Chapter 5: Sensory, Attentional and Perceptual

Processes

THEORIES OF
SELECTIVE ATTENTION

-Thana Aysha, 11E

Filter theory
- Developed by Broadbent in 1956
- According to Broadbent , many stimuli
simultaneously enter our receptors creating a
bottleneck situation, they enter a selective filter
which only allows one stimulus to pass through
for higher levels of processing.
- The other stimuli are screened out at that
moment.
-
Filter-attenuation
theory
-Developed by Triesman in 1962 modifying
Broadbent’s theory
-States that the stimuli not getting attended to
at a given moment are not completely blocked
off.
-This filter weakens or attenuates its strength.
-So some stimuli manage to escape the selective
filter and get into the higher levels of processing.
 Multimode
theory
Johnston and Heinz, 1978. This theory believes that attention is a flexible
system and allows selection of a stimulus over others at 3 stages.

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3

The sensory
representations of Semantic representations The sensory and
stimuli are are constructed. semantic
constructed. representations enter
the consciousness.
Any doubts?
THANK YOU!
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