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: a condition of readiness for such attention involving especially a selective narrowing or focusing of consciousness and receptivity. Students, do I have your attention? 2. : observation, notice. especially : consideration with a view to action. a problem requiring prompt attention. 3. a. : an act of civility or courtesy especially in courtship.
- Overview
- Understanding Attention
- Types of Attention
- Improving Attention
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Attention is the ability to actively process specific information in the environment while tuning out other details. 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.
Think of attention as a highlighter. As you read through a section of text in a book, the highlighted section stands out, causing you to focus your interest in that area.
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.
Sustained Attention
This form of attention, also known as concentration, is the ability to focus on one thing for a continuous period. During this time, people keep their focus on the task at hand and continue to engage in a behavior until the task is complete or a certain period of time has elapsed. Research suggests that sustained attention peaks during the early 40s and then gradually declines as people age.
Alternating Attention
This type of attention involves multitasking or effortlessly shifting attention between two or more things with different cognitive demands. It's not about focusing on more than one thing at the same time, but about stopping attending to one thing and then switching to the next task.
Selective Attention
Since attention is a limited resource, we have to be selective about what we decide to focus on. Not only must we focus our attention on a specific item in our environment, but we must also filter out an enormous number of other items. Selective attention involves being able to choose and selectively attend to certain stimuli in the environment while at the same time tuning other things out. For example, you might selectively attend to a book you are reading while tuning out the sound of your next-door neighbor's car alarm going off. This type of attention requires you to be able to tune out extraneous external stimuli, but also internal distractions such as thoughts and emotions in order to stay selectively attuned to a task.
For the most part, our ability to focus our attention on one thing while blocking out competing distractors seems automatic. Yet the ability of people to selectively focus their attention on a specific subject while dismissing others is very complex.
But even people without attention problems can benefit from using strategies designed to improve attention and focus. Some things you can try include:
•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.
New ways of improving attention may also be on the horizon. This may be helpful for treating attentional problems that are the result of some conditions.
Mar 13, 2020 · How do these ancient ideas about attention relate to the neuroscience and psychology of consciousness? Should we welcome them and try to learn from them or laugh them off as irrelevant?
to watch, listen to, or think about something or someone carefully or with interest: If you don't pay attention now, you'll get it all wrong later. See more. the centre of attention. the thing or person that a lot of people notice: He likes telling jokes and being the centre of attention at parties. See more. attentions [ plural ]
attention. [uncountable] attention (to something/somebody) the act of listening to, looking at or thinking about something/somebody carefully; interest that people show in somebody/something. He turned his attention back to the road again. His attention turned to other matters.
noun. concentrated direction of the mind, esp to a problem or task. consideration, notice, or observation. a new matter has come to our attention. detailed care or special treatment. to pay attention to one's appearance. usually plural an act of consideration, courtesy, or gallantry indicating affection or love.
If you give someone or something your attention, you look at it, listen to it, or think about it carefully. You have my undivided attention. Later he turned his attention to the desperate state of housing in the city.
