Attention is a complex cognitive process that involves selectively focusing on certain stimuli while ignoring others. It allows individuals to concentrate on specific tasks or objects. There are several factors that influence attention, including characteristics of the stimulus like intensity, size, contrast and novelty, as well as internal factors such as interest, motives, mood, and past experiences. The span of attention refers to how many items can be attended to at once, which experiments have shown is typically around 4-5 items. Attention can fluctuate and be divided or distracted over time.

1. Mr.Visanth V S
Asso.Professor
IGSCON, Amethi

2. *Attention is a complex process. It is the state of focused
awareness with a readiness to respond. The process of
attend divides our field of experience into a focus and a
margin.
*Attention is the term used or given to the perceptual
processes that select certain inputs for inclusion in our
conscious experience.
*It is the process involving the act of listening, and
concentrating on a topic, object or event for the
attainment of desired ends.

3. *Attention is the concentration of consciousness
upon one object other than upon another .
Dumville
*Attention is the selective activity of consciousness
Collins & Drever
*Attention is the process of getting an object or
thought clearly before the mind
Ross

4. *Thus attention is essentially process and not a product.
*Attention is selective
*In a given time, we can concentrate or focus our
consciousness on a particular object only.
*Attention is a mental process and not a mental power.
*There can be no attention in the absence of interest.
*Attention creates readiness for doing a work.
*It helps in our awareness or consciousness of our
environment

6. *This type of attention is aroused without the play of will.
*Enforced: The attention which is aroused by the instincts is
called “enforced non-volitional attention”.
*Eg: Giving attention out of curiosity, attention towards the
members of the opposite sex
*Spontaneous: The type of attention is produced by the
sentiments is called “spontaneous non-volitional attention”.
*Eg: Mothers attention towards crying baby.

7. *When the ‘exercised will’ is called upon, it becomes
volitional attention. It demands the conscious efforts
from our part.
* Implicit attention: a single act of will is sufficient to
bring the attention is called implicit.
*Eg: Attention paid at the time of solving an assigned problem
of mathematics
*Explicit attention: in this we need repeated acts of will
to sustain the attention.
*Eg: Answering question in an examination hall

9. *Factors affecting attention may be divided into
the following types they are;
* External factors
*Internal factors

10. *
*Nature of the stimulus: All types of stimuli are not able to bring the same
degree of attention. Stimulus that have form, color and sound attract our
attention.
Eg: A picture attracts attention more readily than words. Among the pictures, the pictures
of human beings invite more attention and those of human beings related to beautiful
women or handsome men.
*Intensity of the stimulus: In comparison with the weak stimulus, the intense
stimulus attracts more attention of an individual.
Eg: a loud sound, a bright light or a strong smell.
*Size:. As a general rule bigger size attracts or a small advertisement on a very
big background attracts attention.
*Contrast: Any object that is strikingly different from its surroundings will tend
to stand out and attract our attention.
Eg: small black dot on a white sheet, Presence of a woman among men.

11. *Novelty: Any object that is new or different from those we have
encountered makes a powerful appeal for our attention.
Eg: A new fashion in dress.
*Repetition of stimulus: Repetition is the factor of great
importance in securing attention.
E.g. a miss-spelled word is more likely to be noticed, if it
occurs twice in the same paragraph than, if it occurs only once.
*Movement of the stimulus: The moving stimulus catches our
attention more quickly than a stimulus that does not move.
E.g. advertisers make use of this fact and try to catch the
attention of people through moving electric lights.

12. *
*Interest: Interest is said to be the mother of attention.
We attend to objects in which we have interest. We
would like to watch a movie or a serial in TV because
we are interested in the subject around which the movie
or serial revolves.
*Motives: Our basic needs and motives to a great extent
determines our attention, thirst, hunger, sex, curiosity,
fear are some of the important motives that influence
attention, e.g. small children get attracted towards
eatables.

13. *Mind set: Person’s readiness to respond determines his
attention. At a time when students are expecting the
examination time table by the end of the semester the
time table put out on the notice board along with other
notices would attract their attention easily.
*Moods and attitudes: What we attend to is influenced
by the moods and attitudes. When we are disturbed or in
angry mood, we notice the smallest mistake of others
very easily.
*Past experience: different people perceive the same
object differently as per their experience.

14. *
*The maximum amount of materials or items that can be attended
to/in the given period of time is called span of attention.
*Using an instrument called ‘Tachistoscope’, A subject is given a
momentary glance from 1/5th to 1/10th of a second on regular or
irregular groups of dots or letter and is required to tell how many
he had observed.
*It is experimentally proved that an individual can grasp 4-5 digits
or letters easily within a fraction of time.
*It is also proved that span will be more for meaningful material
like words, than digits or non-sense syllables.
* It may be observed that digits on number plates of automobile
vehicles are restricted to 4 only.

15. *
*It refers to attending to two tasks simultaneously while
maintaining the efficiency. In such situations, we will divide our
attention towards more than one act.
* For example, a tailor will be stitching the cloths and also speaking
to his customers.
*A nurse will be observing the pulse of a patient and also changes
on his face.
*We ride a scooter while speaking to our friends. In such activities
the attention is not divided, but it is possible to perform more than
one act because, either our attention is shifted from one act to
another rapidly, or our attention is concentrated on only one act
and the remaining activities are carried on automatically.

16. *
*When our attention is concentrated on a particular act or stimulus,
some other more powerful stimulus may draw our attention and
holds it to remain there for more time.
* Any stimulus whose presence interferes with the process of
attention is called distraction.
*It may or may not return to the earlier stimulus.
*For example, while reading a book, our concentration will be on the
book. Meanwhile if we listen to an attractive music sound, our
attention may be shifted towards that under such circumstances,
physically we may be reading the book, but we may not follow the
contents.
* Students are much affected by distraction. Hence, they should learn
to have concentration of mind on studies.

17. *
*It appears for us that our attention can be concentrated on
a particular act for more time.
*But careful observation clearly shows that we cannot
concentrate on a single act or stimulus for more than few
seconds.
*When we are seeing an object or listening to a sound,
after few seconds, the attention will be shifted towards
other stimulus or other area of the stimulus for a fraction
of time and returns to the original stimulus.
* This process is called fluctuation.