PSY30400 Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Part 12
Chapter 4: Attention
• Feature Integration Theory:
o proposed by Treisman
o Proposes a two stage process as to why we perceive individual features as part
of a whole
▪ 1. Preattentive Stage:
• objects are analyzed into separate features
• ball analyzed into features such as color, shape, and movement
• Each feature processed in a different area of the brain, so
independent of one another
• Not aware of this breakdown into individual features because it
occurs early in the perceptual process before we have become
conscious of the object
o Did an experiment to show this
o consisted of a display flanked by two black numbers
o flashed light on a screen for 1/5 second, followed by a
random dot masking field designed to eliminate any
residual perception that might remain after the stimuli
were turned off
o Subjects told to report black number first and then report
what they saw in the other locations
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