Short article: Distractor interference in focused attention tasks is not mediated by attention capture

2009 ◽  
Vol 62 (9) ◽  
pp. 1685-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurit Gronau ◽  
Asher Cohen ◽  
Gershon Ben-Shakhar
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Attention Capture ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Interference Effects ◽  
Distractor Interference ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Attention Tasks

Distractor stimuli possessing information that is relevant for a task (henceforth, task-relevant distractors) often interfere with task performance. The interference by task-relevant distractors is observed even when distractors are positioned outside the main attentional focus. We investigated whether such interference is due to an attention capture by the distractors. Participants responded to a target colour while ignoring word distractors positioned within (Experiment 1) or outside (Experiments 2 and 3) the attentional focus. The words carried task-relevant information in their colour and personally significant information in their content. Because personally significant information affects performance only when positioned in an attended region, it was used as a marker for the locus of the attentional focus. As expected, when distractors were attended, both task-relevant and personally significant information affected performance. However, when distractors were unattended, only task-relevant information caused interference, suggesting that attention did not shift to the distractors’ location. We discuss possible accounts for interference effects in focused-attention tasks.

scholarly journals Preprint: Characterizing the Anomalous Cognition-Emotion Interactions in Externalizing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arielle R. Baskin-Sommers ◽  
John Joseph Curtin ◽  
Christine Larson ◽  
Daniel Stout ◽  
Kent A. Kiehl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Drug Seeking ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Fear Potentiated Startle

Externalizing traits are characterized by exaggerated emotional (e.g., frustration, anger) and behavioral (e.g., drug seeking, reactive aggression) reactions to motivationally-significant stimuli. Explanations for this exaggerated reactivity emphasize attention, executive function, and affective processes, but the associations among these processes is rarely investigated. To examine these interactions, we measure fear potentiated startle (FPS; Experiment 1) and neural activation (Experiment 2) in an instructed fear paradigm that manipulates attentional focus, demands on executive functioning, and emotion. In both studies, exaggerated emotional reactivity associated with externalizing was specific to conditions that focused attention on threat information and placed minimal demands on executive functioning. Results suggest that a crucial cognition-emotion interaction affecting externalizing is the over-prioritization and over-allocation of attention to motivationally-significant information, which in turn, may impair executive and affective regulation.

Nowcasting global trade in goods and services

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Fernando Cantú-Bazaldúa
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Global Trade ◽  
Dynamic Factor ◽  
Timely Manner ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Dynamic Factor Models ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
World Economic

World economic aggregates are compiled infrequently and released after considerable lags. There are, however, many potentially relevant series released in a timely manner and at a higher frequency that could provide significant information about the evolution of global aggregates. The challenge is then to extract the relevant information from this multitude of indicators and combine it to track the real-time evolution of the target variables. We develop a methodology based on dynamic factor models adapted for variables with heterogeneous frequencies, ragged ends and missing data. We apply this methodology to nowcast global trade in goods in goods and services. In addition to monitoring these variables in real time, this method can also be used to obtain short-term forecasts based on the most up-to-date values of the underlying indicators.

Diminishing Reality: Potential Benefits and Risks

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-168
Author(s):  
I. Murph ◽  
M. McDonald ◽  
K. Richardson ◽  
M. Wilkinson ◽  
S. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Augmented Reality ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Primary Task ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Cognitive Aids ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Completion Times

Within distracting environments, it is difficult to maintain attentional focus on complex tasks. Cognitive aids can support attention by adding relevant information to the environment, such as via augmented reality (AR). However, there may be a benefit in removing elements from the environment, such as irrelevant alarms, displays, and conversations. De-emphasis of distracting elements is a type of AR called Diminished Reality (DR). Although de-emphasizing distraction may help focus on a primary task, it may also reduce situational awareness (SA) of other activities that may become relevant. In the current study, participants will assemble a medical ventilator during a simulated emergency while experiencing varying levels of DR. Participants will also be probed to assess secondary SA. We anticipate that participants will have better accuracy and completion times in the full DR conditions but their SA will suffer. Future applications include the design of future DR systems and improved training methods.

Learning landslide hazard in a virtual environment at University level combining real case study, collaborative work and innovative tools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Guinau ◽  
Gloria Furdada
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Landslide Hazard ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Triggering Factors ◽  
Different Types

