ATTENTION

ATTENTION
 Attention is a state of consciousness in which a
person can respond to a stimulus or stimuli.
 In psychology, a stimulus can be a required task,
an object, or an event that requires a response.
 Attention is a combination of how long a person
can focus and how many things they can focus on.
 Attentional processes are the factors that
influence focus and behavior towards a stimulus.
Essentially, it is how the brain decides to process
information related to a stimulus. What type and
how long a person can sustain their attention is
influenced by those factors.
 It's not just about centering your focus on
one particular thing; it also involves ignoring
a great deal of competing information and
stimuli. Attention allows you to "tune out"
information, sensations, and perceptions
that are not relevant at the moment and
instead focus your energy on the information
that's important.​
 Attention is limited in terms of both capacity
and duration, so it is important to have ways
to effectively manage the attentional
resources we have available in order to make
sense of the world.
DEFINITION
 Attention is the concentration of
consciousness upon one object rather than
upon another.
Dumville, 1938

 Attention is the process of getting an object

of thought clearly before the mind.
Ross, 1951
THE ROLE OF ATTENTION IN LEARNING AND
THINKING
 Attention is a basic component of our biology,
present even at birth. Our orienting reflexes
help us determine which events in our
environment need to be attended to, a process
that aids in our ability to survive.
 Attention plays a critical role in almost every
area of life including school, work, and
relationships. It allows people to focus on
information in order to create memories. It also
allows people to avoid distractions so that they
can focus on and complete specific tasks.
CHARACTERISTICS
 Attention is always changing.
 Attention is always an active center of our
experience.
 It is selective mental process.
 Attention is continuous.
 Attention increases the clarity of the object.
 It is indivisible.
 Attention has cognitive, affective and
conative aspects.
 Attention has narrow range.
 Attention needs motor adjustment.
IMPORTANCE OF ATTENTION

 Without attention you cannot understand.

 You cannot do anything.
 Unable to give feedback.
 Necessary for good communication.
 It improve your performance.
TYPES
1. Sustained Attention
Sustained attention means focusing on a
person, task or activity for a certain time or
until the relevant conversation, task or activity
is complete.
For example, we learn to hone this type of
attention at school by engaging with fellow
learners and teachers. Another example is
when we learn through studying and writing
tests and exams.
CONT…
2. Selective Attention
Selective attention involves being able
to focus on a specific task while simultaneously
being able to block out any background noise
or stimuli. This can be a difficult skill to
master, depending on your level of sensitivity,
but is a valuable tool in being able to function
in a noisy world!
One example includes being able to read
a book while there is loud background noise
around you. However, it can also refer to not
engaging with inner stimuli such as thoughts.
CONT..
3. Divided Attention
When you focus on two or more things at the
same time, you’re using divided attention. You’re
essentially dividing your attention between two or
more tasks. This ability is also known as multitasking.
Divided attention uses focus on a very large scale not
allowing us to fully focus on any one task.
For example, you may have written an email
while attending a webinar.
Divided attention doesn’t last long because you
split your attention between various tasks and
perform them at the same time. Multitasking is
harmful as it affects your productivity in the long run.
You must divide your attention only when it is
absolutely necessary.
CONT…
4. Alternating attention
Similar to divided attention, alternating
attention involves shifting your focus and
switching between multiple tasks. However,
unlike divided attention, you’re not performing
multiple activities at the same time. Even
when you switch your attention among various
tasks, you remain focused on the task at hand.
We use alternating attention more often
than we realize. For example, you switch your
focus between taking notes and making sense
of those notes during a meeting or
presentation.
FACTORS OF ATTENTION
Factors of attention includes
1) External factors
2) Internal factors
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Those factors affecting attention which are concerned with
the environment are called its external factors. Those are;

