Psychology: Attention

source: http://www.visionapexcollege.blogspot.com
Attention

Topics mentioned in the BBA course

a.       Meaning and factors of attention

b.      Types of attention

c.       Attention span

d.      Fluctuation and division of attention

e.       Distraction

Definition

 Attention is a selective mental process through which the individual brings the selcted stimulus in his/her focus of consciousness.

Ordinarily we speak of giving attention to objects, of concentrating attention some object or shifting attention from one object to another. This may give the impression that attention is some faculty or power that we can use at will. But it is better to speak of attending, the act, process or function of attending rather than any power.

Psychology studies mental processes and activities but it is difficult to do this without attending to them. Attending to an object is to bring that object to consciousness. To perceive an object is to bring that object to consciousness. To perceive an object, to think about it, to solve some problem about it, to remember it and the like is not possible without attending to it. By attending to any thing we bring it within the realm of consciousness. Attention is the heart of the conscious process and is basic to all mental activity and behavior. Attention in a way precedes all mental activity.

The field of attention is narrower than the filed of consciousness or awareness. It is concentrated awareness of a selected aspect of our environment. We are said to be attending to an object when our sense-activity is focused on any particular stimulus. Such stimuli standout more prominently from the rest of the environment and are more clearly perceived.

Attention is not always fixed. Shifting is the nature of attention. Attention is always fluctuating and shifting, our interest and needs are changing and they affect the process of attending, and then some outside objects by their force and intensity compel attention.

Attention is not just looking on. It is an active process, involving give-and-take with the environment. When we attend to anything we are inclined to do something about it be it simply to keep it before our mind or to remove it from consciousness.

Attention is a process of adjustment. By attending the individual adjust himself inner needs or to outer stimuli.

Importance of attention

 It is often of great importance to the individual whether he attends to an object carefully or not. Accidents are the result of the failure or lack of careful attention to small detail.

By attending sensory discrimination is improved. We are exposed to a large number of stimuli but attention separates its object from the rest and enables us to observe it carefully. This focused attention make fine distinctions in perceive things which otherwise would have passed unnoticed. Attention makes things clearer and more distinct.

Attention also directs our energies. We respond to some and ignore others. To be attentive is to concentrate one’s efforts in a certain direction so that things and ideas we attend to are relevant to our needs and purposes.

Attention increases efficiency. It helps us to get ready to meet any situation. Attention is a preparatory adjustment and inattentive people are seldom efficient and successful.

Lastly, attention helps us to remember experiences more accurately and fully. Those things to which we attend very carefully are recalled with vividness and in detail.

Bodily adjustment in attention

It is already mentioned that attention is an active process. It is selective, purposeful, fluctuating. Within a span of attention we concentrate our attention. The attended object is clearer than other objects. In the process of attention we make certain bodily movements by way of adjustment. While attending we prepare our body suitably for action. The changed body posture enables the sense-organs to function best. It also helps to concentrate. There is also some tension in the body muscles if the body is poised for action. The mind is also very active to attend and respond to the attended object.

Characteristics of attention

a.      mental process

b.      selective process

c.       motivational process

d.      always shifting

e.       increases the clearness of the stimuli (figure and background)

f.        Attention goes before perception and reaction

g.      Purposive

h.      Dynamic

i.        Exploratory

j.        Adjustive in nature (for body and tension reduction)

Factors that affect attention

Laws of attention

Why people attend some objects and ignore others? To answer this psychologists have laid down some laws or conditions which decides what to attend and what not to. Broadly, there are (1) internal conditions, and (2) external conditions which determine what object will attract or compel attention. Some psychologists call them as determinants of attention and classify them as ‘subjective’ (internal) and ‘objective’ (external).

Subjective determinants of attention

It is a common experience that some person attend and other ignores to any object. This is because of subjective or personal factor. In many situation, individual determines what object to attend and not attend. The subjective determinants in attention include the following:

·         Aim/ goal

·         Attitudes

·         Basic needs (food deprivation)

·         Curiosity

·         Education and training

·         Emotion

·         Habit or practice

·         Individual’s internal desire and needs

·         Interest

·         Meaning and understanding (traditional doctors and treatment)

·         Mental set

·         Mood

·         Past experiences

·         Purpose and goal, etc.

·         Social motives

·         Temparament (religious, musical, cool nature, etc.

·         Training (clothmakers, army,)

Objective determinants of attention

Objective determinants of attention are concerned with the environmental factors which include the objects and its qualities and intensities.

·     One of the important external or objective conditions or determinants of attention is change. Other things being equal, we are almost always more likely to notice a changing stimulus than an unchanging one. The suddenness of the change attracts our attention.

