Did you ever notice how some things really grab your attention but not the attention of others? Or how you edit out the background noise in a bustling restaurant when you want to hear what someone at your table is saying? That's selective attention. Both consciously and unconsciously, we edit our environment and pay attention to some things while ignoring others. With the increasing bombardment of stimuli we deal with each day, this capability becomes more and more important to us to sort out what matters to us and what doesn't. On the other hand, sometimes we edit out very important and useful information.
I thought of this the other day when I saw a chipmunk determined to cross the road. In front of him were four busy lanes of traffic and a huge parking lot. Behind him was an enormous lush field. What was he thinking? What did he imagine was more desirable in the road and parking lot than in the field? I still wonder what happened to that chipmunk.
This got me thinking. How often do I do that to myself? How often do I set my mind on doing, being or having something and ignore all other possibilities that might help me make a more informed decision? Just because I think something, doesn't make it so, nor is it necessarily a good idea.
It's very easy to assume our point of view is a perfect match to reality. Unfortunately, anyone with a different opinion or any conflicting information available to us gets either rejected or ignored because it doesn't fit our picture. This process of selective attention operates both automatically and consciously, but doesn't always serve our best interest -- like the chipmunk above.
Experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry hotly debate the question of how and why we select to pay attention to some things and not others. They also disagree about the degree to which this editing process is conscious. Typically, we filter out what we deem to be unnecessary or unimportant without being aware of the fact that we are exercising this filtering process. As a result, what we think is not necessarily so. It is simply a result of our beliefs, prior experiences, the arousal of our senses and other factors that play a role in our editing function.
Extreme problems with the selective attention function are evident in individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) who have difficulty focusing their attention, while those with Autism flood their senses by paying attention to too much at once. Then there are the rest of us. Consider, for example, teenagers who selectively do not pay attention to parents who repeatedly try to get them to do their chores. Or, the woman who ignores the warning signs of abuse from her partner because she doesn't want that to be true. Or the endless party politics where each side tries to outshout the other with their talking points, never really listening to opposing views.
The advertising industry is built on selective attention. Look at my product! Look at this beautiful model and buy into the illusion that you too will look this great if you buy my product!
In observing my own behavior, I notice that my selective attention really supports me well when I am writing and able to edit out all distractions except my cats -- but they delight me so I don't want to change that. I notice I am very task-oriented. When I choose to do something, I focus my attention on it and get it done. On the other hand, sometimes my attention is non-selective. For example, during meditation when I have difficulty shutting off my mind. Also, when I go shopping, I don't always selectively attend to my shopping list. I give myself too much freedom to be distracted and seduced by non-essential purchases.
Selective attention, while often unconscious, is a powerful tool when exercised consciously. It can work for us or against us depending on the situation. Here are some suggestions about how to hone your selective attention skills so that you can use them more to your advantage:
Do a selective attention audit on yourself:
Practice using your selective attention to better advantage:
We are selectively focusing our attention all the time. The real question is how aware of it are we? The more conscious we are of this process, the more opportunities we have to direct our attention to our advantage.
I welcome your comments.
Sadhguru: Darkness: The Lap of Creation
Selective Attention and Arousal
Attention - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
selective attention: Definition from Answers.com
YouTube - selective attention test
filter theory of selective attention (psychology) -- Britannica ...
It is known that meditation improves focus and concentration and yet allows for a 'wider' field of vision at other times. With so much attention put on media of all types we are learning to be distracted more. Turning off more of the time we spend with media and getting our into the garden, nature, meditating, yoga, or being with others in more direct ways is the answer to practicing more focus and attention giving. It is a discipline.
We are addicted to Dopamine - excitement, novelty. We directly supply our own brains with those little squirts of neurochemicals in reaction to a distracting culture. It's a difficult task to say no to it all or at least control ourselves a bit more.
Just some thoughts...thanks for the stimulating article!
You really have insight (or first hand knowledge) on attention disorders. I hear so many others repeating the same old lines they were taught in college but never truly understanding what it all means. It's like a huge book talking to me.
I have the unwanted gift of taking in everything I hear and see. Especially the hidden objects or even body language. I process all this information and then normally forget it because of my memory loss. Drives me nuts.
Most of my issues I've been able to overcome or hide by myself like stuttering, eye contact, and social shortcomings. But the attention issues are much harder. And just like you said, I've tried to figure out what works in different situations but haven't had much luck. Two things I've noticed is food affects me and cycles. I tend to go in cycles with no definitive beginning or end. Some lasting for months. If I start stuttering bad, I limit social time or just listen. If I can't comprehend the material I'm reading, I turn to audio.
Hope that all made sense.
God bless.
Thank you for your firsthand account of life with a selective attention challenge. So many people seem to take this function for granted - not realizing how powerfully it affects our awareness both consciously and unconsciously. Congratulations on finding some effective strategies and having the wisdom to ride it out.
Blessings,
Judith
I wrote this comment before reading the article. Now that I have seen the full gist of the topic any relevancy it might have had seems less poignant (in my mind of course). The phenomenological perspective is of course going to lead to that unending equation driven by focus leading to change of focus ad infinitum. What's helpful in meditative objectives of being open to all, if we can carry that trick of the mind while being actively focused, might allow us to be more objective (with each other). I am of course presuming that focus can exist in an oscillatory state.
P.S. Focus may just be a side band of our attention frequency and perhaps should be considered as such.
The time I get most distraction and non-focussed is during my meditation time, when the world sometimes launches itself at me through my mind. However, the value of that process is learning to observe and not get attached to what is flying through.
It also means that when I do need to focus, my mind has been cleared to do so. What is more, my attention tends to go towards what is most useful and relevant.
Thanks for opening the discussion!
With love,
Anne
Thanks for your great insight.
Blessings,
Judith
Thanks for the insight.
Sculptorbob
To put the "what you focus on you find" idea in another context, think back to your days of youth sports. In little league, coaches and parents would always tell you to keep your eye on the ball or when pitching to focus on the mitt, in hockey it was focus on the puck. Archery, basketball, football, etc, the list goes on and on. In adult life you hear success stories about people that became hyper focused on achieving a goal. It was they thought about day and night -- it's what they focused on. Focus is an essential part of our successes and our happiness. When one learns to harness that power, great things can come from it.