SELECTIVE ATTENTION: CHARACTERISTICS, THEORIES, TESTS AND ACTIVITIES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The selective attention is a cognitive process by which the person focuses on one or a few stimuli, while it is able to ignore everyone else. It is a very important mental tool, since it allows us to process the data in our environment without being overwhelmed by it.

Attention is a limited resource, so we need some kind of mechanism to help us filter the information we receive based on our interests at all times. There are different theoretical models for how this ability works, but almost all compare selective attention to the neck of a bottle.

Source: pixabay.com

Thus, thanks to this ability we can take the flow of information that reaches our senses every moment, and focus only on one of the data until we have finished processing it. The part of the brain responsible for this process is believed to be the Ascending Reticular Activating System (SARA).

There are three main models that try to explain the way this ability works: Broadbent's, Treisman's, and Deutsch and Deutsch's. In this article we will examine each of them, the characteristics of this ability, and the way in which we can train it.

characteristics

At all times, we receive a constant bombardment of information through our senses. Sounds, colors, smells, sensations… The problem is that the processing capacity of our brain is limited, so we cannot pay attention to all these stimuli at the same time.

Because of this, our mind has to filter the information that comes to it based on how important it is to us. The mechanism that handles this is selective attention, by which we focus on certain elements of our environment while completely ignoring all the others.

There are different theories about selective attention that vary depending on the sense we are talking about. However, all our sensory capacities share a number of similarities when it comes to filtering stimuli. Here we will see some of the most important.

Focus on a single element

Various studies on the functioning of selective attention show that at all times we are selecting a single stimulus and ignoring all the others.

Depending on the degree of concentration that we have, certain information about our environment can go unnoticed completely, in such a way that it is as if it does not exist.

For example, in the famous basketball experiment, participants were asked to watch a video in which two teams passed various balls to each other, while counting the number of times one of them changed. hand. However, the investigation was tricky.

And it is that, at the same time that the teams passed the balls, in the video you could see a man dressed as a gorilla dancing among the players and making all kinds of gestures.

Despite being totally obvious on a second viewing, the vast majority of participants were so focused on counting passes that they didn't see him.

Conscious mind vs. unconscious

However, even though our conscious mind is only able to focus on one item at a time, other research has found that our subconscious mind is capable of processing many more stimuli at the same time.

For example, today we know that certain information that goes unnoticed at a conscious level is still recorded in our memory and is even capable of influencing the way we act.

This is known as priming or priming effect, and is closely related to subliminal messages and unconscious advertising.

At the same time, even when we are very focused on one thing, our subconscious mind does not stop paying attention to our surroundings in search of more relevant information.

That is why, even when we are immersed in a task, a loud noise or the sound of our name can make us change our attention focus.

It can get worse and better

The rise of the Internet and other information technologies has caused many experts to worry about their effect on our ability to maintain selective attention.

The problem is that this ability can be trained, but in the same way, it can also be weakened if we do not use it enough.

Today, due to the constant bombardment of information we receive and the need to "multitask", many people find that they have great difficulty focusing on one thing for a long time. Any stimulus is capable of diverting them from what they are doing and capturing their attention completely.

Fortunately, thanks to the different theories that exist about selective attention, numerous techniques have been developed that can help us improve this capacity.

Achieving it is fundamental for all areas of our life, and achieving it will help us both professionally and personally.

Theories of selective attention

Today, there is no consensus within the field of psychology on how exactly selective attention processes work.

There are currently three main models that try to explain this phenomenon: Broadbent's, Treisman's, and Deutsch and Deutsch's. Next we will see what each of them consists of.

Broadbent model

One of the first theories about attention was proposed by psychologist Donal Broadbent. It is known as the 'rigid filter model'.

The main idea is that our physical capacity to process information is limited, and therefore it is necessary for our senses to filter the data that reaches our brain.

To separate what is important from what is not, Broadbent said we use a filter to decide what to pay attention to. According to this theory, all stimuli would be processed based on characteristics such as their color, their intensity, the direction from which they come or their shape.

In this way, the attentional filter would allow certain stimuli to reach our consciousness, while others could not pass the bottleneck formed by our senses and the so-called «sensory memory».

Treisman attenuation model

Treisman, a post-Broadbent researcher, thought that while Broadbent's approach was essentially correct, it had some flaws that made it not entirely correct.

The main one for this psychologist was that, even when a stimulus is not being heeded, if its characteristics change, it can get our attention.

An example could be that of a person who is concentrating on reading a book without paying attention to his surroundings; but then someone comes up and says her name.

