Grab Attention Research Articles

Nuts & Bolts

Nuts & Bolts

The development of ACP in New Zealand: the roll the National ACP Cooperative

The development of ACP in New Zealand (NZ) has been driven by clinicians through the National ACP Cooperative (Cooperative). The effective development and deployment of ACP services in NZ requires...

Tonic pain grabs attention, but leaves the processing of facial expressions intact—Evidence from event-related brain potentials

Emotion and attention are key players in the modulation of pain perception. However, much less is known about the reverse influence of pain on attentional and especially emotional processes. To this end, we employed painful vs. non-painful pressure stimulation to examine effects on the processing of simultaneously presented facial expressions (fearful, neutral, happy). Continuous EEG was recorded and participants had to rate each facial expression with regard to valence and arousal. Painful stimulation attenuated visual processing in general, as reduced P100 and late positive potential (LPP) amplitudes revealed, but did not interfere with structural encoding of faces (N170). In addition, early perceptual discrimination and sustained preferential processing of emotional facial expressions as well as affective ratings were not influenced by pain. Thus, tonic pain demonstrates strong attention-demanding properties, but this does not interfere with concurrently ongoing emotion discrimination processes. These effects point at partially independent effects of pain on emotion and attention, respectively.

Covert attention regulates saccadic reaction time by routing between different visual-oculomotor pathways

Covert attention modulates saccadic performance, e.g., the abrupt onset of a task-irrelevant visual stimulus grabs attention as measured by a decrease in saccadic reaction time (SRT). The attentional advantage bestowed by the task-irrelevant stimulus is short-lived: SRT is actually longer ~200 ms after the onset of a stimulus than it is when no stimulus appears, known as inhibition of return. The mechanism by which attention modulates saccadic reaction is not well-understood. Here, we propose two possible mechanisms: by selective routing of the visuomotor signal through different pathways (routing hypothesis) or by general modulation of the speed of visuomotor transformation (shifting hypothesis). To test them, we designed a cue gap paradigm in which a 100-ms gap was introduced between the fixation point disappearance and the target appearance to the conventional cued visual reaction time paradigm. The cue manipulated the location of covert attention, and the gap interval resulted in a bimodal distribution of SRT, with an early mode (express saccade) and a late mode (regular saccade). The routing hypothesis predicts changes in the proportion of express saccades vs. regular saccades, whereas the shifting hypothesis predicts a shift of SRT distribution. The addition of the cue had no effect on mean reaction time of express and regular saccades, but it changed the relative proportion of two modes. These results demonstrate that the covert attention modification of the mean SRT is largely attributed to selective routing between visuomotor pathways rather than general modulation of the speed of visuomotor transformation.

The dragonfly effect: quick, effective, and powerful ways to use social media to drive social change

Foreword by Chip Heath, author of Made to Stick and Switch. Preface. Introduction: Why Reading This Book Is Worth the Investment. The Dragonfly Body The System That Keeps It Airborne. Wing 1: Focus: How to Hatch a Goal That Will Make an Impact. Wing 2: Grab Attention: How to Stick Out in an Overcrowded, Overmessaged, Noisy World. Wing 3: Engage: How to Make People Connect with Your Goal. Wing 4: Take Action: How to Empower Others, Enable Them and Cultivate a Movement. Onward and Upward You re Flying! Now What? Afterword by Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality. Notes. The Dragonfly Ecosystem. About the Authors. Index.

The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change: Book Review

Foreword by Chip Heath, author of Made to Stick and Switch. Preface. Introduction: Why Reading This Book Is Worth the Investment. The Dragonfly Body The System That Keeps It Airborne. Wing 1: Focus: How to Hatch a Goal That Will Make an Impact. Wing 2: Grab Attention: How to Stick Out in an Overcrowded, Overmessaged, Noisy World. Wing 3: Engage: How to Make People Connect with Your Goal. Wing 4: Take Action: How to Empower Others, Enable Them and Cultivate a Movement. Onward and Upward You re Flying! Now What? Afterword by Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality. Notes. The Dragonfly Ecosystem. About the Authors. Index.