<p>The pandemic situation we are experiencing has forced us to transform face-to-face teaching into virtual teaching. Digital platforms hinder the interaction, discussion and feedback that naturally occur in a face-to-face class, but at the same time, they provide an opportunity to put the focus on the student’s learning rather than on content delivering. Learning include both, inductive and deductive processes; induction can be effectively acquired by using case studies; then, deduction can be achieved through comparison, analysis, generalisation and synthesis.  Digital platforms appear as an optimal resource to facilitate the individual and collaborative tasks and learning processes. In this work we present our experience on the landslide hazard subject (Master’s level) focussed on the student’s learning through the use of digital media.</p><p>Internet information of undeniable quality that can be easily accessed is basic: The Landslide Blog by Dave Petley (https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/) in Blogosphere hosted by AGU (American Geophysical Union) provides valuable and updated information on landslide events occurring worldwide. The learning activities are structured around several cases selected by the lecturer from the blog to ensure the analysis of the most frequent landslide types. All activities are developed in 8 steps: 1) The teacher presents the learning action (objective, tasks, and assessment guide) using a Genially platform interactive image; 2) Each student selects one of the proposed cases and compile relevant information about it; 3) Each student analyses the landslide characteristics, identifies the landslide type  and classifies it according to Hungr et al., 2014 (available through the educational virtual platform), and recognises the control and triggering factors (one virtual session is programmed and a forum tool is provided to the students to discuss and to solve doubts); 4) Each student selects and organizes the significant information about each case by building an interactive image in Genially; 5) Each student presents each case using his/her interactive image in a virtual session, which is recorded and uploaded to the educational platform; 6) Students peer evaluate the content and design of the interactive images and oral presentations based on the provided assessment guide; 7) During a predetermined time, students collaboratively compile all the information in a Google sheet table to synthesize the geomorphological characteristics, materials involved, mobilization mechanisms and control and triggering factors of the different types of landslides; 8) the synthetic table is discussed and  completed during a virtual session.</p><p>All the knowledge and skills acquired by students with these activities are put into practice in a two-day field trip where students have to identify, characterize and classify different types of landslides as well as their control and triggering factors. The risk situation and the mitigation strategies are discussed in each case and compared to the ones studied through virtual learning. Furthermore, students get used and learn how to clearly present information through virtual tools, as Genially, useful for dissemination purposes.</p><p>Hungr et al. 2014. The Varnes classification of landslide types, an update. Landslides 11(2). DOI: 10.1007/s10346-013-0436-y</p>

Genetic Data, Genome Understanding, and Socially Relevant Information

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Dara Hallinan
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Phenotype Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Socially Relevant

This chapter discusses the range of types of data which might be subject to genetic analysis to produce socially relevant information. These genetic data include raw genomic data as well as other types of data, such as phenotype data and inheritance data. Genetic analysis of these types of data is currently capable of producing a wide range of socially relevant information, including information concerning identity, genetic relationships, phenotype, health, and social and behavioural traits. It is not the case, however, that each type of genetic data can be subject to only one type of genetic analysis to produce only one type of socially relevant information. Rather, each type of genetic data, particularly genomic data, can be subject to multiple types of genetic analysis. Nor is it necessarily the case that genetic analyses produce socially relevant information which is completely accurate. Rather, the degree of accuracy of information will usually depend on multiple factors. The chapter then looks at the range of parties about whom socially significant information may be produced.

Machine-assisted Metadata Generation and New Resource Discovery: Software and Services

First Monday ◽  
2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Critical Role ◽  
Information Access ◽  
Educational Communication ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Resource Discovery ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Metadata Generation

Research and other libraries are priceless given that they hold, organize and provide sensible, generally open, access to many of the treasures of knowledge of our species. Especially when mass media, popular culture and/or governmental information flows fail in making available the objective and relevant information needed to enable us to make informed decisions about our lives, businesses or planet, libraries usually will provide the information needed. As both a first and last refuge for knowledge, libraries could come to play an increasingly expansive and critical role in society, given this need, if we can develop and better keep pace with the expanding role of technology in scholarly and educational communication and information access. Librarians and the technological directions we choose to develop and/or follow are more important, on a societal scale, than most us think. Libraries and related services are not inexpensive to develop and maintain, though, and, with the information boom that both preceded (in print resources) and continues to follow the advent of the Web (in both print and digital resources), are not keeping up with the large numbers of significant information resources being produced. Therefore an important contribution to help enable libraries work better and have more impact on a more expansive scale is the development and judicious use of machine–assistance related software, technologies and services which amplify collection building expertise in library collection building. Discussed in this article are two projects in this area.

Visual Attention and Coactivation of Response Decisions for Features from Different Dimensions

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 361-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Feintuch ◽  
Asher Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Attention ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Redundancy Gain ◽  
Attentional Focus ◽  
Action Model ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Response Decisions ◽  
High Level ◽  
Dimensional Module

The role of visual attention in task performance has been extensively debated. On the basis of the dimensional-action model, we hypothesized that a major role of attention is to transfer response decisions from targets on which it is focused to high-level centers dealing with response execution. This hypothesis predicts that response decisions for two targets will interact only when attention is focused on both targets, and only when the response to the targets is defined by different dimensions. Three experiments, using the redundancy-gain paradigm, tested and confirmed this prediction. Experiment 1 showed that coactivation of two cross-dimensional targets occurred only when the targets were positioned in the same location, not when they were in separate locations. Experiment 2 manipulated the focus of attention and showed that coactivation can occur even for targets positioned in different locations if they are both within the attentional focus. Experiment 3 showed that this attention-induced coactivation does not occur for targets from the same dimensional module. These results suggest that a major role of attention is postperceptual and involves gating of selected responses to executive functions.

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