Early-selection theories of attention propose that
A) stimuli are screened out before the brain processes the meaning of sensory input.
B) stimuli are screened out after the brain processes the meaning of sensory input.
C) attention is distributed equally among all stimulus inputs that are above threshold.
D) stimuli are screened out before they reach the sense organs.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Early-selection theories propose that stimuli are screened out before the brain processes the meaning of sensory input, often at the level of sensory processing or perceptual analysis, based on low-level features like location, color, or pitch. These theories suggest that attentional selection occurs early in the processing stream, when sensory input is still being analyzed, in order to reduce the amount of information that needs to be processed at higher levels of cognition. Examples of early-selection theories include Broadbent's filter theory and Treisman's attenuation theory.

Early-Selection Theories of Attention Propose That