SPAN OF ATTENTION

INTRODUCTION

BASIC CONCEPT
Attention is defined as the process which compels the individuals to select some particular
stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of stimuli present in the
Environment. Thus in short it is the selective activity of consciousness as a process of getting an
object of thought clearly before the mind.
Span of attention actually tells us that how many things can exist in the focus of consciousness at
one time in an individual. The span of Visual apprehension is observed through the instruments
named Tachistoscope.
TYPES OF ATTENTION::
1. Analytical Attention:- When our attention is diverted towards the analysis of problem and to
find out the prospective for that occurring presently.
2. Habitual Attention:- This type of attention is determined by habits.

3. Idcational Attention:- When the attention is divcerted towards some image or status or structure
selected to object.
4. Involuntary Attention:- Here the attention is diverted suddenly toward the stimulus, It hinders
the process of goal seeking sometimes but not always. Ex- attention is attracted to a song while
studying.
5. Voluntary Attention:- when the attention is diverted willingly to an object.
EACTORS AFEECTING ATTENTION:
EXTERNAL FACTORS

a. Movement:
A moving object draws our attention more casily than a stationary object.

b. Intensity:
More intense light, sound or smell draws our attention more casily than less intense one.
c. Size:
A bigger or a smaller object draws the attention of people very casily than average level size of
any object.

INTERNAL FACTORS

a. Interest:
Objects of our interest draw our attention immediately.

b. Motives:
Motives are powerful forces which make us to divert our attention.

c. Mental set:
Our set or readiness of mind is very important in attending to any stimulus.

d. Emotional state:
Attention is disturbed during emotional state. It also affects our perception.

THEORIES OF ATTENTION

Elter Theorywas developed by Broadbent (1956). According to this theory, many stimuli
simultancously enter our receptors creating a kind of"bottlencck" situation. Moving through the
short term memory, they enter the selective filter, which allows only one stimulus to pass
through for higher levels of processing. Other stimuli are screened out at that moment of time.
Thus, we become aware of only that stimulus, which gets access through the selective filter.

Attenuation theory is a model of selcctive attention proposcd by Anne Treisman, and can be
seen as a revision of Donald Broadbent's filter model. Treisman proposed attenuation theory as a
means to explain how unattended stimulisometimes came to be processed in a more rigorous
manner than what Broadbent's filter model could account for As a result, attenuation theory
added layers of sophistication to Broadbent's original idea of how selective attention might
operate: claiming that instead of a filter which barred unattended inputs from ever entering
awareness, it was a process of attenuation. Thus, the attenuation of unattended stimuli would
make it difficult, but not impossible to extract meaningful content from irrelevant inputs, so long
as stimuli still possessed sufficient "strength" after attenuation to make it through a hierarchical
analysis process.
 Multimodetheory_was developed by Johnston and Heinz (1978). This theory believes that
attention is a flexible system that allows sclection of a stimulus over others at thrce stages, At
stage one the sensory representations of stimuli are constructed, at stage two the semantic
representations are constructed and at stage threc the sensory and semantic representations enter
the consciousness.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Donald.B, Thomas.D (2012)
An attention performance test uses a visual display, a test subjcct input device, a memory
and a programmed processor coupled to cach of the above to administer a test to a test
subject. A test target, which for example can be a word colored in a first color but
meaning another color, is attempted to be matched by the test subject to one of a series of
sequentially presented visual response targets. In one embodimcnt, a non visual test
stimulus is also provided to the test subject, the test subject having previously been
instructed to respond to the non visual test stimulus (such as a beep) in a particular way.
The test also measures the response latency of the test subject, i.c., whether the test
subject has assumed a correct position for entering a response. The responses from the
test subject are recorded and may be compared with data derived from a test subject
database in assessing whether an attention deficit disorder exists.

Megan.M, Alan.C (20 14)

This study examincd relations between children's attention span-persistence in preschool
and later school achievement and college completion. Children were drawn from the
Colorado Adoption Project using adoptcd and non-adopted children (N= 430). Results of
structural equation modeling indicated that children's age 4 attention span-persistence
significantly predicted math and reading achievement at age 21 after controlling for
achievement levels at age 7, adopted status, child vocabulary skills, gender, and maternal
education level. Relations between attention span-persistence and later achievement were
not fully mediated by age 7 achievement levels. Logistic regressions also revealed that
age 4 attcntion span-persistence skills significantly predicted the odds of completing
college by age 25. The majority of this relationship was dircct and was not significantly
mediated by math or reading skills at age 7 or age 21. Specifically. children who were
rated one standard deviation higher on attention span-persistence at age 4 had 48,7%
greater odds of completing college by age 25. Discussion focuses on the importance of
children's carly attention span-persistence for later school achievement and cducational
attainment.

