Types of attention (Four Major types and others)

(i) Sustained Attention, (ii) Selective Attention, (iii) Divided Attention, (iv) Alternating Attention

1. Types of Attention
Dr Rajesh Verma
Assistant Professor in Psychology
Govt. College Adampur, Hisar (Haryana)

2. Meaning
Theeffortsrequiredtoassemblethe
cognitivefacultiesinresponseofsensoryor
psychological
inputs.
Insimpleterms
attentionisvoluntaryorinvoluntaryattending
totheexternalorinternalstimuli.

3. Definition
Theprocessthroughwhichcertainstimuliare
selectedfromagroupofothersisgenerallyreferredtoas
attention(NCERT,XI).
Astateinwhichcognitiveresourcesarefocusedon
certainaspectsoftheenvironmentratherthanonothers
andthecentralnervoussystemisinastateofreadinessto
respondtostimuli(APA).
Inessenceattentionis
thestateofawareness
centeredtowardsthespecific
stimuli.

4. Attention Types
Theattentionismainlyoffollowingfourtypes:-
(i)SustainedAttention
(ii)SelectiveAttention
(iii)Divided
Attention
(iv)Alternating
Attention

5. (i)SustainedAttention–Thementalcapacityto
remainfocusedonastimuliforlongerdurationis
calledsustainedattention.Forexamplewatchinga
movie,dancingonDJfloor,readingabook,
listeningalectureorcookingadish,paintingetc.It
isalsoreferredasspanofattention(theabilityto
remainfocusedonmorethanonestimulusata
time).The
durationand
qualityof
attentioncan
beimproved
withpractice.

6. (ii)SelectiveAttention–Itcanalsobereferred
toasfocusedorintentionalattention.Itmeans
selectingorfocusingononestimulusfromthe
groupofstimuli.Thestimulithatareperceived
tobeirrelevantarescreenedoutorrejected
becausetheyareexpectedtointerferewiththe
attentionprocess.
Forexample
listeningone’s
nameinthe
midstofa
commotion.

7. (iii)DividedAttention–Theabilitytokeepfocusonmore
thanonestimulusoreventsimultaneously.Thecognitive
resourceswhicharerequiredforattentionaredivided,to
maintainfocusonmultiplestimuliatthesametime.Itcanbe
expressedthroughengaginginmultitasking.Forexample
drivingandlistingtomusic.Dividedattentioncanalsobe
improvedthroughsustained
practice.However,some
studiessuggestthatitisnot
feasibletomaintainour
attentiononmorethan
oneobjectsimultaneously,
theonlythingisthat
attentionshiftsbetween
tasksrapidly.

8. (iv)AlternatingAttention–Theabilitytoshift
orswitchconcentrationorfocusamongvarious
stimulisimultaneously.Alternatingattention
expressesthedegreeflexibilityincognitive
resources.Thistypeofattentionismost
commonlyfoundinsalespersonswhodealwith
multiplecustomersatthesametime.

9. Apart From Above Discussed Various manuals
and Books Describes Following Attention Types
(i)Primaryattention;
(ii)Effortlessattention;
(iii)Externalattention
(iv)Internalattention;
(v)Involuntary
attention;

10. (vi)Post-voluntaryattention;
(vii)Secondaryattention;
(viii)Spatialattention;
(ix)Visual
attention;
(x)Auditory
attention.

11. References:
1.NCERT,XIPsychologyTextbook.
2.https://www.bitbrain.com/blog/what-is-
attention-types.

12. Next Discussion
Introduction to Psychophysics

13. Meet You Soon
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