FOCUSED ATTENTION: CHARACTERISTICS, THEORIES, TESTS AND ACTIVITIES - BIOLOGY - 2025

The focused attention is a brain capacity allows us to focus the focus of our attention on a single stimulus for a longer or shorter time. It is a fundamental skill for all kinds of tasks: without it, any external or internal stimulus could divert our concentration from whatever we are doing.

On the other hand, focused attention also allows us to discriminate the relevant stimuli from those that are not. Therefore, this ability is also closely related to perception, in addition to other primary mental functions such as working memory.

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At the brain level, it is known that focused attention is mainly located in the neocortex. Specifically, areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex or the prefrontal lobe seem to be especially involved in the control of this capacity. However, the exact mechanisms that produce it are not yet known.

Developing focused attention is key to improving performance in virtually any area of ​​life. However, there is a great lack of knowledge about this ability and its characteristics. Therefore, in this article you will find all the most relevant information on this topic.

characteristics

The capacity for focused attention is variable

Not all people have the same facility to focus on a single stimulus while ignoring all the others. Furthermore, even the same person may vary in their ability to achieve this based on several factors.

Thus, on the one hand, there are individual factors that will make one person more capable of staying focused on a stimulus than another.

For example, the motivation you have to do a task, the emotions you are feeling, your energy level, the demanding tasks that you have already done that day, your personality…

The environment in which the person is also plays a fundamental role. The more distracting elements there are, and the more attractive they are, the more difficult it will be to keep the attention focused, no matter how motivated we are or how important what we have in hand is.

Finally, certain characteristics of the stimulus itself can also influence the ease with which we can focus our attention on it.

Simple, predictable, and striking stimuli are easier to detect and keep in focus, while complex, boring, or unexpected stimuli are more complicated in this regard.

We can only focus on one stimulus at a time

Many people believe that multitasking (paying attention to several activities at the same time with the intention of finishing them faster) is an efficient way to act in different types of situations. However, research on this indicates that this really hurts us more than it helps us.

And, as most studies on focused attention have shown, we are only capable of fully concentrating on one stimulus at a time.

When we want to pay attention to something new, we have to momentarily ignore what we were doing before going back to it.

This phenomenon is due to the low processing capacity of our conscious mind. Experts consider that we are only able to deliberately digest about 60 bits of data per second. Because of this, everything indicates that multitasking is nothing more than a myth.

It is a very demanding capacity

We have already seen that we can only consciously process a small amount of data per second. On the contrary, our subconscious mind is able to register a much greater amount without us noticing: according to the latest research, approximately 4 million bits per second.

Therefore, every time we are focused on a task, our mind is being bombarded by all kinds of stimuli.

To avoid being distracted, we usually have to use a great deal of willpower. Because of this, the more tired we are or the less we train this ability, the more difficult it will be to make use of it.

It allows us to distinguish relevant stimuli

As we have already seen, even though we can only consciously focus on one stimulus at a time, our subconscious mind is constantly receiving information from both our environment and ourselves. However, not all of that data will be judged equally relevant or have the same effect.

And it is that a part of our brain known as the "Ascending Reticular Activating System" (SARA) is permanently filtering all the information we receive to transfer to our consciousness everything that could be relevant or useful.

An example of this is the so-called "cocktail party effect". It consists of the following: in a very noisy environment (such as at a party), we are able to perfectly distinguish our name spoken aloud from all the sounds that surround us. This is also one of the functions of focused attention.

Theories

There are many theories about how focused attention works; But in recent decades, the most relevant have been those related to neuroscience and the role our brain plays in the functioning of this capacity.

Specifically, today we know that the prefrontal cortex and its development are closely linked with the ability to focus on a single stimulus and ignore all the others. Interestingly, this is one of the mental structures that takes the longest to fully develop.

During the first years of life, the ability to control attention is practically nil. In fact, the first researchers on this subject thought that children did not directly have the possibility to choose which stimulus they were paying attention to; although later it has been discovered that the prefrontal lobe can exert some control.

This part of the brain matures slowly until reaching its peak of functionality around 20 years of life. During an individual's childhood and adolescence, he will gradually acquire the ability to maintain focused attention, in addition to the possibility of discriminating relevant stimuli from those that are not.

Finally, during adulthood this capacity remains more or less stable, except for fluctuations related to the habits and lifestyle of the person.

Finally, during old age, focused attention tends to gradually worsen, although this can be avoided to some extent.

