Keren G
J Exp Psychol Gen. 1976 Dec;105(4):349-74.
The present article deals with selective attention phenomena and elaborates on a stimulus material classification, "stimulus set" versus "response set," proposed by Broadbent (1970, 1971)9 Stimulus set is defined by some distinct and conspicuous physical properties that are inherent in the stimulus. Response set is characterized by the meaning it conveys, and thus its properties are determined by cognitive processing on the part of the organism. Broadbent's framework is related to Neisser's (1967) distinction between two perceptual-cognitive processes, namely, preattentive control and focal attention. Three experiments are reported. A before-after paradigm was employed in Experiment 1, together with a sptial arrangement manipulation of relevant versus irrelevant stimuli (being grouped or mixed). The results indicated that before-after instruction had a stronger effect under stimulus set than under response set conditions. Spatial arrangement, on the other hand, affected performances under response set but not under stimulus set conditions. These results were interpreted as supporting the idea that stimulus set material, which is handled by preattentive mechanisms, may be processed in parallel, while response set material requires focal attention that is probably serial in nature. Experiment 2 used a search task with different levels of noise elements. Although subjects were not able to avoid completely the processing of noise elements, they had much more control under stimulus set than under response set conditions. Experiment 3 dealt with memory functions and suggests differential levels of perceptual processing depending on the nature of the stimulus material. This extends the memory framework suggested by Craik and Lockhart (1972). The results of these experiments, together with evidence from other behavioral and physiological studies, lend strong support to the proposed theory. At the theoretical level, it is suggested that the distinction between stimulus and response set, and the corresponding one between preattentive mechanisms and focal attention, are on a continuum rather than being an all-or-none classification. Thus, it permits greater congnitive flexibility on the part of the organism, which is reflected through the assumption that both preattentive mechanisms and focal attention may operate simultaneously and differ only in the salience of their functioning. From a methodological point of view, the distinction between stimulus material and organismic processes is emphasized. It is argued that researchers have not given sufficient attention to the properties of the stimulus materials that they have used, and as a consequence have reached unwarranted conclusions, as exemplified by a few studies that are briefly discussed.
本文探讨了选择性注意现象，并详细阐述了布罗德本特（1970年，1971年）提出的一种刺激材料分类，即“刺激集”与“反应集”。刺激集由刺激中固有的一些明显且显著的物理属性定义。反应集的特征在于它所传达的意义，因此其属性由有机体的认知加工决定。布罗德本特的框架与奈塞尔（1967年）对两种感知 - 认知过程的区分有关，即前注意控制和集中注意。报告了三个实验。实验1采用前后范式，同时对相关刺激与无关刺激进行空间排列操作（分组或混合）。结果表明，前后指令在刺激集条件下比在反应集条件下具有更强的效果。另一方面，空间排列影响反应集条件下的表现，但不影响刺激集条件下的表现。这些结果被解释为支持以下观点：由前注意机制处理的刺激集材料可能并行处理，而反应集材料需要集中注意，而集中注意可能本质上是串行的。实验2使用了具有不同噪声元素水平的搜索任务。尽管受试者无法完全避免对噪声元素的处理，但他们在刺激集条件下比在反应集条件下有更多的控制。实验3涉及记忆功能，并表明根据刺激材料的性质存在不同水平的感知加工。这扩展了克雷克和洛克哈特（1972年）提出的记忆框架。这些实验的结果，连同其他行为和生理学研究的证据，为所提出的理论提供了有力支持。在理论层面上，有人认为刺激集和反应集之间的区别，以及前注意机制和集中注意之间的相应区别，是连续的，而不是全或无的分类。因此，它允许有机体具有更大的认知灵活性，这通过前注意机制和集中注意可能同时运作且仅在其运作的显著性上有所不同这一假设得到体现。从方法论的角度来看，强调了刺激材料与有机体过程之间的区别。有人认为，研究人员没有充分关注他们所使用的刺激材料的属性，因此得出了不合理的结论，一些简要讨论的研究就是例证。