Table of Contents

Abstract Gauging Communications' Effectiveness Analyze Social Media Efforts to Measure Return On Investment Steps to Building a Workable Social Media Strategy Grab Attention With Every Story Time‐saving Technology Website Tool Helps Get News Out Faster Social Media Solutions Is Facebook the Right Place for Your Campaign Ad? Engaging Exhibits Art Tour Promotes Healing Nature of Hospital Effective Marketing Increase Your Understanding of Programs, Services Special Recognition Request White House Greetings for Special Occasions Plan Ahead for Presentations Publicize Board Connections Match Visuals to Audience Size Keep Interview Answers Brief Online Publications Reach Out to Audiences With Simple Electronic Newsletter Writing, Design Basics Produce Newsletters That People Can't Wait to Read Mergers, Alliances Merging? Your Most Important Audience May Be Your Peers Build Awareness, Branding With Interactive Online Game Use Facebook to Promote Your Cause Collaborative Efforts Why Not Host a Tour of Nonprofits Event? Customer Satisfaction Online Surveys Improve Website Efficiency Sharing Message In‐house Take Formal Steps to Communicate Goals Internally Volunteer Involvement Opportunities Abound for Public Relations Committee Grab the Media's Attention High‐tech Solutions Mobile Applications Maximize Meeting Effectiveness Mobile Apps: The New Must‐have Mobile Apps Modernize Meetings

Expertise increases the functional overlap between face and object perception

Recent studies indicate that expertise with objects can interfere with face processing. Although competition occurs between faces and objects of expertise, it remains unclear whether this reflects an expertise-specific bottleneck or the fact that objects of expertise grab attention and thereby consume more central resources. We investigated the perceptual costs of expertise by measuring visual thresholds for identifying targets embedded within RSVP sequences presented at varying temporal rates. Car experts and novices searched for face targets among face and car distractors, or watch targets among watch and car distractors. Remarkably, car experts were slower than novices at identifying faces among task-irrelevant cars, yet faster than novices at identifying watches among cars. This suggests that car expertise leads to greater functional overlap between cars and faces while reducing the functional overlap between cars and objects, a result incompatible with the notion of an encapsulated module for exclusive processing of faces.

Table of Contents

Abstract Reactivate Founding and Former Board Members Take Pride In Your Profession What Is It You Do, Anyway? Making the Most of Inadequate Resources What You Can Do to Raise More With Less Success Is About Attitude Clearinghouse Features Donated Supplies Websites of Interest Retaining Annual Contributions Procedure Follows Anniversary of Previous Year's Gift Abide by Donors' Wishes If You Agree to Gift Restrictions, Honor Them Collaborative Fund‐raising Efforts Group Effort Promotes Planned Giving, Saves Bucks Welcome Coworkers' Assistance Give Fellow Employees Easy Access to Fund Development Add Rewards, Consequences To Performance Expectations Five Kernels of Wisdom For Conducting Mass Mailings Attention‐grabbing Communications Pre‐call Postcard Grabs Attention, Sets Stage for Phonathon Make Use of Donor Photos Concept Paper Helps Shape Funding Proposals Media Relations Practices Want Your Cause Heard? Meet With The Editorial Board Keeping Your Board Informed, Involved What Do You Cover During Your Board Report? Marketing Major Gifts Guidelines for Naming Buildings Useful Bits of Wisdom Tactics Versus Strategies: Know the Difference Managing Telesolicitation Sound Advice for Hiring Productive Student Callers for Your Phonathon When Interviewing Potential Callers Each Rejection Brings You One Step Closer to Success Special Event Insight Celebrity Appearances: Put Details in Writing Multiple Direct Mail Appeals to the Same List Monthly Letters Serve As Relationship‐Builders, Indirect Solicitations Tying Annual Giving to a Multi‐year Campaign One University's Approach at Increasing Annual Support Do Visitors Know Purchases Help Support Your Mission? Anniversary Ideas Development Tools You Can Use Establish a Process For Encouraging Matching Gifts Follow Listening With Action Sharpening Solicitation Skills Listening Skills Key to Fund‐raising Success

The changing landscape of graphic arts

Graphic arts is all about communicating effectively with words, images, illustrations, animation and video. It's about packaging messages to communicate an idea, evoke an emotion or grab attention. Graphic arts designers are increasingly working across all media and pioneering new media expressions in the increasingly interactive world. Even though the past 15 years have seen a major change in the graphic arts, the future will see an even more dramatic and rapid shift to a new communication paradigm. This change is being driven by the evolving shift in the economics of communication, by the increasing flexibility and expressive power of the medium, and by the proliferation of electronic communication. With all of these forces currently driving the graphic arts community, one thing is certain: the graphics advances going forward are totally dependent on technological advances. Embracing rapid technological change is a requirement for survival and success. Graphic design, with the help of advancing technology, will continue to explore and invent the ultimate in man-machine interfaces. The style of communication will evolve and change, just as fashion evolves and changes. There is no right answer, but instead, a constantly changing flow of creativity and fresh ideas.