Attention

Attention Definition: Psychology

Attention is a whole field of theory and research in cognitive psychology.

The brain receives an overwhelming amount of information; it has limited resources, so it cannot process every single thing we see. This is where the process of attention comes in.

The attention process can be compared to an analogy of a filter. During the process, it filters through stimuli that we determine as important, e.g. when we focus on it and ignore irrelevant stimuli.

Perception and Attention in Cognitive Psychology

Perception and attention have an interdependent relationship regarding attending to stimuli.

Perception is the ability to observe and be aware of the stimuli in the environment, such as objects, people or events. Perception is not limited to what we see; it is also related to our other senses, e.g. what we hear, touch, smell and taste.

Cognitive psychology has devoted great efforts to explain the relationship between attention and perception.

Research has established that when we perceive something, we have to attend to it and then we can save that information as a long-term memory. And when we focus on attending to something, we are able to perceive more details.

Research in cognitive psychology has found that when we attend to information, various things can be observed, e.g.:

• During attention, activation of the frontal lobe (anterior part of the brain) can be observed.
• The body can be in a state of arousal – Selenyck's General Adaptation Syndrome states that the body automatically responds to stressors (arousal), causing people to focus or become hypervigilant. These symptoms are forms of attention.
• The characteristics of attention can vary depending on the type of attention.

Types of Attention in Psychology

Although attention is a single cognitive process, psychologists have found that people pay different kinds of attention.

The different types of attention are the following:

1. Focused attention refers to focusing on a single stimulus.
2. Selective attention refers to paying attention to one stimulus, even if there are distractions.
3. Sustained attention refers to putting attention on a stimulus for an extended period.
4. Divided attention refers to the attention that is directed to more than one stimulus at a time.
5. Alternating attention occurs when attention switches back and forth between different stimuli.

Factors Affecting Attention in Psychology

The type of attention that is available depends on certain factors. The factors affecting attention in psychology are whether there are distractors, such as background noise.

Our ability to pay attention may vary depending on the context of these distractions and the stimuli we pay attention to. If something is particularly important to you (e.g., if you have a strong memory or a personal interest), you may be more inclined to pay attention to it, and your ability to pay attention may be affected.

This is also true if you have little or no interest in or personal connection to the topic. In this case, you may have to make more effort to pay attention to a topic (voluntary attention), especially if the stimulus requires active involvement, as in reading.

Other forms of attention retention may be more involuntary. Your attention may be drawn if something is particularly eye-catching or stressful (e.g., if you are in a dangerous situation).

Fig. 1. Picture of a school pupil engaging in focussed attention.

Theories of Attention in Psychology

The main theories contributing to our knowledge of attention in psychology are auditory selective attention and visual inattention. Auditory attention was researched and theorised by Cherry and Morray in 1959. Visual inattention theory was explored by Simon and Chabris (1999).

Auditory Selective Attention

Cherry developed the auditory selective attention theory in 1959. In this study, Cherry (1959) used dichotic shadowing research techniques. Cherry proposed the 'cocktail party effect' to explain how selective attention can change.

This theory explains an example of auditory attention in the context of a party.

When someone is in the middle of a conversation with their friends, they pay attention to that conversation. However, if they suddenly hear their name called from the opposite side of the room. The person's attention will focus on the person who called their name and not the conversation.

Following these results, Moray (1959) conducted three experiments to confirm Cherry's findings. He attempted to do this using empirical methods. His research also produced evidence of how the cocktail party effect works.

Visual Inattention

We seem to pay attention differently when attending to visual stimuli than auditory information. Simon and Chabris (1999) noted this when examining intentional blindness.

Inattentional blindness refers to not noticing a stimulus that is evidently there. According to this theory, we miss information because individuals are busy attending to other stimuli.

In the study, participants were instructed to fixate on a task. The researchers told the participants they would be tested after the video finished to ensure they fixated on the task.

The study's goal was to see if participants perceived an unexpected event. The unexpected event was a woman holding an umbrella or a woman in a gorilla costume.

The study found that people were more likely to notice things:

• When they are focused on an easy task rather than a difficult task.
• The stimuli they are not paying attention to are clearly visible.
• When the stimuli have similar physical characteristics to them.

Like Cherry and Moray's findings, inattention can be overcome when the stimuli they are not attending to are related to the person.