Cognitive Psychology (PSYC 110) · Module 1 of 10
Sensory Memory & Attention
The brief snapshot that precedes memory, and how attention decides what survives it.
Sensory Memory
- Sensory memory holds an almost exact, very brief copy of sensory input before it decays or is processed further; iconic memory (visual) lasts under a second, echoic memory (auditory) lasts a few seconds.
- Sperling's partial report experiments demonstrated that sensory memory holds more information than we can consciously report, since much of it decays before it can be verbally reported.
In Sperling's experiment, why did participants report seeing more letters when cued to report just one row immediately after a flash, compared to reporting the whole grid?
Solution. Sensory memory holds a brief, near-complete image of the display, but it decays extremely quickly; cueing one row immediately let participants access that row's contents before they decayed, revealing that far more was initially stored than could be reported from the whole grid.
Selective Attention
- Selective attention lets us focus on one stream of information while filtering out others, though some unattended information, like your own name, can still break through — the "cocktail party effect.".
- Broadbent's filter model proposed early selection (unattended information is blocked out almost entirely); later models, like Treisman's attenuation model, proposed unattended information is merely weakened, not fully blocked.
What is the "cocktail party effect," and what does it suggest about how selective attention works?
Solution. It's the phenomenon of suddenly noticing your own name spoken in an unattended conversation at a noisy party; it suggests that unattended information isn't completely blocked out, just attenuated (weakened), since highly meaningful stimuli can still break through and capture attention.
Attention as a Limited Resource
- Attention is a limited-capacity resource; dividing attention between two demanding tasks typically impairs performance on one or both, especially when tasks share similar processing demands, like two verbal tasks.
Why is it typically more difficult to divide attention between two tasks that both require verbal processing, compared to one verbal and one spatial task?
Solution. Tasks that rely on similar cognitive resources (both verbal) compete more directly for the same limited processing capacity, causing more interference, while a verbal and a spatial task can draw on more separate resources and interfere less with each other.
Automatic vs. Controlled Processing
- Automatic processing is fast, effortless, and doesn't require conscious attention, like reading a familiar word; controlled processing is slower, effortful, and requires conscious attention, like learning a new skill.
- With extensive practice, controlled processes can become more automatic, freeing up attentional resources for other tasks.
Why does driving a car feel effortful for a new driver but nearly automatic for an experienced one?
Solution. For a new driver, most of the individual actions involved require controlled, effortful processing; with extensive practice, these become automatic processes that require little conscious attention, freeing up mental resources for other things, like conversation.
Check yourself
2 of this module's 5 quiz questions. Pick your answers, then check them in the app, with an explanation for every question.
1. How long does iconic (visual) sensory memory typically last?
2. What did Sperling's partial report experiments reveal about sensory memory?