a. Nature:
Our attention is directed towards an object only when a
stimulus arises. Infants focus their attention on books or
magazines containing colorful pictures. The focusing of attention
depends upon the nature of the stimulus. This concentration will
be greater, if the stimulus is more intense, and less if the
stimulus is weak.
b. Definite Form:
The focusing of attention is also determined by the form
the object possesses. If the object or goal has a definite form,
focusing of attention is more effective and intense, where as in
the case of an object or purpose with an indeterminate form,
focusing of attention is hindered.
c. Size:
It has generally been observed that objects of
big size attract our attention more easily than do
objects of small size. We are easily attracted by
large posters or advertisements hung upon walls.
Teachers, too, often make use of maps, models and
letters of large size to focus the attention of
children upon them more effectively.
d. Movement:
Our attention also, usually, focusses itself
more easily upon stimuli possessing power of
movement. A moving train, a flying aeroplane, or
kite falling from the sky easily attracts the child’s
attention. The teacher, too, can focus the attention
of his students more effectively by using moving
films, animated models and cartoons.
e. Novelty:
Objects which are new to a person’s
experience draw his attention towards themselves
very powerfully. The huge hoardings giving the
message of family planning draw one’s attention
quickly, because the design made upon them is a
novel pattern. In the same way, in the classroom,
the students’ attention will be easily focused, if the
teacher uses new pictures, models maps, etc.
f. Change or Variety:
Whenever there is a change in the stimulus,
the change itself draws the observer’s attention
towards itself. The sudden bursting out of noise in a
quiet and peaceful environment draws one’s
attention, and it is only natural for a person to try to
find out, at once, the cause of the noise.
g. Mysteriousness:
If two people are carrying on a normal
conservation, a third person’s attention is not easily
attracted towards them. But, if they begin talking of
mysterious things or subjects, the observer’s
attention is immediately drawn by the mystery of
their conversation. It is thus evident that when an
element of mystery enters normal or common place
behavior, attention is directed towards it at once.
h. Condition, State or Situation and Achievements:
Many various kinds of stimuli are found
existing in human life, since they arise from the
myriad situations and circumstances in which an
individual finds himself. As a result, the condition or
state of attention will be similar to the condition or
state of the stimulus.
i. Contrast:
Contrast has a very important place in the
focusing of attention. Wherever there is a contrast,
it strikes us and our attention is drawn towards it.
People’s attention is automatically drawn to two
persons, if one of them is fair and the other dark, or
if one of them is very tall and the other very short.
j. Duration:
The focusing of attention is also influenced by
the duration of a stimulus. A stimulus continuing for
a longer period succeeds in retaining the observer’s
attention for a longer time, while, on the other
hand, objects providing a stimulus for a shorter time
hold the observer’s attention for a shorter period.
k. Repetition:
When any object is repeatedly observed
or a lesson is repeatedly learnt or revised, it
attracts attention towards itself. For this
reason teachers are always advised to revise
the lessons taught in class.
l. Intensity:
Powerful and intense stimuli attract our
attention more powerfully than do weak
stimuli. Any bright and strong light or a bright
colour attracts our attention more effectively
than does a soft light or a light colour.
INTERNAL FACTORS
Those factors of attention which reside within the
individual are referred to as the internal factors of attention.
Those are;
a. Attitude:
A person’s attitude towards any object is an indicator of
the period for which the person’s attention may be fixed on it.
As a general rule, a person’s attention remains fixed for a
longer period on those objects towards which he has a
favourable and positive attitude.
b. Aptitude:
The focusing of attention also depends upon the aptitude
of an individual in certain spheres. If a child has greater
aptitude in science than other fields, his attention will focus
more readily on science. Individual tend to focus attention
more deeply upon activities or field of activity for which they
have a greater aptitude.
c. Curiosity:
Every individual has a curiosity to become
familiar with any new object or piece of knowledge
and in order to satisfy that curiosity, he focusses his
attention upon that new object. Curiosity focusses the
observer’s attention upon the mysterious element in
any new object. Individuals become scientists or
philosophers only because of their curiosity drive them
to contemplate these fields of knowledge.
d. Past Experience:
Our past experiences are the foundations of our
attention. When one lesson has been learnt in the
class, the next lesson should be based upon the
knowledge imparted by the first lesson. If this principle
is neglected, the individual’s attention does not focus
itself upon the new lesson being taught.
e. Meaning:
The individual’s attention focusses more conveniently
and quickly upon objects and pieces of knowledge whose
meaning or purpose is readily perceived by him. Children
