Attention and consciousness are two closely related psychological concepts that are often conflated, even among scholars. However, modern psychological and neurophysiological researchers
can now independently manipulate top-down selective attention and perceptual consciousness
.
Is attention the same as consciousness?
In the same sense, eye movements select conscious visual events, which are not the same as conscious visual experience. According to common sense,
visual experience is consciousness
, and selective processes are labeled as attention.
Is attention required for consciousness?
While many scholars agree that attention and consciousness are distinct,
it is popular to assume that attention is necessary for consciousness
. For example, Dehaene et al. (2006) argue that without top-down attention, an event cannot be consciously perceived and remains in a preconscious state.
Is selective attention conscious or unconscious?
Selective attention can
be conscious
(as when one chooses to attend to an interesting object, like a TV, instead of a less interesting one, like a coffee table) or unconscious (as in a scene of a green field with a single red tulip – the tulip will receive attention initially).
What is conscious attention in psychology?
Conscious attention is
the “reportable” form of attention that is part of conscious awareness
. That is, the contents of attention are consciously accessible such that one could report detecting this information.
What are some examples of drifting consciousness?
- Drifting Consciousness: A state of awareness characterized by drifting thoughts or mental imagery.
- Levels of Alertness/Attention: Variable or shifting.
- Examples: Daydreaming, letting thoughts wander.
What comes first attention or perception?
Perception
is part of the brain that interprets what we feel, hear, taste and touch into images that we can be able to understand before the mind takes any action. Attention picks the image and determines what the mind will concentrate on depending on our goals, past experience and areas of interest (Styles, 2005).
What are some real life examples of selective attention?
- Listening to your favorite podcast while driving to work.
- Having a conversation with a friend in a crowded place.
- Reading your book on a public transport bus.
Is selective attention good or bad?
Although selective attention has many benefits, including faster, more
efficient processing
of selected information, it also has some critical costs, the most important being that information that is not selected may not be fully processed (Coch, Sanders, & Neville, 2005).
What is an example of alternating attention?
You may use alternating attention when
reading a recipe (learning) and then performing the tasks of recipe (doing)
. It could also be alternating between unrelated tasks such as cooking while helping your child with her homework.
What is a divided attention task?
Divided attention occurs
when we are required to perform multiple tasks at the same time and attention is required for successful performance on all tasks at hand
(e.g. Trail making task part B (TMT-B)), while measures of sustained attention typically involve sequential presentation of stimuli over a period of time …
What is top-down attention?
Attention can be categorized into two distinct functions: bottom-up attention, referring to attentional guidance purely by externally driven factors to stimuli that are salient because of their inherent properties relative to the background; and top-down attention, referring
to internal guidance of attention based on
…
How can selective attention affect a person’s consciousness?
We use the term “attention” to imply selective attention, rather than the processes that control the overall level of arousal and alertness. …
When an observer pays attention to an object, he or she becomes conscious of its various attributes
; when attention shifts away, the object seems to fade from consciousness.
What are the 7 states of consciousness?
The seven states of consciousness are:
waking, dreaming, sleeping, transcendental consciousness, cosmic consciousness, God consciousness and unity consciousness
.
What are the 5 levels of consciousness?
- Level 1: I-AM Consciousness.
- Level 2: Points of View.
- Level 3: The Unconscious / Beliefs. …
- Level 4: The Subconscious / Feelings. …
- Level 5: The Conscious Mind / Thought.
What are the 5 states of consciousness?
- Awareness.
- bias.
- Consciousness.
- Hypnosis.
- Priming.
- Sleep.
- Trance.
