Written by Elif Gulce Batgi
How do we define attention in daily life? As a reproach coming from your parents or teacher to pay attention to what they tell you? Or focusing on something that you are currently working on? Except for the usages in daily life, in psychology, attention is defined as concentrating awareness on a phenomenon by excluding other stimuli and shaping human learning and behavior (1, 4). It is improvable and trainable with the help of appropriate cognitive activities (2). One of the significant psychologists, William James, explained attention by saying "Attention is the focusing of consciousness on a particular object,", whereas Edward Alsworth Ross said, "It is the process of getting an object or thought clearly before the mind. (3)"
Attention started to be researched in the latter part of the 19th century by psychologists after the period in which philosophers had considered it within the context of apperception (1). Philosophers questioned the role of conscious awareness and thought and wondered if attention could be directed voluntarily or involuntarily toward objects or events (4). Thus Gottfried Leibniz clarified the concept of apperception, which refers to the understanding of an individual to be conscious of a perceptual event (4). "Attention is a determination of the soul to know something in preference to other things," he said.
The selection of specific stimuli to focus on and avoidance of other stimuli, or attention, can be examined in five subtitles: sustained, alternating, selective, focused, and limited attention (5). Sustained attention, also known as concentration, is the ability to focus on a thing for a continuous period until the task is done (6). Secondly, alternating attention refers to multi-tasking, but shifting attention between two or more things instead of continuing them at the same time (6). Selective attention, on the other hand, selects specific things to focus on since attention is a limited resource (6). Not only should we be selective about what we are going to focus on, but individuals should filter an enormous number of other items. Focused attention involves being capable of being suddenly drawn to particular visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli. It is a way to respond rapidly to external stimuli, which can be vital and require immediate attention and quick action. Limited attention, or divided attention, includes multi-tasking but dividing attention between multiple tasks instead of shifting between them.
Nowadays, especially teenagers, are troubled with focusing on a task. There are certain ways to help individuals focus, but in some cases, these ways are insufficient. The reason behind the occurrence of ADHD is still unclear (7). However, it is thought to be a genetic disorder and a brain-based biological disorder (7). Low levels of dopamine and low metabolism in the brain areas that are responsible for attention, social judgment, and movement can be seen in children and adolescents with ADHD. The symptoms directly refer to attention, involving a short attention span for the age, difficulty listening to others, difficulty attending to details, being easily distracted, forgetfulness, poor organizational skills for the age, and poor study skills for the age (7).
Attention, the cognitive ability we use in our daily lives mostly without noticing it, helps us to focalize on a task and ignore other stimuli and objects that remain excluded from the task. Attention has different types due to variables such as the number of tasks and perception. On the other hand, the lack of the ability to focus for a long time on a certain task or easily shift between them may threaten disorders such as ADHD, which is a genetic disorder. Even though the number of teenagers and preschoolers who have the disorders increases, hopefully, the number of researchers and the development of treatment models increase correspondingly.
References:
Attention. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/attention.
Cognifit. Attention- Cognitive Ability. (2016, February 4). https://www.cognifit.com/attention.
Niwlikar, B. (2022, January 11). What is attention? It's definitions, history, process, types, etc. Careershodh. https://www.careershodh.com/what-is-attention-its-definitions-history-process-types-etc/.
11.2: History of attention. (2021, May 20). Social Sci LibreTexts. https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Psychology/Cognitive_Psychology/Cognitive_Psychology_(Andrade_and_Walker)/11%3A_Attention/11.02%3A_History_of_Attention.
Attention definition and meaning. (n.d.). Online Courses and eBooks Library. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/attention-definition-and-meaning.
What attention means in psychology. (2008, March 12). Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-attention-2795009.
Attention-deficit / Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. (n.d.). Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/adhdadd.
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