) attention. Bottom-up process triggered by salient stimulus properties.

Flashcard 8: What is a conjunction search in visual attention?

Answer: Serial search requiring attention to bind multiple features to find a target. Requires effortful, sequential scanning when features must be combined.

Flashcard 9: What does the late selection model propose about when selection occurs?

Answer: Selection occurs after semantic processing; response is then selected. All info is processed; attention affects response selection.

Flashcard 10: In Baddeley's model, which subsystem maintains verbal information short-term?

Answer: Phonological loop. The phonological loop temporarily stores and rehearses auditory-verbal information, aiding language processing and verbal memory tasks.

Flashcard 11: What is the definition of perceptual load in attention theory?

Answer: Task demand level that determines how much irrelevant input is processed. Perceptual load influences attentional capacity, determining the extent to which distractors are processed based on primary task demands.

Flashcard 12: What is the definition of executive attention (attentional control)?

Answer: Regulating attention to manage conflict, inhibit responses, and plan. Executive attention facilitates goal-directed behavior by overseeing conflict resolution and inhibitory control in complex cognitive operations.

Flashcard 13: What is serial processing in perception?

Answer: Stepwise processing of features, typically one after another. Slower but allows focused analysis of complex stimuli.

Flashcard 14: What is inattentional blindness?

Answer: Failure to notice an unexpected stimulus when attention is elsewhere. Demonstrates limits of attention (e.g., missing gorilla in video).

Flashcard 15: What does Treisman's attenuation model propose about unattended information?

Answer: Unattended input is weakened, not blocked; salient items can pass. Treisman's model suggests attenuation reduces unattended signals' strength, allowing breakthrough of important stimuli via threshold adjustments.

Flashcard 16: What is working memory in the information-processing framework?

Answer: Active system that holds and manipulates information for ongoing tasks. Working memory supports temporary storage and manipulation, essential for reasoning, comprehension, and learning in real-time tasks.

Flashcard 17: What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?

Answer: Bottom-up: data-driven; Top-down: expectation/knowledge-driven. Sensory input vs. prior knowledge guide processing.

Flashcard 18: In the serial position effect, which component is mainly linked to STM availability?

Answer: Recency effect. The recency effect results from immediate accessibility in short-term memory, favoring recall of recently presented items.

Flashcard 19: Which option best fits high perceptual load: more or less distractor processing?

Answer: Less distractor processing under high perceptual load. High perceptual load exhausts attentional resources on the main task, minimizing interference from irrelevant distractors.

Flashcard 20: Identify the model: unattended speech is processed for meaning, then selected for response.

Answer: Deutsch and Deutsch late selection model. Late selection allows semantic processing before response selection.

Flashcard 21: What is the serial position effect in memory and information processing?

Answer: Better recall for early (primacy) and late (recency) list items. The serial position effect reflects memory dynamics, with enhanced recall for initial and final items due to differential encoding processes.

Flashcard 22: What is the orienting response in attention?

Answer: Automatic shift of attention toward novel or salient stimuli. Evolutionary mechanism for detecting potential threats or opportunities.

Flashcard 23: What is inattentional blindness?

Answer: Failure to notice a visible stimulus due to attention elsewhere. Occurs when attention is fully engaged on another task.

Flashcard 24: What does Broadbent's early selection model propose about filtering?

Answer: Filtering occurs before semantic processing, based on physical features. Unattended info is completely blocked at sensory level.

Flashcard 25: What is attention in cognitive psychology?

Answer: Selective focusing of cognitive resources on specific stimuli. Mental process that prioritizes relevant information for processing.

Flashcard 26: What does Treisman's attenuation model propose about unattended input?

Answer: Unattended input is weakened, not blocked; salient items can break through. Middle-ground theory allowing some semantic processing of unattended input.

Flashcard 27: What is the spotlight model of attention?

Answer: Attention enhances processing in a limited region of the visual field. Metaphor for how attention moves and focuses spatially.

Flashcard 28: What is the spotlight model of attention?

Answer: Attention enhances processing of a limited region like a movable spotlight. The spotlight model illustrates how attention selectively illuminates and enhances perception in a specific area, improving detail detection.

Flashcard 29: What is the key distinction between bottom-up and top-down processing?

Answer: Bottom-up is data-driven; top-down is expectation- and knowledge-driven. Bottom-up processing relies on incoming sensory data, while top-down uses prior knowledge to interpret and guide perception efficiently.

