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| Managing Your Focus of Attention |
Managing Your Focus of Attention
William James, the early American philosopher and psychologist, concluded in The Principles of Psychology (1890) that the capacity of consciousness is limited and selective. This conclusion is consistent with the definition of the conscious mind as the contents of immediate-term memory. Research in neurobiology has also found that focused mental activity is accompanied by activity in specific neural networks, which implies that there is a physical basis for the concept of focused attention.
Your attention can be directed to analyzing stimuli from your environment, or from subconscious signals. Continuously selecting the focus of your attention is one of the most important functions of your conscious mind.
The bumblebee problem
Consider the problem of recognizing a bumblebee. The colour, the size, the shape, the buzzing sound, and the activity of the insect are all detected separately and have to be integrated in your subconscious mind into the concept of ‘bumblebee’ before that message can be forwarded to your conscious mind. Then your conscious mind has the choice of focusing its attention on the bee and following it as it flits from flower to flower, or it can ignore the bee and continue with what it was doing before.
Another interesting feature of the bumblebee problem is that it confirms that the senses have ‘buffers’, or short-term memories for storing input. Your senses receive a continuous stream of new information that is analyzed and integrated with other input and scanned for interesting features. However, your brain does not know what is interesting until it has had enough time to integrate all the information gathered by the senses. That information has to be stored in the meantime so that it is available for reference. All of this processing and decision-making occurs so quickly that most of the time your conscious mind is unaware that it is happening.
The function of focus
Your conscious mind is designed to keep you aware of your changing environment. Most of the time, you want your conscious attention to shift from item to item as you monitor your surroundings. However, on occasion it is highly advantageous to be able to ignore most environmental stimuli and focus your attention on one specific task.
The ability to focus your attention means that you are able to devote all the resources of your conscious mind and your immediate-term memory to a single task of your choice.
It takes practice and determination to focus your attention on a single topic because other items from your environment and your subconscious are continually clamouring for your attention. Once a state of focus is achieved, your conscious mind is able to devote its maximum power to dealing with your chosen topic.
Students often like to do their homework while listening to music. Does music help or hinder their study efforts? It depends on both the assignment and the style of music.
If an assignment is dull and repetitive, then enjoyable music may lighten the mood and add a dash of inspiration. If a task is challenging, then quiet background music may help to block out other environmental distractions until they fade from consciousness, leaving the mind focused on the task. If a task is frustratingly difficult, then total silence may be necessary before the mind is able to focus on such a task.
Concentrated problem solving
The conscious mind is well suited for dealing with most of life’s challenges. However, when you face a difficult problem with many components, your full mental concentration is required. When you are successful in focusing your attention, the rest of the universe seems to disappear, even you disappear, and only the topic of interest exists.
For example, when you read a good story you are often completely engaged in the plot. In your mind, you are right there by the shoulder of the main character, following the action and encouraging the characters to behave as you would wish. Your mind has been completely focused by the skilful writing of the author.
Similarly when you are working on a challenging task such as painting a portrait, hitting a baseball, or solving an equation, your conscious mind can be completely focused on that one task to the exclusion of all others – at least for a few moments.
As you become more skilled at achieving full focus, you are better able to achieve success with your chosen tasks and activities.
Diffuse focus
Alternatively, when you are seeking inspiration from your subconscious, a state of diffuse focus can be desirable. A state of diffuse focus is the opposite of focused attention and is related to both a meditative state and daydreaming. As you move towards a state of diffuse focus your conscious mind is deliberately emptied of significant information and you feel as if you are in a warm and comforting fog.
A state of diffuse focus can help you solve complex problems that have resisted your conscious efforts. Sometimes the aspects of a problem can overload your conscious mind making it difficult to find a solution. In such a situation, switching to a state of diffuse focus can provide an opportunity for your subconscious mind to contribute novel ideas that your conscious mind may have overlooked.
You can practice reaching a state of diffuse focus by relaxing, closing your eyes, breathing deeply, and pushing extraneous thoughts out of your conscious mind. In a state of diffuse focus, external stimuli are suppressed while your conscious mind is free to ponder thoughts submitted by your subconscious.
