Lane, David M.2018-12-182018-12-181982Pearson, Deborah A.. "The effect of arousal on a selective attention task." (1982) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104736">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104736</a>.https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104736In two experiments, subjects performed a luminance detection task under conditions of low arousal and high arousal. In the low arousal condition, subjects heard 7 dB(A) broadband noise, and in the high arousal condition they heard 1 dB(A) noise. Stimuli were presented on a cathode ray tube, and appeared at the center and along the perimeter of an imaginary circle. Two expectancy conditions were used: a central expectancy condition, in which most of the stimuli appeared at the center of the screen and a few appeared along the perimeter, and a peripheral condition in which the opposite was true. Subjects responded faster to central stimuli than peripheral stimuli; they also responded faster to expected stimuli than unexpected stimuli. Noise had no effect on the way in which subjects processed location or expectancy information . It was concluded that arousal has no effect on the breadth of attention in this task.53 ppengCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.ThesisRICE2372reformatted digitalThesis Psych. 1982 Pearson