UNIT 3

ATTENTION
Definition of attention

A state in which cognitive resources are focused on certain

aspects of the environment rather than on others and the central
nervous system is in state of readiness to respond to stimuli
 Meaning of attention
 The concept of Attention is studied in Cognitive Psychology with focus on explaining
how we process the environmental information with the help of our sensory receptors

 The term attention is used for various perceptual processes, which involves selection and
inclusion of certain sensory inputs as a part of our conscious experience.

 The process of attention involves the very act of listening and concentrating on a
specific object, topic or event, for fulfilling the desired goals.
 Attention is a process, which does not only involve focusing or c
 Concentrating on one thing, but it is equally concerned about ignoring the competing
stimuli or information which is available in the environment.

 Attention allows a person to “tune out” the less relevant information, perception or
sensation for that moment and instead focus more or prioritize more on the information
which is more relevant. Attention improves our concentration or consciousness on a
selective object only, which helps in improving the clarity or focus on the object which is
being perceived
 Attention cannot be simply regarded to be a cognitive process only, as it is also
influenced by emotions, attitude, interest and memory.

 The process of attention takes place through our cognitive abilities, but the
behavioural and emotional factors help in the selection of the relevant information
or stimuli from the environment for focusing one’s consciousness around one event
or thing for having a clear perception.

 Attention is limited in terms of duration and capacity. It is for this limitation, that multi-
tasking hardly bears productive results because of this limited attention capacity.
 The process of attention involves selectively attending to certain specific variables
while filtering out the less relevant or various other variables.

 Attention is a key component of our cognitive system which starts right from the
stage of our birth. For example, a newborn quickly responds to the environment’s
stimuli such as loud noise by turning his head towards that direction.
 Types of Attention

 Non-Volitional (Involuntary Attention): This type of attention does not involve any role
of will; instead it is aroused either by instincts and hence called enforced attention or
is produced by our sentiments and therefore called as spontaneous non-volitional
attention. Examples of non-volitional attention could be attention paid to the
members of the opposite gender or a mother’s attention on noticing her crying
child.

 Volitional (Voluntary Attention): Volitional attention exercises the will and demands
our conscious effort for arriving at a solution or achieving certain goals. Unlike Non
Volitional attention, Volitional attention is less spontaneous or automatic. Examples of
volitional attention could be paying attention while solving maths problem or
attention focused on while answering examination questions.
 Sustained Attention: It is the ability to pay attention to only one task by consciously
concentrating on that task only for a long time enough and by avoiding all other
forms of distractions or deviations. This kind of attention requires a good deal of focus
as well as determination for being able to concentrate on a given task by keeping
away all the distractions. Sustained attention examples could be reading a book,
memorizing a chapter or following a classroom lecture.

 Selective Attention: In this case, the listener chooses to pay attention to only a
specific stimulus which is present in the environment while ignoring the other stimuli.
This kind of attention does not depend on the stimulus but depends essentially on the
attentive capabilities of an observer.

 Divided Attention: In case of divided attention, the user pays attention to two or more
tasks at the same time and is also sometimes regarded as Multi-tasking which involves
juggling between two or more than two tasks at the same time. Its examples could be
texting somebody while attending a meeting. Divided attention uses mental focus on
a very large scale; hence because of divided attention the user may get exhausted
very quickly.
 Alternating Attention: Though this attention can be closely related to divided
attention, but is different as in case of divided attention we split our attention
between two tasks, while in case of alternating attention, the entire attention is
shifted from one task to another or is done alternately.

 Visual Attention: Visual attention makes use of the sensory organ eyes for paying
attention to certain details. Visual attention pays attention to the details or inputs
which are received by the eyes only and blurs out all the other stimuli which is
present in the environment. Visual attention is put to use in case of advertising
and reading.

