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Journal Article 4.1: Johnsrude, I. S., Mackey, A., Hakyemez, H., Alexander, E., Trang, H. P., & Carlyon, R. P. (2013). Swinging at a cocktail party: Voice familiarity aids speech perception in the presence of a competing voice. Psychological Science, 24(10), 1995-2004.

Abstract: People often have to listen to someone speak in the presence of competing voices. Much is known about the acoustic cues used to overcome this challenge, but almost nothing is known about the utility of cues derived from experience with particular voices--cues that may be particularly important for older people and others with impaired hearing. Here, we use a version of the coordinate-response-measure procedure to show that people can exploit knowledge of a highly familiar voice (their spouse’s) not only to track it better in the presence of an interfering stranger’s voice, but also, crucially, to ignore it so as to comprehend a stranger’s voice more effectively. Although performance declines with increasing age when the target voice is novel, there is no decline when the target voice belongs to the listener’s spouse. This finding indicates that older listeners can exploit their familiarity with a speaker’s voice to mitigate the effects of sensory and cognitive decline.

Journal Article 4.2: Lee, Y. -C., Lee, J. D., & Boyle, L. N. (2007). Visual attention in driving: The effects of cognitive load and visual disruption. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 49(4), 721-733.

Abstract: This study investigates the effect of cognitive load on guidance of visual attention. Previous studies have shown that cognitive load can undermine driving performance, particularly drivers’ ability to detect safety-critical events. Cognitive load combined with the loss of exogenous cues, which can occur when the driver briefly glances away from the roadway, may be particularly detrimental. In each of two experiments, twelve participants engaged in an auditory task while performing a change detection task. A change blindness paradigm was implemented to mask exogenous cues by periodically blanking the screen in a driving simulator while a change occurred. Performance measures included participants’ sensitivity to vehicle changes and confidence in detecting them. Cognitive load uniformly diminished participants’ sensitivity and confidence, independent of safety relevance or lack of exogenous cues. Periodic blanking, which simulated glances away from the roadway, undermined change detection to a greater degree than did cognitive load; however, drivers’ confidence in their ability to detect changes was diminished more by cognitive load than by periodic blanking. Cognitive load and short glances away from the road are additive in their tendency to increase the likelihood of drivers missing safety-critical events. This study demonstrates the need to consider the combined consequence of cognitive load and brief glances away from the road in the design of emerging in-vehicle devices and the need to provide drivers with better feedback regarding these consequences.

Journal Article 4.3: Yantis, S. (2008). The neural basis of selective attention: Cortical sources and targets of attentional modulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(2), 86-90.

Abstract: Selective attention is an intrinsic component of perceptual representation in a visual system that is hierarchically organized. Modulatory signals originate in brain regions that represent behavioral goals; these signals specify which perceptual objects are to be represented by sensory neurons that are subject to contextual modulation. Attention can be deployed to spatial locations, features, or objects, and corresponding modulatory signals must be targeted within these domains. Open questions include how nonspatial perceptual domains are modulated by attention and how abstract goals are transformed into targeted modulatory signals.

Journal Article 4.4: Loh, K. K., & Kanai, R. (2015). How has the internet reshaped human cognition? The Neuroscientist, 22(5), 506-520.

Abstract: Throughout our evolutionary history, our cognitive systems have been altered by the advent of technological inventions such as primitive tools, spoken language, writing, and arithmetic systems. Thirty years ago, the Internet surfaced as the latest technological invention poised to deeply reshape human cognition. With its multifaceted affordances, the Internet environment has profoundly transformed our thoughts and behaviors. Growing up with Internet technologies, “Digital Natives” gravitate toward “shallow” information processing behaviors characterized by rapid attention shifting and reduced deliberations. They engage in increased multitasking behaviors that are linked to increased distractibility and poor executive control abilities. Digital natives also exhibit higher prevalence of Internet-related addictive behaviors that reflect altered reward-processing and self-control mechanisms. Recent neuroimaging investigations have suggested associations between these Internet-related cognitive impacts and structural changes in the brain. Against mounting apprehension over the Internet’s consequences on our cognitive systems, several researchers have lamented that these concerns were often exaggerated beyond existing scientific evidence. In the present review, we aim to provide an objective overview of the Internet’s impacts on our cognitive systems. We critically discuss current empirical evidence about how the Internet environment has altered the cognitive behaviors and structures involved in information processing, executive control, and reward-processing.