Tests

Measuring the capacity for focused attention is essential to know the starting point from which a person starts before carrying out any type of intervention.

Due to this, a large number of tasks have been developed over the years that help to evaluate the level that an individual has in this skill.

All these tasks have to do with the ability of the person to concentrate on a given stimulus despite being bombarded by other very similar ones designed to distract him. Two of the most typical are the "word matrix" and the task of reproducing a drawing.

Word matrix task

The first task in evaluating focused attention consists of the following: The person is presented with three two-syllable words, such as table, dice, or cape, and allowed to observe them for thirty seconds.

Later, you are presented with a box filled with two-syllable words and asked to count how many times the three you have seen previously appear between them.

The trick is that all the words are extremely similar to each other, so it is easy for the person to get distracted and get the number wrong.

The score obtained by the participant in this test depends on the number of failures obtained when counting the three words; both the times that he has a similar word but that it is not one of the ones he had seen, and those in which he does not notice one of those that he had to have taken into account.

Task to reproduce a drawing

The person is presented with a drawing made with lines in a dot matrix with dimensions of 9 × 5. For 30 seconds, she has to try to memorize the drawing, without ever being told what the second part of the task will consist of.

Once this time has passed, the individual is given a box with another blank dot matrix, and is asked to reproduce the drawing that he has seen previously.

Because there is no visual clue that differentiates the points from each other, it is common for the person to get distracted and make several mistakes in their design.

The score of this test will depend on the amount of differences between the original drawing and the one that has been created by the person in the second dot matrix.

Activities to improve it

Unfortunately, in the modern world more and more people are having trouble keeping their attention focused. Due to the lifestyle that we lead and the amount of distractions that we have to face every day, our ability to concentrate is seriously diminished.

Fortunately, there are a large number of techniques and methods that can help us improve our ability to distinguish important stimuli from those that are not, and keep our attention on the former. Here we will see some of the most effective.

1- Perform a digital "detox"

The continued use of technologies such as smartphones or modern computers is one of the main causes of loss of concentration ability, according to the latest research on the matter.

Therefore, some scientists believe that disconnecting from time to time can be very beneficial in this regard.

These digital detoxes don't have to be extremely long to produce effects. One of the best known techniques is the pomodoro, which consists of the following: for 25 minutes, the person focuses on the task at hand and is not distracted by anything that is not extremely urgent.

After these 25 minutes, take a short break before starting another period of time focused on the task. This technique has proven to be effective in different investigations, and more and more people are using it around the world.

Still, doing longer digital detoxes can also be very effective. Some people choose to avoid all types of communication technology for 24 hours once a week; and the results of this type of experience seem to be very positive.

2- Eliminate stimuli from your environment

Going one step further, what if instead of just ignoring the digital distractions in your environment, you chose to eliminate all the stimuli in your environment that keep you from your work?

The theory known as ego depletion suggests that the simple fact of resisting a distraction decreases our willpower and decreases our ability to concentrate. Therefore, it is often more effective to directly eliminate all the distractions around us than to try to ignore them.

For example, if you want to start studying or working on a project, it will be much easier for you to keep your attention focused on an environment such as a library or your own office than in the kitchen or in the room of your house, where many more elements will call your attention and they will distract you from what you do.

3- Avoid multitasking

As we've already seen, the belief that multitasking is more efficient than completing them one at a time is a myth.

However, this goes one step further: Studies show that every time we switch from one task we haven't finished to another, our performance on both declines.

So before you switch to something else, make sure you finish the task you've started. If it is a very large project, which will take you several sessions to complete, at least try to break it down into smaller parts that you can finish in a relatively short time.

conclusion

Focused attention is one of the most important skills when it comes to achieving what we set out to do and to function effectively in our day-to-day lives.

We hope this article has resolved any doubts you may have regarding it, and has given you some ideas on how you can improve your ability in this area.

References

1. "The benefits of focused attention" in: Psych Central. Retrieved on: December 18, 2018 from Psych Central: psychcentral.com.
2. "Focused attention" in: Cognifit. Retrieved on: December 18, 2018 from Cognifit: cognifit.com.
3. "Types and evaluation of attention" in: Hela 03. Retrieved on: December 18, 2018 from Hela 03: hela03.es.
4. "12 Ways to Improve Concentration" in: Psychology Today. Retrieved on: December 18, 2018 from Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com.
5. "Attentional control" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 18, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.