Attention and Arousal: Cognition and Performance

218 Pages·1982·11.44 MB·English

by  Dr. Michael W. Eysenck (auth.)

Michael W. Eysenck
Attention and Arousal
Cognition and Performance
With 56 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg N ew York 1982
Dr. Michael W. Eysenck
Birkbeck College
University of London
Department of Psychology
Malet Street
London, WCIE 7HX, England
ISBN-13 :978-3-642-68392-3
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Eysenck, Michael W.
Attention and arousal. Cognition and performance.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. Cognition. 2. Performance. 3. Motivation (Psychology) 4. Selectivity (Psychology) 5. Atten·
tion. 6. Arousal (Physiology) I. Title.
BF311.E93 153 81-21240
ISBN-13 :978-3-642-68392-3 e-ISBN-13 :978-3-642-68390-9
DO!: 10.1007/978-3-642-68390-9
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This book is dedicated
to my mother
for everything
Preface
The thinker who has a mortal fear of being wrong
will give all that is valuable in himself to that little ambition.
Walter Lippmann (1914)
Psychology has always been plagued by passing fads and fan
cies to a greater extent than is seemly in a scientific discipline.
Over the past few years the Zeitgeist can be summed up by the
two words 'cognitive psychology'. Indeed, a recent poll of
academic psychologists in American indicated that over 80%
of them regarded themselves as cognitive psychologists!
Cognitive psychology is in the ascendant, but it has never
been clear to me that it has addressed all of the appropriate is
sues. In particular, information processing in the real world
(and even in the laboratory) occurs within a motivational and
emotional context, but cognitive psychologists usually main
tain the convenient fiction that cognition can fruitfully be stud
ied in isolation. The main reason for writing this book was to at
tempt to demonstrate that there can be a useful cross-fertiliza
tion between cognitive and motivational-emotional psycholo
gy and that there are already tantalizing glimpses of the poten
tial advantages of such inter-disciplinary research.
The ideas of Donald Broadbent and his associates have exer
cised a formative influence during the writing of this book.
They discovered some years ago that there are intriguing simi
larities (as well as differences) in the effects on performance
of such apparently quite disparate factors as white noise, time of
day, introversion-extraversion and incentive. They argued that
all of these factors (as well as others) increased arousal and
supported their argument with physiological and behavioural
evidence. This attempt to explain a great variety of findings by
means of a fairly simple arousal model was surprisingly suc
cessful, and one of my main aims has been to assess this whole
approach in the light of recent research.
I would like to express my thanks to several people. I had an
enjoyable time at the University of South Florida in Tampa
during the initial stages of writing this book, and I am very grate
ful especially to Doug Nelson but also to Jim Anker, Tramm
Neill and Cathy McEvoy for providing a friendly and helpful
atmosphere and for interesting discussions of ideas. In addi
tion, the weather in Florida lived up to all expectations.
I would like to thank my students, especially Kathy Cohen,
Anna Eliatamby, Jackie Laws, Chris Morris and Jan Graydon,
for their contribution to my education - I only hope this has
been a two-way process! I have also learned much from a num
ber of my professional colleagues and friends, including Bob
VIII Preface
Hockey, Simon Folkard, Tony Gale, Dylan Jones and Tim
Monk. A debt of gratitude is also owed to the Social Science
Research Council for providing generous financial support for
my research over the past several years.
Finally, I am especially indebted to my family. This book is
appropriately dedicated to my mother, and my wife Christine
has provided me with limitless personal and professional sup
port. Without her help and that of our daughter Fleur the writ
ing of this book would have taken less time but would also have
been less pleasurable.
