ATTENTION

Have you ever traveled a familiar route while so lost in thought that you barely experienced the details of the trip itself? Compare this to an experience in which you had to pay attention to a specific set of directions to get to a location you had never visited. How did the characteristics of each situation affect your experience? As these examples show, attention exerts important influence over perception.Cultural and societal influences also affect attention. Consider DeGloma and Friedman’s (2005) example of “thieves and FBI agents [evading detection by posing] as garbage collectors” (p. 17). This strategy may work to conceal identity by leveraging societal views of blue-collar workers as people less worthy of attention. Because of the “invisibility” of such workers in the eyes of many, some may not register the existence of a unique personality within a uniform. In this Discussion, think about theories of attention as well as cultural and social variables. Consider the relationship between all of these factors and cognition.Reference: DeGloma, T., & Friedman, A. (2005). Thinking with socio-mental filters: Exploring the social structuring of attention and significance. Conference Papers––American Sociological Association, 1–24.

RESOURCES

Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. WEEKLY RESOURCESWith these thoughts in mind:

BY DAY 4

Post a brief comparison of one early theory of attention to the Guided Search theory of attention. Then describe how these theories apply to visual search. Finally, describe one cultural and one social variable that might influence attention and explain how.Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources
.REFERENCES/RESOURCES 

• de la Rosa, S., Choudhery, R. N., & Chatziastros, A. (2011). Visual object detection, categorization, and identification tasks are associated with different time courses and sensitivities. Human Perception and PerformanceLinks to an external site., 37(1), 38–47.
• DeGloma, T., & Friedman, A. (2005). Thinking with socio-mental filters: Exploring the social structuring of attention and significance. Conference Papers––American Sociological AssociationLinks to an external site., 1–24.
• Proulx, M. J. (2007). Bottom-up guidance in visual search for conjunctions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and PerformanceLinks to an external site., 33(1), 48–56.
• Wolfe, J. M., & Horowitz, T. S. (2004). What attributes guide the deployment of visual attention and how do they do it? Nature Reviews NeuroscienceLinks to an external site., 5(6), 495–501.
• Geisler, W. S. (2008). Visual perception and the statistical properties of natural scenes. Annual Review of Psychology Download Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 167–192. Geisler, W. S. Visual Perception and the Statistical Properties of Natural Sciences. Annual Review of Psychology. Copyright 2007 Annual Reviews, Inc. Used with permission from Annual Reviews, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.
• Peissig, J. J., & Tarr, M. J. (2007). Visual object recognition: Do we know more now than we did 20 years ago? Annual Review of Psychology Download Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 75–96. Peissig, J.J., & Tarr, M.J., Visual object recognition: do we know more now than we did 20 years ago? Annual Review of Psychology. Copyright 2007 Annual Reviews, Inc. Used with permission from Annual Reviews, Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.
• Posner, M. I., & Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Research on attention networks as a model for the integration of psychological science. Annual Review of Psychology Download Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 1–23. Research on attention networks as a model for the integration of psychological science by Posner, M.I., & Rothbart, M.K. in Annual Review of Psychology, 58. Copyright 2008 by Annual Reviews, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Annual Reviews, Inc., via the Copyright Clearance Center.