Table of contents:
- What is selective attention: definition
- Examples of selective attention
- Functioning of selective attention
- Characteristics of care
- Selective attention exercises
- Difference between focused, sustained, alternating, divided and selective attention
Every day we are surrounded by thousands of stimuli which exert an influence on us, however, living beings have the ability to inhibit those stimuli which are irrelevant to us since, if we did not have this ability, we would find ourselves in a situation of overload of information since we would always be hyperactivated.
But, do we know what are the processes that allow us to carry out this information screening? If not, in Psychology-Online we want you to know them properly and easily. Therefore, in this article we will see the definition of selective attention, with examples and exercises.
You may also be interested in: Active listening: characteristics, exercises and examples Index- What is selective attention: definition
- Examples of selective attention
- Functioning of selective attention
- Characteristics of care
- Selective attention exercises
- Difference between focused, sustained, alternating, divided and selective attention
What is selective attention: definition
The selective focus is the allocation of attentional resources in those times when there are conflicts between different signals. In these complex situations, it is required to be able to inhibit a series of stimuli while others are processed. Its function can be defined as the selection of a part of the information for the improvement of its processing.
Selective attention can work in three different areas:
- Selective spatial attention, which facilitates the processing of those stimuli which are in a given space.
- Selective attention on the object, where the attentional frame of reference is an object in order to adequately process all its characteristics.
- Temporary selective attention. It is considered a human ability that allows us to use information about time intervals to optimize the detection of important information.
Examples of selective attention
Many of the times in which we use selective attention we do so unconsciously since without realizing it we pay more attention to some stimuli than to others. For example, in these cases we use selective attention:
- When we are waiting for a message and we know that a bell will ring to notify us of the arrival of the message, our attention inhibits any other sound by focusing only on the phone.
- When we drive we also use it since we only process that information that allows us to drive properly, avoiding and inhibiting all those stimuli that can act as distractors.
- We also use selective attention when we are taking an exam, so that we focus all our attention on answering it, preventing other stimuli from interrupting the task.
Functioning of selective attention
When it comes to identifying the important stimuli, people can do it in two different ways, through open orientation and covert orientation. With regard to the first, eye movements are necessary to fix our gaze on the desired stimulus, however, in the covert it is not necessary to change the position of the head or eyes. Therefore, there are a number of advantages of the covert versus the open:
- Does not require eye movements
- Since there is no movement, it is faster
- Facilitates the processing of stimuli by activating the neural pathways that will process it later
When explaining the operation of selective attention we could make use of a metaphor known as a light bulb. To do this, attention must be imagined as the light source emitted by a flashlight, where the area that remains illuminated is the one that would be processed in a quicker and easier way, while the dark area would be inhibited.
The operation of selective attention is not a unitary process, but rather involves a set of different mechanisms that work in a coordinated manner.
Characteristics of care
To properly understand selective attention, some of the main characteristics of attention should be named:
- Intentionality: helps to activate, focus and maintain attention on the relevant stimuli.
- Expectations of the subject: they influence the attention that the subject places while waiting for what he is anticipating.
- Activation of cognitive information processing processes.
- Orientation: ability to direct cognitive resources to stimuli voluntarily.
- Focusing: ability to focus on certain stimuli.
- Concentration: amount of resources used for a specific activity.
- Flexibility: ability to change the focus of attention.
- Stability: possibility of maintaining attention for a certain time on a certain stimulus or task.
Selective attention exercises
To evaluate selective attention from the point of view of psychology, we found different instruments:
- Incomplete Figures: the subject must look at a drawing and name what important part is missing.
- WAIS Symbol Search: You should look at two groups of symbols, a key group (2 symbols) and a search group (5 symbols). Then you must decide if either of the two symbols in the key group is equal to any of those in the search group.
Since selective attention requires a process of selection, control, and intention, the following tests are suggested:
- Go / no go: you must respond to all the arrows that are presented to you except those that present certain characteristics indicated by the evaluator.
- Stroop: a sheet is presented where they have to read the words (name of colors) omitting the color in which the word is painted. It can be done in reverse, that is, saying the color in which the word is painted.
- WSCT: a series of stimulus cards are presented to the subject and they must match the problem card with one of them. However, the subject does not know what the matching criterion is and, furthermore, the criterion will change randomly, so the subject must be able to readjust his response.
With these attention tests, attention disorders can be identified.
Difference between focused, sustained, alternating, divided and selective attention
The focused attention is the ability to regulate attentional intensity directed toward a task, ie what is known as the ability to concentrate.
The sustained attention refers to attentional changes in the course of time. This type of attention is considered as the ability to maintain an effective level of response to a demanding task over a certain interval of time.
The alternating attention is the ability to move the attentional focus from one task to another sandwiching the execution of one and the other.
The divided attention is the ability of care to attend two or more tasks at the same time. It refers to the distribution of attention resources in order to efficiently process different sources of information which are present at the same time. It is considered that, in these situations, attending implies distributing the resources according to the demands of the concurrent tasks.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Selective Attention: Definition, Examples and Exercises, we recommend that you enter our Cognitive Psychology category.
Bibliography- Avila, C. Cognitive Functions. Jaume I. University 2019
- Roser Poy. Perception and Attention. Jaume I. University 2015