·     Another factor of advantage is holding and securing attention is the intensity of the stimulus. A strong or intense stimulus will attract attention more readily than a weak one. A loud noise, bright color or light draws attention. A bright color or light will draw attention while a more subdued one would not.

·     The size of the stimulus is more likely to get noticed than other stimuli.

·     Repitition is another such condition that draws attention. Objects presented again and again are sure to secure attention.

·     Newness or novelty and contrast also attract attention. Objects different from the type we are accustomed to see are readily noticed. We do not pay any attention to common or familiar objects in the context. Any newness or contrast in the environment can draw our attention.

Other external determinants

·      Nature of stimulus:  all related to the sense organs

·      Intensity of the stimulus: highly intense stimulus is more attentive than others

·      Size of the stimulus: More than average is more attentive -- Advertisement.

·      Position of the stimulus:  Figure and background, etc.

·      Isolation of the stimulus:

·      Duration of the stimulus: the longer the presence the longer the influence to the sense organs – advertisement.

·      Repetition of the stimulus: advertisement – jeevan jal

·      Change of the stimulus: sudden change in the stimulus, no sound etc.

·      Novelty of the stimulus: in the environment attracts attention

·      Contrast of the stimulus: female among the male,

·      Movement of the stimulus

·      Rareness of the stimulus

·      Strangeness or secrecy of the stimulus

Kinds of attention

Types

- All attentions are not conscious and selective

- Some attention is due to the nature of the stimulus

- Some attention is due to habitual reaction

According to Stout

1.      Voluntary attention

-          interest, wishes, needs, purposes are related with voluntary attention.

-          controlled attention

-          selective

-          preparedness

Voluntary attention is onf intentional nature. Whenever we intentionally or deliberately look or listen, the process of attention is voluntary. For example, if some one says 0 look here, listen what is being said, and if we respond to these commands accordingly, we are attending voluntarily.

2.      Involuntary attention

-          Sudden change in the environment – big sound, intensity of light, unique situation etc.

-          less concern with motives, interest, and needs

-          stimulus is more important that functional factors

-          person is not prepared for the attention

-          Not under the control of the individual

Sometimes, certain stimulus force become so potential that our attention is drawn towards that without any conscious effort or intention. For such attentions, we are usually not mentally set but our attention is abruptly drawn towards these stimuli. For example, a pistol shot, an intense flash of light, alarming siren sound, sudden cry of a child etc. have a force in themselves, to draw our attention without any deliberate effort.

3.      Habitual attention

4.      if attented due to nature, habit, practice, education, and attitude it is called habitual attention.

5.      Depends upon the nature and need, habit, attitude of the individual e.g., shoemaker and the shoes

Most often we atten to those objects more readily for which we have a mental set of habitual nature. For example, a young boy's readiness to notice a beautiful girl and a girl's readiness to notice a handsome boy our readiness to perceive good in the actions of our friends and evils in the actions of enemies, showing recurring interest in particular food and drink, etc. are the example of habitual sort of readiness, under the influence of which our attention is automatically drawn. A chain smoker is seen suddenly drawn towards an advertisement of cigarette. All these instances of our everyday life are the examples of habitual attention.

1.       Voluntary attention

Voluntary attention is that which is willingly directed to an object. An analysis reveals elements of desire and interest, aim and social adjustment in voluntary attention. In the foregoing example the student directs his attention because of some particular aim like the passing of an examination, acquiring knowledge or one of a number of other goals. He takes interest in studying. Like other activities attention is just another form of adjustment. The difference between voluntary and involuntary attention is that while the former is secured b the motivational elements in the individual, the motivating elements exist outside in the latter case.

2.       Involuntary attention

As has been explained above, involuntary attention is not only directed by the individual's desire or motivation, it may even be against it. It generally hinders the process of goal seeking. If, for example, your attention is attracted by a song while you are studying, your studies will suffer. Social adjustment is similarly obstructed by involuntary attention. The proper adjustment of a student can be the outcome, only of an undisturbed attention to his studies. On account of the fact that one can pay attention to only one thing at a time, the student will not be able to attend to his studies if his attention continually wanders in other directions. Obviously, a person forgets his goal owing to involuntary attention and cannot effect his adjustment.

3.       Habitual attention

Besides the two types mentioned above, there is third type, the habitual or non-voluntary attention. The difference between non-voluntary and in-voluntary attention is that the former type is the result of some habit or practice and the motivation is in the individual but the reason for the attention in the latter type is in the object. Habitual attention is different from voluntary attention because habitual attention has no need for a will as the latter does. But continued application of voluntary attention converts it into habitual attention. For example, a student pays voluntary attention to study in the beginning but it is gradually transformed into habitual attention towards reading and writing. Thus the position of habitual attention is in between voluntary and involuntary types of attention.