Despite having been filtering the stimuli to only focus on what he was reading, the specific stimulus of the name has managed to reach his consciousness.

To explain this phenomenon, Treisman suggested that our senses do not act as a filter, but simply attenuate the stimuli that we are not paying attention to.

Therefore, even those elements that we do not pay attention to can register slightly in our consciousness; hence the idea, for example, of subliminal advertising.

As the stimuli are attenuated instead of completely filtered, if one of them increases in intensity or changes in characteristics, our attention could turn to it. This is what would happen in the case of hearing our name while we are immersed in a task.

Deutsch and Deutsch model

Deutsch and Deutsch had slightly different ideas about how attention works than Broadbent and Treisman. Like these researchers, they thought that there was some kind of filter that allowed them to select what to pay attention to and what not. However, they believed that this filter was found later in the attentional process.

Thus, for Deutsch and Deutsch all stimuli would be analyzed by our mind in the same way; and once our brain knows their meaning, only the most important would pass to our consciousness and our active memory.

Tests

Selective attention is a fundamental ability when it comes to achieving success in all kinds of tasks and achieving the goals we set ourselves. Additionally, fostering this skill can be very helpful in treating problems like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Due to this, in the field of cognitive psychology a series of tools have been developed whose objective is to evaluate a person's capacity for selective attention.

Once their basic ability is known, an individual can be trained to learn to improve their concentration if necessary.

Here are some of the most common tests used to assess selective attention skills.

Stroop test

Probably the best-known selective attention test outside of the field of clinical psychology is the Stroop Test. It is an activity in which a person is presented with a series of color names, which are written on the paper in a different tone than the one mentioned. For example, "red" drawn in blue.

The task consists of the following: the person has to name aloud and as quickly as possible the tonality of all the words on the list.

This test is much more complicated than it seems, and it requires all the concentration capacity of the individual. Depending on its number of hits, it is assigned a more or less high score.

Go / No Go

Another very popular test to measure selective attention capacity consists of presenting the person with a series of stimuli, and telling them to carry out a specific action when the one they see has a certain characteristic.

For example, the person may be viewing a series of images, and their task would be to press a button when one of them includes some type of vehicle.

The score would be calculated based on how many times you have not touched the button when you should have, and when you have pressed it wrongly.

Short attention test

This exercise consists of the following: the participant listens to a more or less long list of numbers and letters, and is asked to concentrate on counting how many elements of one type there are while ignoring the other.

Later, the task is reversed, so that if you had to count the numbers first in the second part, you must do it with the letters.

The score for this test is calculated based on how far the person has fallen from the actual number of letters and numbers on the list.

Activities to improve selective attention

Once it has been determined that a person's selective attention is not as developed as it should be (or if the individual himself realizes that he has a problem in this regard), all is not lost: there are many actions that can be taken. carry out to improve this ability.

In this last section we will tell you about some of the things you can do to improve your concentration and selective attention.

Take care of your body

Exercising, sleeping well and taking care of your diet is essential when it comes to improving our health. However, did you know that these three activities also have a gigantic impact on our brain?

Numerous studies confirm that sleeping poorly, having an unbalanced diet, or leading an excessively sedentary life greatly interferes with our ability to keep our attention focused on a single task. In contrast, people who take care of themselves have an easier time concentrating.

Meditation

Another activity that has proven to be very effective in improving concentration is meditation. Despite the fact that this work has been practiced for thousands of years, only recently have research shown us its beneficial effect on our brain.

There are many variants of traditional meditation: from concentrating on your own breathing for fifteen minutes a day, to trying to focus on everything you do without being distracted by your thoughts, it is one of the best options to improve your ability to selective focus.

References

1. "How We Use Selective Attention to Filter Information and Focus" in: VeryWell Mind. Retrieved on: December 14, 2018 from VeryWell Mind: verywellmind.com.
2. "Theories of Selective Attention" in: Simply Psychology. Retrieved on: December 14, 2018 from Simply Psychology: simplypsychology.com.
3. "Selective attention" in: Explorable. Retrieved on: December 14, 2018 from Explorable: explorable.com.
4. "Selective attention: definition and theories" in: Psychology and Mind. Retrieved on: December 14, 2018 from Psychology and Mind: psicologiaymente.com.
5. "This Is How To Increase Your Attention Span: 5 Secrets From Neuroscience" in: Barking Up The Wrong Tree. Retrieved on: December 14, 2018 from Barking Up The Wrong Tree: bakadesuyo.com.