Attentional Blink Research Paper

Attentional Blink

Beth Boardley

01/28/2015

Cognitive Psychology

Argosy University

Abstract

Attentional blink occurs when there is “a brief slow-down in mental processing due to having processed another very recent event” (Ashcraft & Radvansky, 2009, p. 137). During this timeframe, allotting your attention to the first stimulus deprives you of the attention required for the next stimulus. The types of objects or targets presented can have an effect on the brain’s focus. Stimuli that one associates as emotionally charged can cause the brain to focus more. Less emotional stimuli can cause a forgetting response. The study of the attentional blank is important to consider for many reasons including which occupations could be adversely affected

by it.

“Stimuli are events in the environment that influence behavior” (University of Iowa, n.d.). These events or “motivations” cause a response in both humans and animals. The purpose of this paper is to examine the attentional blink in relation to attention, identify different targets to induce the attentional blink, examine occupations in which the attentional blink may be adversely affected by the attentional blink, and to consider the heads-up display (HUD) in vehicles in relation to the attentional blink.
Attentional Blink and Attention
The attentional blink (AB) is an incidence which occurs with rapid serial visual presentations (RSVP). The AB “refers to the observation that identification of the second of two targets in an RSVP stimulus stream is usually impaired if it appears about 200 –500 ms after the presentation of the first target” (Livesey, Harris & Harris, 2009). In other words when a set of objects is presented and viewed in rapid sequence, only one set of objects will catch the brain’s attention and be processed. The other objects in the set will be ignored. The short burst of time the objects are displayed make the second object unseen to some observers. If the targets were to be presented at a slower interval then it is perceivable that the brain would be able to pick up and process both targets.
The detection of the AB is essential to study of the boundaries of human attention. The identification of the AB led to the discovery that the attentional demands of encoding, registration, and response selection of the first target, prevents the brain from applying the same level of resources to identifying the second target at short lags (Dux & Marois, 2009). “(1) As a result of the T1 mask, increased attention is required to enable T1 to reach a level of awareness sufficient for report. (2) As less attention is available for T2, by virtue of Tl's demands, T2 cannot be consolidated into a durable storage sufficient for report. This leaves T2 vulnerable to decay and/or object substitution from a variety of stimulus sources, most notably from T2's mask but also, under appropriate conditions, by T1 as well as the T1 mask” (Shapiro, Raymond & Arnell, 1997). It also led to discoveries regarding the redeployment of attentional resources.
Once the brain has engaged the primary target and it becomes the individual’s focus, the capability to redirect the attentional resources is inhibited. In general the attentional assets will be redeployed on the third object. This is due to the larger time gap between the first and third target. Another theory for the lack of attentional resources for the second target is that the brain may be conditioned to allot its attention to the most significant targets or objects. This is a thought-provoking aspect since what is deemed important to one may not be considered important to another.
Effects of Different Targets
Earlier it was suggested that emotionally charged and/or the importance of a target can cause a person to allot more attention to it regardless of limitations on the time. Two additional targets that may possibly be used to induce the attentional blank include signage and personal photos. From a young age we are conditioned to pay attention to signs. This is due to the fact that they help keep us safe as well as provide us with useful information. The many different aspects of signage such as color, shape, and symbols are essential in obtaining importance and gaining the attention of the viewer.
For an example, a caution, danger, or warning sign presented to a viewer as a second target would illicit more attention. This is due to the fact that we are trained on signs from a young age. These signs signal the viewer that there is possible danger. They are seen everywhere on products at home, work, and on the roads we travel. These signs may trigger a reaction in the brain to be ready for dangers even if there is no current threat. This is true for other signs as well.
For instance a do not enter sign. The color and the shape of the sign represents not entering, even when there are no words on the sign, the color and shape would call the same reaction and level of attention. It is reasonable to suspect that these types of targets would illicit immediate focus and maintain it for a longer period of time. This is due to the fact that these types of signs represent warning and the need to practice safety. Ignoring these signs would go against what has been ingrained in us from a young age, to stay away from danger and prevent harm from occurring to ourselves or others.
It has also been hypothesized that personal photos used as targets would cause a more instant and even longer focus. This has to do with tapping into ones emotional charges. The presentation of photos can trigger the brain to focus more because the brain associates pictures with individual experiences and memories. For example showing a picture of child will illicit more time and focus from a mother. This photo could be of her child or just a general picture. The extended reaction would be the same.
There are proposed disadvantages to using both the signs and the personal photos. These come from the emotional state of the observer. If the images viewed induce a negative memory this could trigger the brain to forget the photos or possibly ignore the photos altogether. In relation to the signs this negative memory could be a car accident or injury, the picture of a baby could trigger memories of the loss of a child or close family or friend. The likelihood of either rejecting or accepting the images is nearly 50/50. In comparison with the CogLab activity these targets would generate a lengthier amount of attention than just the flashing letters. The signs or photos would most likely cause a larger attention blink as we would process the signs or the photos longer than we try to process the flashing letters. However the repetitiveness of the CogLab activity may have an effect on the overall results as it was lengthy and rather boring therefore the results could be skewed due to lack of attention to the task.
Attentional Blink and Occupations
The attentional blink specifically entails paying attention and the possibility of missing the next object or target that appears. This occurrence could be detrimental in occupations which require focus on multiple objects or targets and are fast paced. A few of the occupations include military personnel, factory workers, and bank tellers.
All branches of the military are required to use focus and attention. Someone lapsing in one of the categories could potentially injure or kill themselves and/or their fellow brothers and sisters, especially on the battlefield. Identifying insurgents, civilians, threat areas, and many other things require skill, focus, and attention. When it comes to identifying a potential threat there are many sings and things one has to look for and observe. Everything from posture, clothing, surroundings, and suspicious behaviors can help identify the difference between an insurgent and lawful person. With all the mentioned signs one needs to look for it is probable that someone could miss a possible threat due to the attention blink. This could lead to a surprise attack or a possible threat escaping.
Working in a factory is another occupation that could be affected by the attention blink. Factory workers are responsible for doing many different tasks such as assembly of products and quality control. Most factories operate on an assembly line which generally moves at a fast rate of speed requiring the attention and focus as different parts and products pass in which they have to assemble or check and handle. Implications of missing a defective part or not assembling something improperly are detrimental. This could lead to injury or loss of life as well as cause lawsuits which in turn would hurt the company’s reputation as well as cause a loss in funds for the company. Thousands of recalls are issued every year due to defective products which can be caused by the lack of attention of employees.
Being a bank teller is another occupation which could be affected adversely by attentional blinks.

