Attention: Eriksen and St. James 1986
|
| This experiment examines if attention has a focus throughthe interaction of four variables.
|
| |
|
|
| Authors |
|
Eriksen C.W., St. James J.D. |
| |
|
|
| APA Classification |
|
Attention (2346) |
| |
|
|
| Keywords |
|
Time-course of selective visual attention, Zoom lens model of attention, Attention, Visual field, Visual perception |
| |
|
|
| Summary |
|
This experiment presents participants with a circle of letters, some of which have been cued, and the participants are expected to decide whether an "S" or a "C" appears in the cued area. Four variables are manipulated between trials: how long before the letters appear that the cue appears, number of positions in the circle cued, whether there are distractors ("S" or "C") present outside the cue area, and how far those distractors are from the display area.
The interactions of these four variables should show that attention has a focus, but that that focus bleeds out into the area around it. Competing letters should slow processing more the closer they are to the cued area.
The smaller version cues one position in a line of letters and sees whether the cued letter is named faster. |
| |
|
|
| Platform | | E-Prime v1.1 SP3 / 1.1.4.1 |
| | | |
| Base Hardware Requirements | | - Microsoft Windows 2000/XP
- Pentium Processor 1GHz or higher
- 512MB RAM or higher
- 4X AGP Video with 64MB RAM or higher
- Sound Blaster LIVE! Sound Card
- CD-ROM
- USB or Parallel Port
- Serial Port**
- Internet Connection
** For use with the PST Deluxe Serial Response Box. |
| | | |
| Citation | | Eriksen, C. W., & St. James, J. D. (1986). "Visual attention within and around the field of focal attention: A zoom lens model. " Perception and Psychophysics 40, 225-240. |
| | | |
| Cited in | | Perception and Psychophysics |
| | | |
| Abstract | | The operation of attention in the visual field has often been compared to a spotlight. We propose that a more apt analogy is that of a zoom or variable-power lens. Two experiments focused upon the following questions: (1) Can the spatial extent of the attentional focus be made to vary in response to precues? (2) As the area of the attentional focus increases, is there a decrease in processing efficiency for stimuli within the focus? (3) Is the boundary of the focus sharply demarked from the residual field, or does it show a gradual dropoff in processing resources? Subjects were required to search eight-letter circular displays for one of two target letters and reaction times were recorded. One to four adjacent display positions were precued by underlines at various stimulus onset asynchronies before display presentation. A response competition paradigm was used, in which the ?other target? was used as a noise letter in noncued as well as cued locations. The results were in good agreement with the zoom lens model. |
| | | |
| Catalogued From |
|
STEP (System for Teaching Experimental Psychology)
http://step.psy.cmu.edu/scripts/Attention/EriksenStJames1986.html (external link) |
| | | |
| Script Name | | http://step.psy.cmu.edu/scripts/ZipFiles/EriksenStJames1986.zip
http://step.psy.cmu.edu/scripts/ZipFiles/eriksen.zip |
| | | |
| Stimulus Materials | | http://step.psy.cmu.edu/scripts/ZipFiles/Eriksen1986Stimuli.zip |
| | | |
| Sample Data Files | | http://step.psy.cmu.edu/scripts/ZipFiles/Eriksen1986Data.zip |
| | | |
| |
|
|
| Catalogue Record Modified |
|
16/11/2005 |
| |
|
|
| Record Modified By |
|
Dipl.-Psych. C. Rebetez |
| |
|
|
