Attention

ATTENTION

Meaning:

·        Attention is an important condition of learning.

·        Attention is an attitude of mind. It denotes preparedness or readiness to do something.

·        Attention is focusing of consciousness on a particular object.

Definitions of Attention:

1.      F.H.Bradley: “Attention is a complex of sensations and ideas.”

2.      Wood Worth: “Attention is concentration of mind”.

3.      Mc.Dougall: “Attention is merely conation or striving considered from the point of view of its effects on cognitive process.

4.      Fletcher: “Attention represents a selection or singling out of certain aspects of the observable environment to the exclusion of others which may at the time be impinging upon the sense organs.”

5.      Ross: “Attention as a process of getting an object of thought clearly before the mind.

6.      Benjamin Dumville: “Attention is the concentration of consciousness upon one object rather than upon another.”

Characteristics of Attention:

1.      Attention is cognitive and is necessary for all types of mental activity. Viz., knowing, feeling and willing. In short it is an activity of the entire personality.

2.      Attention is an active step in the execution of any plan. To attend to a thing means to be conscious of it more keenly and intensely than of anything else.

3.      As Bhatia says, though attention is the core of consciousness, it is not an end in itself. Attention is for the sake of something else. It is an attitude of readiness or preparedness for action.

4.      Attention is activity and regularly shifts from one object to another, it is present is all the aspects of conscious life, it is volitional, cognitive, conative, purposeful, affective and selective.

5.      Proper attempt or effort is necessary in all acts of attention. It requires both physical and mental energy. Therefore right posture and good mood are necessary in order to be attentive.

6.      There must be some motive, goal or purpose behind attention. There cannot be attention for the sake of attention. To sustain the attention of the class, some purpose or goal should be placed before it.

7.      Attention is selective in the sense that it concentrates on one object or idea at a time.

8.      Attention cannot be fixed upon anyone object endlessly because of the shifting native of attention, it moves from one object to another in rapid succession. Attention and motor adjustment of the body go on simultaneously.

Types of Attention:

There are different types of attention namely,

1.      Involuntary attention

2.      Voluntary attention or deliberate attention

3.      Habitual attention

1.       Involuntary Attention/Non-volitional Attention:

        Involuntary Attention is passive end free. It depends upon the striking qualities of the stimulus and the way in which the stimulus affects the person attending. It is given to an interesting object, as when a charming speaker hold us spell bound or when we open the door to find out who is shouting. In this type, attention comes spontaneously. No effort is needed to concentrate mental energy on a task. The mind does not exert. It comes in one account of interest.

Teacher must try to elicit this type of attention.

E.g. The child sees the ‘rainbow’ by an instinct of curiosity.

      At times the attention is diverted towards some other activity without the conscious effort, may be against the will of the individual.

         This is known as involuntary attention. For example, though the student is listening to a lecture with all interest, some loud sound outside the classroom may draw his attention towards it.

2.      Voluntary Attention/volitional Attention:

       The attention is called volitional when it calls forth the exercise of will. This attention demands the conscious efforts on our part.

     Attention is volitional when it is given to understanding objects, when it requires some struggle, effort of will. He is forced to attend. It may be against his inclination. It is not given whole heartedly. This type of attention is not conducive to proper learning.

     For example, if the teacher makes the students to sit in the classroom even after the last period they will not be able to concentrate. The teacher must remember that in the class room this type of attention that operates in the beginning. But the aim of the teacher should be make it effortless and in voluntary by making the lesson interesting. It is necessary for character building.

     Voluntary Attention is clearly related to interest, attitude and motivation which control our behavior.  Sometimes an individual will divert his attention towards a particular activity or situation     deliberately.  It is not diverted spontaneously, but after some struggle. For example, while sitting in a class,  the students divert their attention towards the lecture even if it is not interesting, because they     have to pass the examination.

3.      Habitual Attention:

     Habits are acquired. These acquired habits or learned habits or learned habits select the stimuli to which we have to focus our attention.

E.g.  1. An auto driver quickly notices a person seeking an auto for hire.

         2. A shoeshine boy notices the shoes of the persons who pass before him.

             In some situations, reaction to a stimulus or attending to a stimulus becomes a habit. So the individual will automatically divert his attention towards that stimulus. For example, a musician’s attention will automatically be diverted towards the sound of music even if he is busily engaged in talking to somebody.

   Attention of a devotee will be diverted towards the temple which he is visiting regularly, the moment he passes through that way.

Factors Arousing Attention:

There are two main factors.

1.      External Factor.     2. Internal Factor

I.External Factor:   External factors or conditions are those characteristics of outside situations or    

                              Stimuli. This makes the strongest bid for capturing our attention.

           There are some characteristics.