William James, the early American philosopher and psychologist, concluded in The Principles of Psychology (1890) that the capacity of consciousness is limited and selective. This conclusion is consistent with the definition of the conscious mind as the contents of immediate-term memory. Research in neurobiology has also found that focused mental activity is accompanied by activity in specific neural networks, which implies that there is a physical basis for the concept of focused attention.
Your attention can be directed to analyzing stimuli from your environment, or from subconscious signals. Continuously selecting the focus of your attention is one of the most important functions of your conscious mind.
The bumblebee problem
Consider the problem of recognizing a bumblebee. The colour, the size, the shape, the buzzing sound, and the activity of the insect are all detected separately and have to be integrated in your subconscious mind into the concept of ‘bumblebee’ before that message can be forwarded to your conscious mind. Then your conscious mind has the choice of focusing its attention on the bee and following it as it flits from flower to flower, or it can ignore the bee and continue with what it was doing before.
Another interesting feature of the bumblebee problem is that it confirms that the senses have ‘buffers’, or short-term memories for storing input. Your senses receive a continuous stream of new information that is analyzed and integrated with other input and scanned for interesting features. However, your brain does not know what is interesting until it has had enough time to integrate all the information gathered by the senses. That information has to be stored in the meantime so that it is available for reference. All of this processing and decision-making occurs so quickly that most of the time your conscious mind is unaware that it is happening.
The function of focus
Your conscious mind is designed to keep you aware of your changing environment. Most of the time, you want your conscious attention to shift from item to item as you monitor your surroundings. However, on occasion it is highly advantageous to be able to ignore most environmental stimuli and focus your attention on one specific task.
The ability to focus your attention means that you are able to devote all the resources of your conscious mind and your immediate-term memory to a single task of your choice.
It takes practice and determination to focus your attention on a single topic because other items from your environment and your subconscious are continually clamouring for your attention. Once a state of focus is achieved, your conscious mind is able to devote its maximum power to dealing with your chosen topic.
Students often like to do their homework while listening to music. Does music help or hinder their study efforts? It depends on both the assignment and the style of music.
If an assignment is dull and repetitive, then enjoyable music may lighten the mood and add a dash of inspiration. If a task is challenging, then quiet background music may help to block out other environmental distractions until they fade from consciousness, leaving the mind focused on the task. If a task is frustratingly difficult, then total silence may be necessary before the mind is able to focus on such a task.
Concentrated problem solving
The conscious mind is well suited for dealing with most of life’s challenges. However, when you face a difficult problem with many components, your full mental concentration is required. When you are successful in focusing your attention, the rest of the universe seems to disappear, even you disappear, and only the topic of interest exists.
For example, when you read a good story you are often completely engaged in the plot. In your mind, you are right there by the shoulder of the main character, following the action and encouraging the characters to behave as you would wish. Your mind has been completely focused by the skilful writing of the author.
Similarly when you are working on a challenging task such as painting a portrait, hitting a baseball, or solving an equation, your conscious mind can be completely focused on that one task to the exclusion of all others – at least for a few moments.
As you become more skilled at achieving full focus, you are better able to achieve success with your chosen tasks and activities.
Diffuse focus
Alternatively, when you are seeking inspiration from your subconscious, a state of diffuse focus can be desirable. A state of diffuse focus is the opposite of focused attention and is related to both a meditative state and daydreaming. As you move towards a state of diffuse focus your conscious mind is deliberately emptied of significant information and you feel as if you are in a warm and comforting fog.
A state of diffuse focus can help you solve complex problems that have resisted your conscious efforts. Sometimes the aspects of a problem can overload your conscious mind making it difficult to find a solution. In such a situation, switching to a state of diffuse focus can provide an opportunity for your subconscious mind to contribute novel ideas that your conscious mind may have overlooked.
You can practice reaching a state of diffuse focus by relaxing, closing your eyes, breathing deeply, and pushing extraneous thoughts out of your conscious mind. In a state of diffuse focus, external stimuli are suppressed while your conscious mind is free to ponder thoughts submitted by your subconscious.