Flashcard 30: What does Treisman's attenuation model propose about unattended stimuli?

Answer: Unattended input is weakened, not blocked; salient items break through. Explains why we notice our name in unattended conversations.

Flashcard 31: What is the spotlight model of attention?

Answer: Attention enhances processing in a limited region of the visual field. Metaphor for how attention moves and focuses like a beam of light.

Flashcard 32: What is divided attention?

Answer: Allocating attention to multiple tasks or stimuli at once. Performance often decreases due to limited cognitive resources.

Flashcard 33: What is the feature integration theory of attention?

Answer: Focused attention binds separate features into a unified percept. Treisman's theory explaining how attention creates coherent objects.

Flashcard 34: Which attention failure best fits: you miss a new object because you focus on counting passes?

Answer: Inattentional blindness. Focused attention on counting prevents noticing unexpected stimuli.

Flashcard 35: What does Deutsch and Deutsch's late selection model propose?

Answer: All stimuli are processed for meaning before selection. Selection occurs after semantic analysis of all inputs.

Flashcard 36: What does Broadbent's early selection model propose about attention filtering?

Answer: Filtering occurs early based on physical characteristics before meaning. Broadbent's model posits early filtering to prevent overload, selecting inputs based on sensory features before higher-level analysis.

Flashcard 37: Which concept states that attention is a limited resource, causing performance trade-offs under high task load?

Answer: Limited capacity (resource) model of attention. Explains why multitasking impairs performance.

Flashcard 38: What is a pop-out effect in visual search?

Answer: Parallel search where a distinctive feature makes the target immediately salient. Single feature difference allows rapid, parallel visual processing.

Flashcard 39: Identify the processing type: interpreting an unclear word using sentence context.

Answer: Top-down processing. Context guides interpretation when sensory input is ambiguous.

Flashcard 40: What is the Stroop effect?

Answer: Slower naming of ink color when the word meaning conflicts. The Stroop effect reveals automatic semantic processing interference, as conflicting word meanings disrupt controlled color-naming tasks.

Flashcard 41: What does the late selection model propose about when selection occurs?

Answer: Selection occurs after semantic processing; meaning is processed first. Late selection models argue that all stimuli undergo initial semantic analysis, with attention filtering only after meaning is extracted.

Flashcard 42: What is the visuospatial sketchpad in Baddeley-Hitch working memory?

Answer: Temporary storage and manipulation of visual and spatial information. Processes mental imagery and spatial relationships.

Flashcard 43: Identify the visual search type: target defined by color alone among uniform distractors.

Answer: Pop-out (feature) search. Single feature allows parallel processing without focused attention.

Flashcard 44: Identify the term for attention guided by goals or expectations (for example, searching for a friend in a crowd).

Answer: Endogenous (goal-directed) attention. Top-down process controlled by intentions and expectations.

Flashcard 45: What is the definition of divided attention in cognitive processing?

Answer: Allocating attention to multiple tasks or stimuli at the same time. Divided attention enables multitasking by distributing cognitive resources, though performance may decline with increasing task complexity.

Flashcard 46: What is the definition of selective attention in information processing?

Answer: Focusing on one stimulus while filtering out competing stimuli. Selective attention allows efficient processing by prioritizing relevant information amid distractions, crucial for tasks requiring focus.

Flashcard 47: What is change blindness?

Answer: Failure to detect changes in a visual scene across disruptions. Shows how attention affects visual perception continuity.

Flashcard 48: What is the cocktail party effect?

Answer: Noticing salient stimuli (for example, your name) amid noise. Demonstrates selective attention to personally relevant stimuli.

Flashcard 49: What is sustained attention (vigilance)?

Answer: Maintaining attention on a task over an extended time. Critical for tasks requiring prolonged focus like monitoring.

Flashcard 50: What is the executive control (central executive) component of working memory?

Answer: Directs attention and coordinates the subsystems of working memory. Manages cognitive resources and switches between tasks.

Flashcard 51: What is the phonological loop in Baddeley-Hitch working memory?

Answer: Temporary storage and rehearsal of verbal and auditory information. Limited to about 7±2 items; uses subvocal rehearsal.

Flashcard 52: What is the Stroop effect?

Answer: Slower responses when word meaning conflicts with ink color. Automatic reading interferes with naming ink colors.