who understand scientific subjects easily have no difficulty
in focussing their attention on them, as they proceed to
relatively more complex chapters and lessons, because they
have understood the meaning of the preceding lessons.
f. Habit:
Habit is that condition of attention which develops
specially from the bodily mechanism and its activity. It is
because of habit that our attention focusses upon a
particular activity. It is often seen that the cricket players
become so habituated to the game that they can often be
seen standing by the roadside and listening to cricket
commentaries with complete attention and absorption.
Their whole attention focusses upon the commentary
without any effort.
g. Goal:
Every object connected with a goal desired
by the individual attracts his attention. During
examinations, students fix their attention upon
the questions asked by the teacher, because
those questions are at the moment, a means to
their goal of succeeding in examination.
h. Necessity:
Our attention also focuses itself upon those
objects which either satisfy our needs or help in
their satisfaction. It is a normal thing for our
attention to be focused upon food when we are
hungry or upon water when thirsty.
 Apart from these conditions, instinctive
needs, such as hunger, thirst, emotions,
philosophy of life, and interests are also true
internal factors of attention.
SPAN OF ATTENTION
An attention span is a measure of the
amount of time someone can stay focused on a
particular task, thought, or conversation without
being distracted.
Having a long attention span is important
for individuals to focus, learn new information and
skills, and organize such information in the brain.
A person’s attention span also affects social
interactions; some people struggle to remain
focused on conversations without becoming
distracted.
AVERAGE TIME
As of 2015, the average amount of
concentrated time people spent on a task
without becoming distracted was
approximately 8.25 seconds, compared to the
year 2000, where the average attention span
was 12 seconds.
There are different ways to improve
attention span, which include limiting
distractions such as telephones, computers,
tablets, and other electronic devices, focusing
on a single task, and using relaxation to boost
focus.
FLUCTUATION OF ATTENTION:
 It appears for us that our attention can be
concentrated on a particular act for more time.
But careful observation clearly shows that we
cannot concentrate on a single act or stimulus for
more than few seconds.
 When we are seeing an object or listening to a
sound, after few seconds, the attention will be
shifted towards other stimulus or other area of the
stimulus for a fraction of time and returns to the
original stimulus.
 This process is called fluctuation. Here we will be
unable to notice this short shrift. This
phenomenon can be demonstrated experimentally.
 In Figure 3.1 on constant observation the
figure of the book appears for sometime as
partially closed and partially open for some
time. Similarly, in the figure of a woman,
constant attention leads to perception of the
faces of old woman and young lady
alternately. Such a temporary shift in
attention is called fluctuation of attention.
DISTRACTION OF ATTENTION
The tendency for objects or stimuli to pass in and
out of attention even though stimulation is constant.
When our attention is concentrated on a particular
act or stimulus, some other more powerful stimulus may
draw our attention and holds it to remain there for more
time.It may or may not return to the earlier stimulus.
For example, while reading a book, our
concentration will be on the book. Meanwhile if we
listen to an attractive music sound, our attention may be
shifted towards that under such circumstances,
physically we may be reading the book, but we may not
follow the contents. Students are much affected by
distraction. Hence, they should learn to have
concentration of mind on studies.
IMPROVING ATTENTION
Avoiding multitasking: If you want to improve
your focus, try to avoid multitasking. Trying to
juggle multiple tasks hurts productivity, so you
can make the most of your limited attentional
research by only working on one thing at a time.
Getting enough sleep: Research has shown
that sufficient sleep is essential for maintaining
optimal levels of attention. Not only that, the
two appear to have a bidirectional relationship;
sleep helps regulate attention, but attentional
demands can also play a role in sleep.
Practicing mindfulness: Mindfulness, which
involves paying attention to the present
moment, is sometimes conceived of as a form of
attention. Research has shown that mindfulness
training may be helpful for improving attention.
Decrease distractions: Set up your workspace to
be free from distraction - away from the door
(where people come and go), away from the
window (and distractions outside), and free from
clutter, electronic media, and other distractions.
Get organised: Use time management and
organisational strategies to streamline your day.
Break tasks down into smaller chunks:
Smaller tasks are easier to complete, easier to
organise and are less overwhelming. They are
also more easily done while your mind is fresh
and before your concentration wanes.
Include breaks in activities and tasks: Breaks
after work is completed can help you to
refocus on the next task.
Use problem-solving: Effective problem-
solving includes defining a problem you want
to work on, brainstorming solutions, selecting
a solution and trying it out, and reviewing the
outcome.