Michael W. Eysenck
Table of Contents
1 Introduction .....
2 Theories of Attention . 8
2.1 Early Theories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 Posner and Snyder: Automatic Activation and
Conscious Attention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 Shiffrin and Schneider: Controlled and Automatic
Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 Treisman and Gelade: Features and Objects. 24
2.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3 Theories of Processing Resources 28
3.1 Baddeley and Hitch: Working Memory . 28
3.2 Norman and Bobrow: Data-Limited and
Resource-Limited Processes ....... 33
3.3 Johnston and Heinz: Multi-Mode Theory 35
3.4 Navon and Gopher: Multiple Resources. 39
3.5 Conclusions .... . . . . . . . . . 43
4 Theories of Arousal and Performance 47
4.1 The Yerkes-Dodson Law . . . . 47
4.2 Easterbrook's Hypothesis . . . . 49
4.3 Broadbent: Decision and Stress. 54
4.4 NiHitiinen's Theory. . . . . ... 56
4.5 Kahneman: Attention and Effort 57
4.6 Thayer: Self-Reported Arousal . . 60
4.7 Hasher and Zacks: Automatic and Effortful Processes 63
4.8 Summary and Conclusions ............... 66
5 Incentives and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 67
5.1 Reinforcement and Incentives ............. 68
5.2 Learning and Memory: Atkinson and Wickens (l971) 68
5.3 Short-Term Memory: Weiner. 73
5.4 Task Characteristics . . . . . . . . 74
5.5 Performance Efficiency . . . . . . 83
5.6 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 84
5.7 A Theoretical Overview . 87
6 Anxiety and Performance 95
6.1 Worry and Emotionality. 97
6.2 Working Memory Capacity 99
X Table of Contents
6.3 Spence and Spence (1966): Task Difficulty 101
6.4 Anxiety and Motivation . . . . . . . . . . . 108
6.5 Failure and Shock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
6.6 Failure and Success: A Cognitive Approach . 113
6.7 Depth and Elaboration of Processing 115
6.8 Theoretical Positions .......... 120
7 Endogenous Determinants of Arousal . . 124
7.1 Introversion - Extraversion . . . 124
7.2, Time of Day ... 138
7.3 Sleep Deprivation . . . . . . . . 146
8 Exogenous Determinants of Arousal: Noise. . . . . 156
8.1 Vigilance Task Performance ............ 156
8.2 Continuous Tasks: Serial Reaction and Tracking. 157
8.3 Learning and Memory . . 159
8.4 Attentional Selectivity. . 164
8.5 Theoretical Formulation 167
8.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . 172
9 Conclusions and Speculations 173
9.1 The Yerkes-Dodson Law . 173
9.2 Stages of Processing . 178
9.3 Two Arousal Systems . . . 182
10 References . 187
11 Author Index . 201
12 Subject Index . . 205
1 Introduction
It may truly be said that theories in the area multifaceted criteria. For example, an acad
of cognitive psychology are in many ways emic may make writing a book one of his
like rabbits in a hutch: they multiply rapidly goals, but he will often have ancillary goals
but all manage to look remarkably similar. such as making the book readable and enter
This similarity applies both to what they say taining, advancing his career and perhaps
and, perhaps even more strongly, to what even earning a few bob in the process! In a
they do not say. Closer examination of this similar way, even when the participant in
conspiracy of silence suggests that the most psychological research is apparently en
striking omission from the great majority of grossed in an experimental task, he or she
information-processing theories is any seri will usually continue to have as an addition
ous consideration of the dynamic interrela al goal the task of monitoring the environ
tionships among motivation, emotion and ment for important sources of information.
cognition. There is plenty of evidence that some at
This rather narrow approach to theory tentional capacity is invested in non-task ac
construction has a number of important dis tivities, except perhaps under hypnosis.
advantages. It has, for example, encouraged Consider for example an experimental task
the simplistic notion that humans possess which requires the subject to learn a list of
considerable single-mindedness and unity words. Subsequent retention tests almost in
of purpose. At the theoretical level, this has variably indicate that some task-irrelevant
led to computer simulations of human information (e.g. the colours in which the
thinking based on the assumption that only words are printed, the spatial locations of
a single goal (e.g. satisfactory task comple the words and the nature of additional sti
tion) is operative at any given point in time. muli presented alongside the to-be-remem
A hierarchy of subprograms or subroutines bered words) has been attended to (see Eas
is often postulated, with all information pro terbrook 1959 for a review).