Actually the above distinctions in attention are not very clear. The difference between voluntary and involuntary attention is often only just discernible. No attention can be said to belong to any one of the three types exclusively. A scholar has to exercise his will in spite of his involuntary attention in reading. There is an unconscious desire to pay attention to an object which involuntarily draws your attention. In this way the difference in the types of attention is small though it is of great importance form the psychological vew-point.

The nature of attention permits of its concentration in only one direction at one time. Direction of attention to two or more objects means either their acceptance as one or such an oscillation of attention between all of them as gives the imression of sijulte\aneous attention.

Division of attention

Sometimes we claim doing two things simultaneously. For example, one may copy from a page and also listen to radio. Whether under such situations, there is division of attention? Is still an open question. Studies done on this aspect have revealed that if one of the two tasks is of autonomic nature, it is possible to attend both the task simultaneously with almost equal efficiency. Autonomic tasks generally require no conscious effort of attending. Only one of the tasks generally requires conscious effort to attend. For example, a student can simultaneously read and listen radio, a typist can work on type machine and also listen to a story. In such cases one of the task becomes so autonomic that they require attention only in intervals and therefore all attention can be directed to another task. However, when both tasks require conscious efforts to attend, attention is divided between them and the tasks cannot be performed so efficiently as those which are given attention separately. Thus, attention has the attribute of being divided when two stimuli simultaneously require focus.

Attention span

Of all the stimulus around us, we attend to only a few. Attention divide our field of conscious experience in to focus and margin. The objects, things or events that exist in the focus stand out as distinct and clear. Rest are in the margin and we are either unaware of them or if at all, give a very dim, and ambiguous apprehension.

What number or amount of objects can simultaneously exist in the focus? This question has been subjected to experimental investigation. The general opinion is that in a single act of attention, one can attend to only one object. However, this statement need to be further analysed. Objects may be simple or complex. For example, you observe a house as a single unit or object. But this house is a composite of several objects-windows, doors,number of floors, etc. each one is an unit in itself. Therefore, the singleness of the object varies according to purpose in hand.

Experiments show that number of objects  one can hold in his focus of attention is usually limited. This is referred to span of attention -  that is the number of stimuli attended to in a single act of attention. Span of attention is the number of objects that stand out distn\inctively clear inone single moment of observation.

Fluctuation of attention

Fluctuation of attention is the length of time one can attend  continuously to a single object. Attention is not steady or concentrated throughout. At one time the object come in our focu, at another time, it goes out from focus.  Closely related to fluctuation is shift of attention.  In shift of attention our attention passes from one stimulus to another or from one part of a complex stimulus to another part. The reversible figure is an example where attention shift from one figure to another.

Attention is a mobile or dynamic activity, and it is difficult to attend to one a particular object for any great length of time. When attention moves from one object to another, it is called the shifting of attention. But even when the attention persists with one object, it grows more or less in degree. This is called fluctuation of attention.

The cause of fluctuation in attention has attributed to the temporary slackness in the mental activities and sense organs. Some psychologists found the fluctuation even when the muscles had been numbed. The fluctuation is then believed to be due to the changes in adjustment or adaptation. Though nothing can be said definitely about this matter but still, the importance of the sense, mind, psychological state and environmental factors in fluctuation of attention is undeniable.

Distraction

Distraction means the dividing of attentions or some interference in attention. The object which causes the distraction is called the distractor. In fact, broken attention is not the absence of attention because the distractor is associated with the activitiy, often though not always, and it no longer interferes with the activity.

Thus, the notion that distraction invariably hinders work is misleading.  Experiments conducted by Morgan indicated that at first distraction caused a drop in the speed of typewriting but constant pursuit of the work in the disturbed condition increased this speed, and it again dropped when distraction was removed. But distraction, in some experiments by

Weber caused harm. Though it cannot be definitely said that distraction increases the speed of the work, it is possible, to say with some degree of confidence, that a decrease in speed due to distraction is not enevitable. Actually the effect of a distraction on some work depends in no small measure upon the capacity, interest, practice, skill and mental set of the worker. If the distraction is favorable the speed will be increased but if it is unsuitable the speed will drop.

Distraction can be divided into two forms

1.      Continuous distraction a the name suggests, it is the continuous distraction of attention. Some examples of it are the sound of radio played continuously, the noise of the mrket place, etc. experiments have led to the conclusion that adjustment to continuous distraction takes place quickly.

2.      Discontinuous distraction this type is irregular, being interspersed with intervals e.g., hearing of tsomebody's voice every now and then. It interferes with work because of the impossibility of adjustment.