They often work in fast paced environments and handle large amounts of currency a day. The importance of keeping track of all the types of currency, the amounts, and the values is essential for people and the bank. Attentional blinks could cause tellers to miscount money. When dealing with large amounts of cash, each mistake can have a large effect on the banks totals. For example if a teller counted twenty stacks of fifty dollar bills and missed one bill per stack, the bank would be missing one-thousand dollars. Now imagine if two tellers did it, even it was different sized bills or change. The loss would affect the bank

drastically.
Attentional blink and Vehicle Design
As a society the attentional blink is not the only issue. We also deal with divided attention. Divided attention refers to “dividing our attention between two demanding tasks” (Ashcraft & Radvansky, 2009, p. 129). In other words it is claiming that one can multitask, completing multiple tasks during a specific time period. One of the most controversial issues today is the incidence of dividing attention while operating a vehicle.
Operating a vehicle is complicated enough without all the additional attentional distractions. Drivers are preoccupied with watching other drivers, interacting with passengers, messing with the radio, and now the major issue of talking or texting on their cellphones while driving. The HUD system, or heads-up display, was introduced in order to try and reduce the lack of attention on the roads.
There could be many advantages and disadvantages to the use of a HUD device.

Many studies have been conducted in the use of HUD devices in automobiles, aircraft, and marine vehicles. Some argue that since we are accustomed to looking down at the dash for the gages therefore a HUD device would be distracting. According to a study conducted by Liu & Wen, 2004, “the results showed no significant difference between drivers using HUD and HDD; the drivers, using both displays, completed the two tasks with very high rates of accuracy (goods delivery task: 100% for both displays; navigational task: head-up: 95.8%; head-down: 96.3%).”

With both types of display there is a chance that the driver could suffer from an attentional blink. This can be caused by taking their eyes off the road to look down at the gages, or by focusing on the projected information in front of the driver. It is possible to miss warning signs, pedestrians, animals and other environmental issues. With the HUD device one could also argue that a driver’s attention would constantly be divided as the images are projected constantly. This could lead to the driver trying to focus on the road and the information at the same

time.
Overall HUD devices offer shorter accommodation times as drivers do not have to shift their eyes as far to look at the information and the information can quickly be read. However there can also be perceptual tunneling and it is sometimes “difficult to reach a high optical contrast by the display what results in a high dependence on light conditions” (Ablabmeier, Poitschke, Wallhoff, Bengler & Rigoll, n.d.), in other words it can be hard to read the display. I have driven a vehicle with projected mph displayed and found that it was very beneficial as I did not need to take my eyes off of the road for very long however, I do recall focusing more on the display than on the road constantly looking at it to monitor it. I think that this design could be beneficial but more extensive study on how it will add to the distractions if at all need to be conducted.
Conclusion
An attentional blink occurs when the brain processes a primary target or a target that is observed as more significant first, often causing a second target to be missed. Target importance can be gained and built upon by experience. The more emotionally charged or important a target is can be a major influence on the amount of time an individual pays attention to it. These can be familiar signs or something personal relating to the individual.
There can be many adverse effects of the attentional blink. Many occupations such as the military, factory workers, and bank tellers can be affected by this occurrence causing detrimental outcomes. Injury, loss of life, and loss of funds are a few consequences of employees having attentional blinks.
Lastly, divided attention is becoming more of an issue in our technological society. With most teenage adolescents and adults having cellular phones multitasking is growing rapidly. The HUD device offers many benefits to drivers as well as disadvantages such as perceptual tunneling. With technology rapidly expanding further study has the potential to review our limitations relating to the brain, attention blinks, and divided attention.

References
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