 Auditory Attention: This form of attention pays attention only to the sense of
hearing only. Paying attention to an important announcement can be an
example of auditory attention. Auditory and visual attention both function in
conjunction with each other.
SPAN OF ATTENTION
 The term “span of attention‟ refers to the number of objects which can be
grasped in one short presentation.
 Span of attention actually tells us that how many things can exist in the
focus of consciousness at one time in an individual. It refers to the numbers
of object which can be grasped in one short presentation.
 The span of Visual apprehension is observed through the instruments
named Tachistoscope.
 A person’s attention span also affects social interactions; some people
struggle to remain focused on conversations without becoming distracted
or fidgeting.
 The average digit span for normal adults without error is seven plus or minus
two, which was given by George Miller and is called the magic number
 Using an instrument called ‘Tachistoscope’, it is experimentally proved that
an individual can grasp 4-5 digits or letters easily within a fraction of time.
 It is also proved that span will be more for meaningful material like words,
than digits or non-sense syllables. It may be observed that digits on number
plates of automobile vehicles are restricted to 4 only.
 DIVISION OF ATTENTION
 Attending to more than one act at a time is known as division of attention. In such
situations, we will divide our attention towards more than one act.
 For example, a tailor will be stitching the cloths and also speaking to his customers. A
nurse will be observing the pulse of a patient and also changes on his face. We ride
a scooter while speaking to our friends.
 In such activities the attention is not divided, but it is possible to perform more than
one act because, either our attention is shifted from one act to another rapidly, or
our attention is concentrated on only one act and the remaining activities are
carried on automatically.
 Such activities do not need our attention, because these are almost mechanical. But
in some technical jobs, attention has to be divided to perform more than one act at
a time.
 However, under such circumstances, the quality and quantity of the task is affected.
This can be proved experimentally by using a “Division of attention board”.
 FLACTUATION 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. Such a temporary shift in attention is
called fluctuation of attention.
FLACTUATION OF ATTENTION

 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.
DISTRACTION OF ATTENTION

 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.
 DETERMINANTS OF ATTENTION

 Attention can be influenced by both external and internal factors.

 External factors that affects attention are called Objective determinants while
internal factors affecting attention are called Subjective determinants.
 External (objective) Factors: These are the factors which are external in nature
and are usually governed by the characteristics of the stimuli. These external
factors could be related to the nature of the stimuli, the intensity as well as the
size of the stimuli, the degree to which contrast, variety or change is present in
the stimuli
 Internal (Subjective) factors: The subjective factors which influence attention are
interests, motive, mind set and our attitudes & moods.
 External / Objective Factors

 1. Nature of the stimulus: All types of stimuli are not able to bring the same degree of
attention. A picture attracts attention more readily than words. Among the pictures,
the pictures of human beings invite more attention and those of human beings
related to beautiful women or handsome men, who attract more attention. In this
way an effective stimulus should always be chosen for capturing maximum
attention.

 2. Intensity and size of the stimulus: In comparison with the weak stimulus, the
immense stimulus attracts more attention of an individual. Our attention become
easily directed towards a loud sound, a bright light or a strong smell, and also a
large building will be more readily attended to, than a small one.
 Contrast, change and variety: Change and variety strike attention more easily
than sameness and absence of change, e.g. we do not notice the ticking sound
of a clock put on the wall until it stops ticking, that is any change in the attention
to which you have been attracted immediately capture your attention. The
factor, contact or change is highly responsible for capturing attention of the
organism and contributes more than the intensity, size or nature of the stimulus.

 Repetition of stimulus: Repetition is the factor of great importance in securing

attention. Because one may ignore a stimulus at first instance, but if it is repeated
for several times it captures our attention, e.g. a miss-spelled word is more likely to
be noticed, if it occurs twice in the same paragraph than, if it occurs only once.
While giving lecture the important aspects of the speech are often repeated so
that the attention of the audience can be easily directed to the valuable points.

 Movement of the stimulus: The moving stimulus catches our attention more quickly
than a stimulus that does not move. We are more sensitive to objects that move in
our field of vision, e.g. advertisers make use of this fact and try to catch the
attention of people through moving electric lights.
Internal or Subjective Factors:

 Interest: Interest is said to be the mother of attention. We attend to objects

in which we have interest. We would like to watch a movie or a serial in TV
because we are interested in the subject around which the movie or serial
revolves. In any get-together if any subject of our interest is discussed that
attracts our attention easily and makes us to participate in the discussion. In
our day-to-day life we pay attention to the stimulus we are interested in.

 Motives: Our basic needs and motives to a great extent, determine our
attention, thirst, hunger, sex, curiosity, fear are some of the important
motives that influence attention, e.g. small children get attracted towards
eatables.
 Mind set: Person’s readiness to respond determines his attention. If we are
expecting a stimulus, occurrence of that stimulus along with many other
stimuli may not come in the way of attending to that particular stimulus. At
a time when students are expecting the examination time table by the end
of the semester the time table put out on the notice board along with other
notices would attract their attention easily.

 Moods and attitudes: What we attend to is influenced by the moods and

attitudes. When we are disturbed or in angry mood, we notice the smallest
mistake of others very easily. Likewise our favourable and unfavourable
attitudes also determine our attention. After discussing subjective and
objective factors, we realize that these factors are interrelated. How much
or in what way we attend to a stimulus depends on subjective as well as
objective factors.