Question 1

Which of the following best describes selective attention?

Accepted Answer

The process of directing awareness to relevant stimuli while ignoring irrelevant stimuli.

Question 2

Endogenous attention is primarily associated with which brain region?

Accepted Answer

Pre-frontal cortex

Question 3

A driver turns down the radio volume in heavy traffic. This behavior illustrates which concept?

Accepted Answer

Interference between auditory and visual stimuli

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of exogenous attention?

Accepted Answer

Shifting focus to a loud noise while reading.

Question 5

In the context of visual selective attention, what is 'foveation'?

Accepted Answer

The process by which a small area of the retina perceives clearly due to eye movements directing the fovea to objects of interest.

Question 6

Which statement about saccades is correct?

Accepted Answer

Saccades are rapid, involuntary movements that move the eye from one fixation to another, with no input of information during the movement.

Question 7

Which phenomenon explains why a person may fail to notice a gorilla walking through a basketball game while counting passes?

Accepted Answer

Inattentional blindness

Question 8

According to North & Hargreaves (1999), which combination most impairs driving performance?

Accepted Answer

High-demand driving and arousing music

Question 9

Which of the following is NOT a limitation of auditory selective attention?

Accepted Answer

Auditory attention can be measured by recording eye movements.

Question 10

In a dichotic listening task, what is typically required of the participant?

Accepted Answer

Pay attention to one ear and ignore the other, or switch attention between ears.

Question 11

Which equation best represents the concept of limited attention resources when performing two tasks?

Accepted Answer

$R_{total} = R_{primary} + R_{secondary}$

Question 12

Which of the following best describes the difference in visual selective attention between novice and expert performers?

Accepted Answer

Experts show more efficient strategies and know what cues to look for.

Question 13

During a hockey study, what was observed about the fixation patterns of novices compared to experts?

Accepted Answer

Novices had more fixations on the puck than the stick.

Question 14

Which type of eye movement is used to keep a moving stimulus on the fovea after foveation is achieved?

Accepted Answer

Smooth pursuit

Question 15

Why is it important to measure eye movements when studying visual selective attention?

Accepted Answer

Movements are unconscious, so self-report is unreliable.

Question 16

Which formula represents the relationship between attention capacity and task demands?

Accepted Answer

$C_{attention} \geq D_{primary} + D_{secondary}$

Question 17

Which of the following is a real-world consequence of inattentional blindness?

Accepted Answer

Automobile accidents where drivers 'looked-but-failed-to-see'.

Question 18

What is the main function of fixation in visual attention?

Accepted Answer

To keep the eye fixed on an object so information can be inputted into the system.

Question 19

Which statement best explains why novice performers struggle with multitasking?

Accepted Answer

Novices are poor at doing two things at once due to limited processing capacity.

Question 20

Which of the following best illustrates context-dependent selective attention?

Accepted Answer

Attention allocation changes depending on the environment and task demands.

Selective Attention: Visual and Auditory Mechanisms in Psychology

Study Guide - Practice Questions