ATTENTION & LEARNING 4.
Alternating Attention: Constantly
WHATS’ IN THIS JOB AID:
o What is attention?
o Various natures of attention.
o Issues related to Learning.
o Effects of Learning.
WHAT IS ATTENTION?
Attention is a mental faculty which enables us
to selectively absorb a selective amount of
information from the environment. This serves
to protect our minds from being overburdened
with processing too much information. The
human mind has a limited capacity to process
a given amount of information, at a particular
time. The environment, however, has
seemingly limitless capacity to bombard us
with information. Attention serves as a filter
here, taking in what is contextually important,
at the expense of that which is irrelevant. Only
that information which passes through this
filter proceeds to be processed. This essentially
makes attention the first step in the thinking
process.
The most crucial function executed by
Attention is that it gauges the environment for
variations, thus allowing us to rapidly respond
to environmental threats. Attention relies on
past memories and knowledge to determine
which inputs are important, and which ones
can be ignored.
Forms of Attention
The are four main types of attention:
1. Sustained Attention: When you’re
attentive towards a task for an
extended period.
2. Selective Attention: Choosing to be
attentive towards one input while
many other distractions are present in
your environment.
3. Divided Attention: Like multitasking,
your focus is split between two inputs
simultaneously.
switching your attention between two
different tasks.
ATTENTION ISSUES
Owing to the wide presence of numerous
distractions present in the modern world, it is
quite challenging to maintain sustained
attention. Attention thus begins to waver.
However, research indicates that attention
spans themselves are not shortening.
Selective and alternating attention is
something used quite frequently. This isn’t as
much a cause of concern. The frequent use of
divided attention, however, is concerning. It
can only be used effectively when one of the
two tasks is something which may be done in a
state of autonomous cognition, such as
walking and talking, where walking requires no
active thought.
Where the need for deliberate attention is to
be found in both tasks, our mind cannot
multitask. We are really just alternating
attention at a rapid pace, which is quite
counterintuitive as it decreases productivity
for both tasks.
ISSUES RELATED TO LEARNING
Often, in a misguided effort, we pursue gaining
and retaining attention as our primary
objective. A better approach, however, is to
understand the limitations of our attentive
capacities and mould our plans accordingly.
Developing instructions with more meaningful,
deep-rooted strategies encourages people to
remain invested.
In the process of learning, attention is only the
first step. Our primary focus should rather be
on the subsequent outcomes such as
comprehension, retention, and application.
Developing strategies around the limitations of
attention and retention can have the following
effects (as shown by research) on learning, and
its implementation in the work environment:
*Words in parentheses are science of learning terms.
1. Develop plans while accounting for
attention fluctuation.
 2. Grab attention by making stories
relevant. (Gagné, step one: gain
attention)
3. Avoid overburdening working memory
(cognitive load).
4. Ensure that your writing is to the point
and intelligible.
5. Minimize distraction such as with non-
essential imagery.
6. Make people’s learnings meaningful
for them.
7. Form a relation between people’s
learnings and their existing
knowledge.
8. Link people’s learnings to their work,
as well as their personal lives.
9. Use advance organizers.
10. Encourage people to reiterate
concepts in their own words (self-
explanations).
11. Expose your audience to thought-
provoking questions about the
content shown (generative
processing).
12. Make people absorb and practice
learnings in smaller segments rather
than all at once (spaced learning,
retrieval practice).
13. Encourage people to use their
learnings from training sessions in a
practical manner.
14. Frequently quiz people to foster better
attention and retention (testing
effect).
15. Evaluate people’s understandings to
ensure that nothing has been
misinterpreted.
16. Rely only on proven methods, and not
trends.
REFERENCES
Chun, M.M., J.D. Golomb, and N.B. Turk‐
Browne. 2011. “A Taxonomy of External and
Internal Attention.” The Annual Review of
Psychology 62: 73‐101.
www.iapsych.com/articles/chun2011.pdf.
Dempster, F.N. 1988. “The Spacing Effect: A
Case Study in the Failure to Apply the Results
of Psychological Research.” American
Psychologist 43(8): 627‐634.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a59f/da0ea
ecfa15a51c672a9ee6fc0ec4d526fae.pdf.
Gagné, R. 1985. The Conditions of Learning,
4th edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
Pashler, H. 1998. The Psychology of Attention.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
PolicyViz. 2016. “The Attention Span Statistic
Fallacy.” PolicyViz, January 29.
https://policyviz.com/2016/01/29/the ‐
attention‐span‐statistic‐fallacy.
Roediger, H.L., and A.C. Butler. 2011. “The
Critical Role of Retrieval Practice in Long‐ Term
Retention.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15(1):
20‐27.
http://psych.wustl.edu/memory/Roddy%20ar
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282011%29_TCS.pdf.
Shank, P. 2017. Write and Organize for Deeper
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www.pattishank.com/make ‐it‐learnable‐
series.
Szpunar, K.K., S.T. Moulton, and D.L. Schacter.
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