cessing being done in the service of the high Why do we habitually assign some of our
est level executive program. As Simon spare processing capacity to the task of
(1967) pertinently remarked, "This appar monitoring the environment? The reason
ently single-minded, single-purpose behav appears to be that this monitoring allows us
iour of most existing simulations of infor to handle any sudden emergencies that may
mation-processing systems provides a stri arise by alerting the processing system to im
king contrast with human behaviour" portant changes occurring in the immediate
(p.32). environment. On those occasions that the
Any attempt to understand human cogni monitoring system does detect the existence
tion and behaviour must recognize that peo of a new need of high priority, the ongoing
ple are often responsive to several goals si information processing is interrupted, and
multaneously rather than to just one. In the previous goals are replaced by goals
other words, most goals are not unitary; more appropriate to the changed circum
rather, the achievement of a goal typically stances.
requires a pattern of behaviour that fulfills In contrast to the rapidly changing and
2 Introduction
unpredictable conditions that frequently postulated the existence of an interrupt sys
prevail in the real world, there is the drasti tem based on continuous monitoring of the
cally restricted environment of the typical environment. When the monitoring system
laboratory experiment in psychology. It is detects needs of high priority, new goals
unusual in such an environment for any dra which are appropriate to handling these
matic changes in the subject's goals to be re needs replace those previously in operation
quired as the experimental session pro (i.e. the interrupt system is used). As a con
gresses. sequence, the attentional focus shifts to
We have emphasized the point so far that those stimuli which are relevant to the new
there are considerable changes over time in goals. According to Simon, the interrupt sys
the goal systems which control behaviour. It tem can be triggered by sudden and intense
seems intuitively obvious that goals playa stimuli, by physiological needs or by emo
major role in determining the direction of tionally laden cognitive associations. It is ty
attention at any given moment. As a conse pically the case that interrupting stimuli of
quence, most of the effects of goals on be all kinds produce arousal of the autonomic
haviour are mediated by attentional me nervous system and feelings of emotion,
chanisms. This line of argument can be tak leading Simon (1967) to the following con
en further. It is one of the major contentions clusion: "All the evidence points to a close
of this book that there is an intimate rela connection between the operation of the in
tionship between motivational and atten terrupt system and much of what is usually
tional processes. In geneAl terms, motiva called emotional behaviour" (p. 36).
tional states affect attentional selectivity, i.e.
If we are prepared to assume that motiva
they determine the contents of attention.
tional and emotional processes both have
This theoretical position is not original; in
important effects on attentional mechan
deed, it has been espoused by several re
isms, then the next issue is to indicate pre
searchers and was given expression in the
cisely what those effects are likely to be. The
following terms by Simon (1967): "We can
most influential attempt to address this is
use the term motivation ... simply to desig
sue was made by Easterbrook (1959); his
nate that which controls attention at any giv
quintessential theoretical assumption was
en time. The motivation may be directed
that motivation and emotion influence at
toward a single goal, or, more commonly,
tentional selectivity by narrowing attention
toward multiple goals" (p. 34).
and thereby reducing the attention paid to
It may seem fairly obvious that motiva
non-task sources of stimulation.
tional forces affect the allocation of atten
tional resources within the information-pro While there is impressive empirical sup
cessing system. However, many researchers port for Easterbrook's (1959) viewpoint,
apparently fail to find the connection obvi there are other possible effects of motiva
ous at all. As I am writing these words, I tion and emotion on attentional processes
have in front of me two books on motiva that deserve to be considered. For example,
tion: Theories of Motivation by Bernard it might be the case that attentional capacity
Weiner and Motivation: An Experimental is affected systematically by motivational
Approach by Eva Dreikurs Ferguson. The and emotional factors. Alternatively, the
former book does not even have 'attention' rate of change of the contents of attention
as a heading in its subject index, and the lat (cf. mental tempo) might be affected; an ap
ter book contains only one reference to the propriate analogy here might be with a cine
concept. film, which looks very different when pro
It seems probable that emotional states al jected at a number of different speeds. A fi
so affect behaviour via attentional pro nal major aspect of attention is the extent to
cesses. A plausible way in which this might which one is able to prevent it from being di
happen was outlined by Simon (1967). He verted to irrelevant sources of information;