True or false: Attending to information guarantees that a person consciously experiences it.
1 Foundations of Attention Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 1 Foundations of Attention, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
At a noisy gathering, Maya focuses on one speaker while other conversations continue nearby. Which form of attention is she using?
- A
Divided attention
- B
Selective attention
- C
Sustained attention
- D
Orienting
In a dichotic listening task, a participant repeats aloud the designated speech stream. This action is called .
What is the attention function called when a person maintains focus over time?
A listener usually cannot report an unattended speech stream, but sometimes notices their own name in it. Which model best explains this pattern?
- A
Unattended inputs are completely blocked after basic physical analysis.
- B
All inputs receive full semantic analysis before any selection occurs.
- C
Unattended inputs are weakened, but some important or primed information can still be recognized.
- D
Distractors are processed only when two tasks require the same response channel.
In a Stroop-like task, a distracting feature conflicts with the response a participant must make. Which outcome provides an index of interference?
- A
The number of distractors that can be identified without responding
- B
The added time or errors when a distracting feature conflicts with the required response
- C
The participant's ability to repeat two speech streams at once
- D
The amount of time a participant chooses to remain on a task
According to perceptual-load theory, which two predictions are most likely when comparing a low-load target task with a perceptually demanding target task? Select all correct answers.
- A
A low-load task can leave spare capacity available to process distractors.
- B
A high-load task necessarily increases distractor processing because it demands more effort.
- C
A perceptually demanding target task often leaves less capacity for irrelevant inputs.
- D
Distractor effects are identical regardless of the target task's perceptual demands.
What is the full name of the effect, commonly abbreviated PRP, in which responding to a second stimulus is delayed when two stimuli are presented close together?
In Broadbent’s classic filter model, incoming inputs are briefly analyzed for basic properties before a capacity-limited filter selects one channel.
True or false: Attention research has established one universal answer about whether selection always occurs early or always occurs late.
- A
True
- B
False
Which descriptions correctly match attention functions? Select all correct answers.
- A
Sustained attention maintains focus over time.
- B
Orienting shifts focus toward a location or event.
- C
Executive control coordinates two speech streams by repeating one aloud.
- D
Executive control manages conflict and task goals.
A researcher asks participants to find a target among distractors and varies the number and type of distractors. Which performance pattern is most directly used to study selection demands in this task?
- A
How accurately a participant can identify a personally significant word in an unattended speech stream
- B
How much central processing time is available for a second response
- C
How well a participant maintains alertness during a long task
- D
How response time and accuracy change as the number or type of distractors varies
Compare capacity-sharing and bottleneck accounts of divided attention. Explain what each proposes about the source of interference and how the PRP pattern provides evidence for a bottleneck, while noting a limitation on what that evidence establishes.
A driver listens for route instructions while navigating traffic. Which form of attention is most directly involved in coordinating these two activities?
- A
Selective attention
- B
Divided attention
- C
Sustained attention
- D
Orienting
In dichotic listening, what is the technique called when a participant repeats aloud the designated speech stream?
Reaction-time tasks measure attention directly, without being affected by processes such as perception, memory, or decision-making.
- A
True
- B
False
Researchers ask participants to find a target among distractors and vary the number of distractors across trials. Which method are they using?
- A
Dichotic listening
- B
A response-conflict task
- C
Visual search
- D
A psychological refractory period task
A participant completes a relatively undemanding target task and is slowed by irrelevant distractors. Which explanation best fits perceptual-load theory?
- A
A low-load target task may leave capacity available to process distractors, increasing their influence.
- B
A low-load target task blocks distractors before any processing can occur.
- C
Distractors influence performance only when the target task is perceptually demanding.
- D
Distractor effects are unrelated to the perceptual demands of the target task.
Which selective-attention model proposes that unattended inputs are weakened rather than completely blocked?
A listener cannot report most of an unattended speech stream but is affected by a personally significant word in it. Why is this finding a challenge for Broadbent’s strict filter model?
- A
It assumes that every input receives substantial semantic analysis before any selection occurs.
- B
It treats unattended information as weakened but still able to reach recognition.
- C
It proposes that distractor effects depend on the perceptual load of the target task.
- D
It has difficulty explaining why personally significant unattended information can affect a listener.
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