Chapter 5 -- Consciousness

Two parts:

Attention
Consciousness
 Attention

A classic definition:
Everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking
possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one
out of what seem several simultaneously possible
objects or trains of thought. Focalization, concentration
of consciousness are of its essence. It implies
withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively
with others
William James
James view on Attention
Taking possession by the mind
Attention has a controlled (i.e., voluntary) aspect

of one out of what seem several

simultaneous possible objects or trains of
thought
Attentional capacity is limited
Attention is not only focusing but also ignoring

withdrawal from some things in order to

deal effectively with others
Ignoring is an active process
Attention
Different aspects:
1. Divided attention (doing two
things at once)
2. Selective attention (focusing
and ignoring)
3. Sustained attention, and
attentional blindness
1. Divided attention
We know using cell phone while
driving is dangerous
 2005, BMJ

If you use your phone while

driving: 4.1 times more likely
to have a crash that results
in you having to go to
hospital
89% of those crashes were
hands-free phone use
We know using cell phone while
driving is dangerous

Why?
Lamble et al. (1999)
On real road, in Finland, the
participant follows the experimenters
car at about 50 miles/hr
Three tasks:
-keep your eyes on car ahead
-Dial a number on cellphone
-Do mental arithmetic
Then: the experimenter decelerates
Mental activity while driving slows
you down
 Sodhi & Cohen

Either talk on phone, do mental calculations, or

remember list of words, while driving
Measured eye movements
RESULTS: Fewer eye movements with any kind of
activity (tunnel vision) its not about the
hands, but the mind
What is the brain mechanism?
What is the brain mechanism?
What is the brain mechanism?
 What is the brain mechanism?

On phone or
not; task: dont
bump into a
braking car in
front of you
This is an oddball paradigm
detecting a rare stimulus (cars
braking in front of you on a
highway is a rare events)
This is an oddball paradigm
detecting a rare stimulus

This elicits a brain response in EEG

called the P300 in response to an
oddball stimulus

(its positive, and it happens 300

ms post stimulus)
This is an oddball paradigm
detecting a rare stimulus

This elicits a brain response in EEG

called the P300 in response to an
oddball stimulus

(oddity: often positive is plotted

downwards on an EEG graph)
What is the brain mechanism?
 What is the brain mechanism?

You are less able to detect the rare

events you probably should detect
NEVER USE YOUR PHONE IN YOUR
CAR WHILE YOU ARE ON THE ROAD
its about as bad as drunk driving
-You get slower
-You get tunnel vision
-Signals dont get through very well
-You are 4 times more likely to get
injured
And dont text and attend class ;)
And dont text and attend class ;)
And dont text and attend class ;)
And dont text and attend class ;)
And dont text and attend class ;)
Yeah, yeah, old man, Ill get off your
lawn but what about taking notes on
my laptop?
Such brain mechanisms are
generally found
 Just et al. (2001)
Subjects perform 2 tasks:
a. Sentence verification (e.g., Is San
Francisco the capital of California?
Do cows drink milk?)
b. Mental rotation

Either each task separately (single

task), or together (dual task)
Temporal
regions
Parietal regions
Conclusion: your brain does not have
enough power to do two things at
once
Is it all hopeless?

NO: 1. practice makes perfect!

A deeper why: Automaticity
A deeper why: Automaticity

Visual motor tracking for almost 20

hours, first 20 minutes, fifth 20
minutes
This helps with dual task

Poldrack et al (2005):
-Sequential reaction time
-Dual task (rarely): count high
tones amidst low tones
This helps with single task

Poldrack et al (2005):
-Sequential reaction time
-Dual task (rarely): count high
tones amidst low tones

Single task
This helps with dual task

Poldrack et al (2005):
-Sequential reaction time
-Dual task (rarely): count high
tones amidst low tones

Dual task
Automaticity has its
drawbacks
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
The Stroop effect (1935)
An automatic/involuntary
behavior is hard to suppress
An automatic/involuntary
behavior is hard to suppress

This can sometimes help with

diagnosis of mental illness
 Stroop is now sometimes used for clinical diagnosis of
emotional disorders

Hypothesis:
if youre anxious, your attention is automatically
drawn to things that trigger fear
if youre depressed, your attention is automatically
drawn to things that trigger sadness
This will slow you down in saying the name of the
color, because the words grab your attention

compare time to name color of neutral (e.g., chair or

plant) versus emotionally salient words
e.g. hairy or crawl for phobics
e.g. death or sad for depressed patients

Phobics take slower on anxiety-related words;

depressed patients take longer on depression-related
words
 Stroop is now sometimes used for clinical diagnosis of
emotional disorders

Hypothesis:
if youre anxious, your attention is automatically
drawn to things that trigger fear
if youre depressed, your attention is automatically
drawn to things that trigger sadness
Wewill
This are victims
slow you downof in our
saying the name of the
color, because the words grab your attention
habits, of our ways of
looking
compare at the
time to name colorworld
of neutral (e.g., chair or
plant) versus emotionally salient words
e.g. hairy or crawl for phobics
e.g. death or sad for depressed patients

Phobics take slower on anxiety-related words;

depressed patients take longer on depression-related
words
Is it all hopeless?

NO: 1. practice makes perfect!

NO: 2. we can allocate
Kahneman (1973) Main ideas:
1. There is a
general limit on
capacity
2. But you can
allocate
3. Some tasks
require more
capacity than
others
Allocation due to:
1. Arousal
2. Choice:
involuntary /
momentary
Kahneman (1973) Main ideas:
1. There is a
general limit on
capacity
2. But you can
allocate
3. Some tasks
require more
capacity than
others
Allocation due to:
1. Arousal
2. Choice:
involuntary /
momentary
Summary for divided attention

Divided attention: capacity-limited

But: practice makes perfect; allocation is
possible; some stimuli capture your
attention involuntarily