Neil. A, Alex.D (2018)

In the current climate of curriculum reform, the traditional lecture has come under fire for its
perceived lack of effectiveness. Indecd, several institutions have reduced their lectures to 15 min
in length based upon the "common knowledge" and "consensus" that there is a decline in
students' attention 10-15 min into lectures. A review of the literature on this topic reveals many
discussions referring to prior studies but scant few primary investigations. Alarmingly, the most
often cited source for a rapid decline in student attention during a lecture barely discusses student
attention at all. Of the studies that do attempt to measure attention, many suffer from
methodological flavws and subjectivity in data collcction. Thus, the available primary data do not
support the concept of a10- to 15-min attention limit. Interestingly, the most consistent finding
from a literature review is that the greatest variability in student attention arises from differences
between teachers and not from the teaching format itself. Certainly, cven the most interesting
material can be presented in a dull and dry fashion, and it is the job of the instructor to enhance
their teaching skills to provide not only rich content but also a satisfying lecture experience for
the students.

AIM:TO MEASURE SPAN OF ATTENTION OF A VISUAL STIMULI

METHADOLOGY

HYPOTHESIS:

The snan of attention for meaningful words will be more than non-mcaningful
Words,

MATERIAL REQUIRED

1. Flashcards

2. Pencil

3. Paper

4. Tachistoscope

DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS

NAME: XYZ

AGE: 18 YEARS

GENDER:FEMALE
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION: STUDENT

VARIABLES

1. Independent variables - Cards of meaningful and non meaningful words.

2. Dependent variable - Subject"'s response in different trials.

DESCRPTION OF THE TEST

The apparatus consists of a wooden screen with a window in the middle which is covered by a
movable falling shutter. This shutter can be closed or opencd with the help ofa lever which is
behind the screen at the top. The exposure time is usually 1/10th ofa second. It is sufficient to
cnable the subject to take a quick glance at the exposed material and at the same time short
enough to prevent hinm from reading or memorizing it. One by one flashcards of meaningful and
non meaningful words will be exposed and the results will be noted.

4 ADMINISTRATION

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Get prepared when ready signal is given.

2. As soon as say "yes" focus your attention on screen on which you will see some
meaningful and non meaningful words.

3. Whatever you see you report it immediately.

PRECAUTIONS

Room temperature should be maintaincd.

2._Proper lightning should be there.
3._There should bc a pin drop silence.

PROCEDURE

1. Good support was found with the subject and he was made to sit comfortably.
2. The subjcct is scated in front of the tachistoscope such that he has a good view of the
window. The experimenter sits on the other side of the apparatus

3. After connecting with the screen a card of two words first shown.

4. The subjcct response was noted in the result table similarly all the cards were shown.

OBSERVATIONAL REPORT

When the subjcct was experimentally one observed at first subject to too much interest in the
first threc or four cards then he became nervous in saying words. He was saying meaningful
word casily but he could not spcak non-mcaningful word casily.
JINTROSPECTIVEREPORT

RESULTAND INTERPRETATION

The result table is shown along side. Table Ishows the recall of meaningful words. Whercas
table 2 shows the recal of non meaningful words. The no. of correct responses of meaningful
words is 43. Whereas the no. of incorrect responses of non meaningful words is 17.
The percentage of correct responses for meaningful words is 82.69% and the percentage of
correct responses for non meaningful words is 60.71%.
DISCUSSION

AIM: TO MEASURE SPAN OF ATTENTION OF A VISUAL STIMULL

Attention is defined the process which compels the individuals to select some particular
stimulus according to his interest and attitude out of the multiplicity of stimuli present in the
Environment. Thus in short it is the selcctive activity of consciousness as a process of getting an
object of thought clearly before the mind.
Span of attention actually tells us that how many things can exist in the focus of consciousness at
one time in an individual. The span of Visual apprehension is observed through the instruments
named Tachistoscope.

Meaningful words are those words which are nothing but the constitution of one or more than
one letter of English alphabet which provide complete meaning. The words refer to these words
which are written on the card and used in tachistoscope.
Non-Mcaningful words are those words which are nothing but the constitution of onc or more
than one letter of English alphabet which does not provide any meaning. The words refers to
these words which are written on the card and used in tachistoscope.
The whole experimcnt was conducted while taking a good care of all the precautions. Rapport
was formed in order to make the client comfortable and calm. The client was able to see most of
the words clearly. At times she got nervous but was able to manage well.
The response rate shows that she was able to recall the mcaningful words better than the non
meaning full words. The percentage of correct responses of meaningful words was 82.69% and
the percentage of correct responses of the non mcaningful words was 60.71%
CONCLUSION

The hypothesis is proved correct as the span of attention for meaningful words is more than the
non meaningful words.
REEERENCES
[1]Anastasi, A., (1988). Psychological Testing, 6th Edition, Macmillan, New York.
[2] Best, John & Prentice, W..( 1978).Rescarch in Education, New Delhi: Hall of India

[3] Panda, B.N., (2007). Advanced Educational Psychology, Discovery Publishing House, New
Delhi.