In This Article, Get To Know The Four Types Of Attention

It is important that we understand that there are multiple forms of attention. Most people believe that attention is just the ability to focus. Whenever someone is distracted or just doesn’t listen to you, tell them they’re “not paying attention to you.” In this article, however, you will discover the four types of attention.

This is our question: is it actually possible to live completely without attention? Attention disorders are extremely common. This diagnosis is also being made in an exaggerated way these days. This is the most surprising of all. After all, we live in a society that requires us to constantly process an endless number of stimuli.

Advertising, multitasking and electronic devices are just a few examples of the things vying for our attention at any given moment. Attention is a cognitive process that takes place in your brain.

Just because someone is distracted doesn’t mean they don’t have any kind of attention. At that point, they just turn their attention elsewhere.

Attention is an executive function

Attention is one of the most complex processes in our brain. In fact, experts have not yet arrived at a firm definition of attention.

It is a brain function that helps you filter stimuli, process information and focus on something specific. To do that, your frontal lobe has to take in all the information that comes from the rest of the nervous system.

This process takes place on several levels. This also depends on the specific medium you come into contact with. The characteristics of a particular task and what it requires of you also determine the kind of attention you should use.

Types of attention

We mentioned earlier that there are different levels of attention. However, you need to understand one fundamental concept: orientation. That essentially means that you are aware of your surroundings. So the kind of attention you need depends on your level of consciousness and the amount of activation you need to respond to.

Concentrated attention

This kind of attention is your ability to respond specifically to one stimulus. That requires you to ignore all other stimuli in your environment. For this you need a high vigilance level and a high activation.

If you become very tired after a long period of wakefulness, you are no longer ignoring other stimuli. You actually become more sensitive to distractions.

lasting attention

Sustained attention is the kind of attention you use for tasks that take a long time. Actually, this attention ensures that you perform one specific cognitive activity in a consistent way.

For example, if you have to study for an exam, you have to read. You have to process the information from a manual for several hours. The reward is often not immediate. Many obstacles arise with this kind of attention.

Here are some examples:

• A lack of motivation
• Fatigue
• Boredom

Divided attention

Our brains are absolutely fantastic. After all, they allow us to do several things at the same time! We think it is important to mention what happens, even if the assignments are not very demanding. Even in this case, the brain has to split your attention in such a way that you can do both tasks properly.

However, this has a limited capacity. Once one or both sources of information begin to demand more attention, your ability to respond will weaken. For example, if you have to write and listen at the same time or look at and speak to your professor at the same time, you are using divided attention.

Alternating attention

In terms of cognitive flexibility, this is the most important form of attention. Essentially, it has to do with the ability to change the focus of your attention and switch between different commands.

An example is when you prepare the different ingredients in different time periods to prepare a complicated recipe. To do this properly, you have to alternate between the tasks. At the same time, don’t forget the previous task because after a few seconds you will focus on this task again.

The importance of attention control

Attention is not a single and exclusively mental process. Most of the assignments you perform require a combination of the different types of attention.

Attention control is the ability to switch between these different types of attention and use them effectively. That control is dependent on other executive functions. Here are some of the most important:

• The memory. Many tasks require you to recover things from your long and short term memory. To do that you need a good level of attention.
• Plan. Other tasks require simultaneous and scheduled action. To do that well, you need to organize and execute each task effectively.
• inhibition. This is the ability to block, filter and control the sensory stimuli around you. Here it is about the stimuli that have nothing to do with what you are trying to do.

Which parts of the nervous system play a role in the types of attention?

• The reticular activation system. Attention requires the ability to absorb stimuli. The environmental information around you is processed as it travels through the brainstem.
• The parietal lobe of the brain. This is an important brain structure for the spatial processing of stimuli and the allocation of resources for a specific task.
• The frontal lobe of the brain. This is the orchestra conductor of your brain. It is the part of the brain that selects responses and motor skills to carry out a specific plan and take action.

The four types of attention are an essential tool

Attention is a complex brain function. It has played a very important role in our evolution and in our development as a species. Plus, it’s a skill you need to train. Any damage to the structures we just discussed can lead to irreversible brain damage.

The four types of attention are all equally important. We all use them every day. In some cases, we use them for automatic things like breakfast. In other circumstances, they’re needed for complex things like getting into traffic. Attention is therefore vital in our daily lives.