Flashcard 53: What is change blindness?

Answer: Failure to detect changes in a scene when attention is disrupted. Often occurs during brief interruptions like eye movements.

Flashcard 54: Which attention model best fits: your name in unattended input captures attention?

Answer: Treisman attenuation model. Attenuated channel allows breakthrough of personally relevant stimuli.

Flashcard 55: What is a heuristic in decision-making and information processing?

Answer: A fast rule-of-thumb strategy that reduces cognitive effort. Mental shortcuts that simplify complex decisions.

Flashcard 56: What is the availability heuristic?

Answer: Judging likelihood by how easily examples come to mind. Recent or vivid events seem more probable than they are.

Flashcard 57: What is a schema in information processing?

Answer: A cognitive framework that organizes and interprets information. Mental templates that guide perception and memory.

Flashcard 58: What does the feature integration theory propose about attention and perception?

Answer: Attention binds separate features into unified percepts (objects). Feature integration theory explains that attention integrates disparate sensory features into coherent objects, preventing illusory conjunctions.

Flashcard 59: What is the difference between bottom-up and top-down processing?

Answer: Bottom-up is stimulus-driven; top-down is expectation/goal-driven. Bottom-up uses sensory data; top-down uses prior knowledge.

Flashcard 60: What is the cocktail party effect in selective attention?

Answer: Ability to detect salient stimuli (for example, own name) in noise. The cocktail party effect demonstrates selective attention's ability to detect personally relevant stimuli despite background noise interference.

Flashcard 61: What is selective attention in information processing?

Answer: Focusing on one stimulus while filtering out competing stimuli. Allows processing of relevant information while ignoring distractions.

Flashcard 62: What is confirmation bias?

Answer: Seeking or interpreting information to support existing beliefs. Leads to ignoring contradictory evidence.

Flashcard 63: In Baddeley's model, what is the central executive responsible for?

Answer: Directing attention and coordinating the subsystems. The central executive oversees working memory by allocating attention and integrating information across subsystems for task execution.

Flashcard 64: What is the definition of priming in cognitive processing?

Answer: Prior exposure facilitates processing of related stimuli later. Priming activates associated neural pathways, enhancing speed and accuracy in recognizing or responding to subsequent related stimuli.

Flashcard 65: What is selective attention in information processing?

Answer: Focusing on one stimulus while filtering out others. Allows focus on relevant information while ignoring distractions.

Flashcard 66: What is executive attention (attentional control)?

Answer: Top-down regulation of attention, including inhibition and task switching. Frontal lobe function managing attention allocation and focus.

Flashcard 67: What is inattentional blindness?

Answer: Failure to notice a visible stimulus due to attention elsewhere. Inattentional blindness occurs because attention is limited, causing oversight of unexpected stimuli not aligned with the current focus.

Flashcard 68: What does Treisman's attenuation model propose about unattended input?

Answer: Unattended input is weakened, not blocked; salient items may pass. Explains why we notice our name in unattended conversations.

Flashcard 69: What is divided attention?

Answer: Allocating attention to multiple tasks or stimuli simultaneously. Splits cognitive resources across tasks, reducing performance on each.

Flashcard 70: What is a schema in information processing?

Answer: Organized cognitive framework that guides interpretation and memory. Schemas organize knowledge to facilitate efficient information processing, influencing perception, interpretation, and recall of new data.

Flashcard 71: What is the representativeness heuristic?

Answer: Judging probability by similarity to a prototype. Ignores base rates when making probability judgments.

Flashcard 72: What does Broadbent's early selection model propose about filtering?

Answer: Filtering occurs before semantic processing of unattended input. Unattended information is blocked at sensory level.

Flashcard 73: What is sustained attention (vigilance)?

Answer: Maintaining attention to a task over an extended time interval. Critical for monitoring tasks requiring continuous focus.

Flashcard 74: Identify the attention concept: missing a new object while texting and walking.

Answer: Inattentional blindness. Attention focused on phone prevents noticing environmental stimuli.

Flashcard 75: What is parallel processing in perception?

Answer: Simultaneous processing of multiple stimulus features. Allows rapid detection of multiple features at once.

Flashcard 76: In Baddeley's model, which subsystem maintains visual and spatial information?

Answer: Visuospatial sketchpad. The visuospatial sketchpad handles temporary storage and manipulation of visual and spatial data, supporting imagery and navigation.