ATTENTION

RAHEEL AHMED
GOVT ISLAMIA GRADUATE COLLEGE KASUR
Attention
• Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating
one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things.
• We are particularly attentive to stimuli that appear
exceptionally bright, large, loud, novel or high in contrast.
• Focus on some object or stimulus/stimuli.
Attention
• We also pay greater attention to stimuli that are particularly
meaningful or are relevant to our motivations.
• E.g., If we are hungry ,we are more apt to be sensitive to food
and food related stimuli.
• It also includes listening carefully to what someone is saying
while ignoring other conversation in a room.
Factors of Attention

• Why do we pay attention to something and not

to others? What directs our attention?
1. Objective Factors
2. Subjective Factors
External / Objective Factors
The external factors are concerned with the environment. These are also called
Objective Factors.
(the factors who have power to capture one’s attention)
1. Size
2. Intensity
3. Movement
4. Repetition
5. Duration
6. Abrupt change
7. Novelty
• Size: Size has effect on attention. It is natural
an unusual size attracts attention of the
people. Very big size or very small size too
draws our attention when compared with
normal size. For example, a dwarf man walking
on the road too draws our attention.
• Intensity: Loud sounds, strong smells and
deep colors are attractive in nature. If a sound
is intense then it would attract our attention.
The thunder is louder than a car sound. So, our
attention is drawn on thunder
• Movement: Moving things draws our
attention more than stationary one. A
moving car attracts faster than a
stationary car
• Repetition: If a thing or person or
event is repeated several times, then
our attention drawn to it. When an
advertisement is repeated in the
walls drawn our attention.
• Duration: attention is drawn to a
thing that lasts longer. A salesperson
draws attention by lengthening his
voice.
• Novelty: Newness attracts quickly than traditional one. A new
teacher attracts the children very much in the school.
Subjective Factors

The internal factors are concerned with the individual. So,

these are also called subjective factors

1. Interests
2. Desire
3. Motives
4. Aim/ goals
5. Habit
6. Past Experience
• Interest: we are interested in some things and disinterested in other
things. Interesting things draws our attention soon. An engineer and a
botanist going down the same path will attend entirely different things on
the way. Engineer attention will be on the buildings and botanist attention
will be on the trees.
• Desire: A person’s desire becomes a cause of paying attention to a thing.
For example, a person has to desire of buying a hammer. There are many
things available in a market, but he goes to a shop where hammers are
available.
• Motives: Basic motives are important in drawing attention. Human motives like
hungry, thirst, safety, etc., play a vital role in drawing attention. A thirst person
attention always on where water is available.
• Aim/Goal: Every man has some immediate aim and ultimate goal in their life.
The immediate aim of a student is to pass in the examination while his ultimate
goal may be to become a doctor. The student, whose goal is not to pass the
examination, will not be concerned with textbooks or note, etc, but who has the
aim to pass in the examination, will at once attend to them
• Habit: Habit is also a vital determinant of attention. The kind of habit we
found in our life, our attention is drawn to such things. if a person has
habit to play cricket, then his attention is always drawn to it, and he will
listen to cricket commentaries with attention.
• Past Experience: It is also affect attention. If we know by our past
experience that a particular person is sincere to us, we shall pay attention
to whatever he advises us. If our experience is contrary, we shall not
attend even to his most serous advice.
 Span of Attention
• How many things can we hold in our attention at the same
time?
• The attention span for this level is very brief, with a maximum
span, without any break at all, that may be as short as 8
seconds
• Most psychologists agree that the ability to focus attention on a
task is important for the achievement of one's goals.
Poor attention span with distractibility results in
Fails to finish the things started
Shift from one uncomplicated activity to other
Does not seem to listen
Easily distracted by external stimuli
Often loses things
 Distraction of Attention
• Distraction means the dividing of attention
or
• some interference in attention.
• The object which causes the distraction is called the distractor
• Duration of attention is often short. Different stimuli distract
person’s attention. if a person wants to attend a stimuli
constantly , Even then different factors can distract him. Person
pays more attention and concentration to his work but remain
unable to maintain it.
.
 Factors of Distraction of Attention
• There are individual differences in distraction of attention. Its
not always necessary that two different people get distracted
by same stimuli. Some people can study in noise ,while others
need complete silence. Two important factors are as under:
• Objective Factors
• Subjective Factors
Objective Factors
• The factors that distract attention from environment are called objective
factors. It is also called environmental factors. Routine work distract less
attention while different and novel work distracts more.
• Noise, music, improper lighting, uncomfortable seats, defective method of
teaching, improper use of teaching aids, defective voice of the teacher are
the common external distractors in the classrooms.
Subjective Factors
• These factors are related to person’s internal characteristics.
Every person get distracted by his tendencies or interests.
• Emotional disturbances, mental and physical health, anger,
fear, feeling of insecurity, boredom, lack of motivation, feeling
of fatigue, lack of interest, desires, preferences, freshness,
unrelated subject matter are the examples for internal
distractor.
Control of Distraction
• Distraction of attention affects our performance. So these factors can decrease
distraction of attention.
1. By giving Reward
2. Social Acceptance
3. Through Self Control
4. Increase in Capability
5. Through clear objective
 Fluctuation of Attention
• We can only attend a stimulus for few seconds. If we have to attend a stimulus for
long, then the attention fluctuates. This is called 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 focus, at another time, it goes out from focus.
• 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.
 Fluctuation 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.
• Our receptors get fatigued by concentrating on one stimuli and
stop working. But when attention decreases , the capacity of
receptors resumes.
• Usually we say, that I can study for 1 or 2 hour. But when a
person is studying ,even then his attention is not static ,rather
it’s diverting on different words ,phrases and concepts.