1.      Nature of the stimulus: All types of stimuli are not able to bring the same degree of attention the coloured pictures are more forceful than the colourless pictures. Effective stimulus should be chosen for capturing maximum attention.

2.      Intensity and size of the stimulus: When compared to weak stimulus, the intense stimulus attracts more attention of an individual.

3.      Contract, Change and Variety:   Change and variety strike attention more easily than sameness and absence of change. The factor contrast or change is highly responsible for capturing attention of the organism and contributes more than the intensity, size or nature of the stimulus.

4.      Repetition of Stimulus:  Repetition is a factor of great importance in securing attention we may ignore a stimulus at first instance but when it is repeated several time, it captures our attention. Too much repetition of a stimulus may bring diminishing returns.

5.      Movement of the Stimulus:  A moving stimulus catches our attention more quickly than a stimulus does not move.

II.Internal Factors:  Stimulus not only depends on external factors but is also depends on inner factors such as interest, motives, and basic needs and urges etc.

1.      Interest and Attention:

     Interest is a very helpful factor in securing attention. We give our attention to those objects which we are interested and we do not give attention to those objects which we have no interest.

2.      Motives:

        The basic drives and urges of the individual are very important in securing his attention. Thirst, hunger, sex, curiosity, fear are some of the important motives that exercise definite upon attention.

3.      Mental Set:

                      Beside our interest and motive the mental set is important factor securing attention. Mental set means the tendency or bent of the whole mind.

Span of Attention:

       Attention is bringing an object into consciousness. But only 5 to 6 objects can brought to consciousness at a time in an individual. The psychologists call this as, span of attention. The total output of the mind, at one time, towards an object is called the span attention.

       The span of attention with regard to vision regard to vision is measured with Tachisto scope apparatus. This apparatus exposes nonsense syllables to the render for a very short period. The subject is asked to read and reproduce them. It has been found that subject is not able to attend to more than 6 alphabets at a time subject attends to non-sense syllables as parts of one single situation rather than as single alphabets. Hence, attends to only one object at a time. The object may have a number of parts details but they are all attended to as one single unit. Thus, the span of attention of a individual is not more than six i.e., he cannot attend to more than six objects at a time.

Distraction:

      According to Wood Worth, “Distraction is a stimulus that attracts attention away from the things to which we want to attend.”

According to H.R.Bhatia, “Distraction may be defined as any stimulus whose presence interferes with the process of attention or draws away attention from the object to which we wish to attend.”

     Shifting away attention is called the distraction of attention. It is a sort of interference with the process of attending to an object. Loud sound, movement of people brightness or dullness of light, etc., may cause distraction of attention in reading.

 Causes of Distraction of Attention:

         The causes of distraction of attention are the temperament of the individual and outside conditions of work like temperature, noise, unfavourable temperature, improper right arrangements, uncomfortable seating arrangements unimaginative methods of teaching, bad health, anxieties and worries are some of the causes of distractions.

To overcome distraction, two things can be done:

1.      Avoid distraction-stimulus.           2. Become habituated to distraction.

        In the beginning the distraction is individual decides to undermine it, hence, it becomes less and less effective and some sort of accommodation takes place.

Way to overcome distraction in teaching learning process:

1.      The students should be provided with adequate rooms to sit in with proper ventilation, light and seating arrangement.

2.      The school building should be situated in a calm and quiet place.

3.      There must be well organized time table so that there may be no interference of different classes, sections, activities or teachers in each other’s day-to-day work.

4.      The school should be equipped with devoted enthusiastic and expert teacher, an efficient headmaster, and adequate aid material play grounds, library, laboratory and recreational facilities.

5.      Students should be taught with modern progressive methods.

6.      Students should get opportunity for self education and self expression.

7.      The teacher should inspire students for achieving higher aims and look after carefully about their physical, emotional and mental health.

Educational Implication of Attention

1.      Learning should be rendered stimulating. Novelty and familiarity should be created in the lessons.

2.      Attention can be secured by introducing variety in the presentation of stimuli. The change in the stimulus restores attention lesson should present different aspects to the learner.

3.      Clarity in the presentation leads to better understanding. It the student is clear about what he is learning, then he concentrate more.

4.      Practice of repetition leads to the securing of attention. The teacher should repeat what he teaches it should vary.

5.      A good time table should be introduced in the class. Subjects demanding mental freshness should be placed first then these which requires less attention.

6.      Teaching methods adopted by the teacher should be such that they evoke interest in the subject matter. The teacher should compare and contrast the points. This will avoid confusion.

7.      The teacher should encourage the students to emulate their own classmates who are good at studies.

8.      Attention promotes efficiency and improves sensory discrimination. If a work is done attentively, it is likely be satisfactory.

9.      Attention aids memorization.

10.   Attention is necessary to develop skill like typing, riding cycle or playing tennis.