CHAPTER XIII ATTENTION

For Two.* In reading this paragraph your attention movea f rom Word to word, following close upon the movement of the point of regard, and you are probably aware of this movement of attention as an expression of personal activity, as an advancing wave in the tide of your feeling of interest, and as a complex of sensory impressions of bodily condition and processes of adjustment. Thèse are the most direct ways in which we become aware of it; but attention is not an activity in itself, it is not essentially a feeling of interest, nor is it essentially awareness of the processes of bodily accommodation. Attention is the focus of consciousness as a whole, the State or form of concentration of the seeing, thinking, remembering, feeling, doing, etc., at a given moment. Attention is to consciousness as the point of regard is to the field of vision, the focal point.

1. Rhythm of Attention. — ^When O is seated with eyes closed, in a quiet room, hold an open watch at such a distance from his ear that he can barely hear it. At a signal let him direct his attention as steadily as

*Thi8 experiment must be performed in comparative quiet, which is usually best obtained in the evening.

possible upon the hearing of the Sound for one minute and, with a pencil in hand, point upward when he hears the Sound and downward when he does not hear it.* FoUowing the second-hand on the watch, tap time quietly in the note-book, making a dotted line, thus,

, one dot per second; adopt two levels and trace

on the upper when O points upward, and on the lower when he points downward, like this, ;

Préserve and number the curves as permanent records. Make a table showing the number of periods and the length of each period in seconds (a) for "Sound heard" and (b) for "Sound not heard." Make five trials.

This experiment demonstrates that attention fluctuâtes and is periodic. For reasons of biological economy, consciousness cannot remain focused upon a single unchanging object for more than a moment at a time ; the focus, i.e., the attention, is intermittent.

A liminal stimulus was chosen because it is easier to observe the changes in that than in strong stimuli, although the principle of fluctuation applies to both, indeed perhaps to ail objects of consciousness. And the sensé of hearing was chosen because the stimulus can be most satisfactorily controUed for that sensé. In

* If the fluctuation doei;* not occur, the watch is either toc near or too far away; find such a distance that it will be heard about half of the time.

A common source of failure in a beginner is that he expects to hear the tick at one moment as well as at another and therefore fails to observe that he does not actually hear it but merely imagines that he hears it part of the time. An attentive observer may be able to record the missing of a single tick or two.

If any wave in a curve is due to outside disturbance, discard that record and try it over again.

sight, touch, and smell the test is complicated by the rapid changes of adaptation and fatigue. The most satisf actory stimulus is a constant tone of médium pitch. The waves of attention are not smooth. If we could get a detailed record of attention to a constant stimulus such as a sustained tone, a gray surface, or a uniform pressure, it would probably take a form something like the white surface in Fig. 27, which might represent the distribution of attention for about ten seconds schemat-

FiG. 27.

ically.* Both crests and troughs are rugged. In the

case of a tone, for example, the resuit of a very faint

tone might be represented at the level a-a!^ where the

tone is heard very faintly and only for a relatively short

period; the resuit for a stronger stimulus might be

represented at the level 6-fc', where the tone is clearer

and stronger and the periods of duration are relatively

longer ; while the resuit for a strong stimulus might be

represented at the level c-c', which indicates that the

observer has the impression of being aware of the tone

* For attention this îs merely a hypothetical diagram ; actually it is a photograph of the manometric flame for a vowel.

ail the time but that there is a rhythmic fluctuation in its cleamess and strength.*

Probably ail mental activity — sensation, discrimination, feeling, memory, will, etc. — is rhythmic. The two waves in Fig. 27 are made up of smaller waves, and thèse in turn of still smaller ones. Measurements on long periods of attention show that there may be waves as long as an hour ; smaller waves, reckoned in minutes, may be traced inside of thèse ; and within the "minutewaves" we find the so-called "second-waves." Our conception of the flow of attention, or the fluctuation in the capacity for a certain conscious activity, is then this: There are infinitely short ripplets of attention, hardly perceptible ; thèse form the surface of ripples, which in turn form the surface of wavelets ; and thèse wavelets in turn form the surface of waves, and so on. Thus, ail attention is rhythmic, and there is rhythm within rhythm from the infinitesimally short to the very long, even daily and annual periodicities.

The length of the attention-wave (second-wave) varies with numerous conditions, such as kind and strength of stimulus, practice, tempérament, psychophysical condition, effort, etc. The shortest fluctuations are probably too rapid to be detected, and ordinarily a single crest of attention cannot be maintained for more than ten or twelve seconds. For conditions

* It is évident that the ratio of the length of the crests to the length of the troughs in the above experiment depended upon the strength of the stimulus adopted. When a stimulus is comparatively weak the troughs are long and the crests short; whereas the order is reversed when the stimulus is oomparatively Btrong.

like those of the présent experiment an average of f rom six to eight seconds for a complète wave is about normal. The periodicity has corne into existence because it îs effective, économie, and agreeable.* To illustrate thèse three features, let us aid our constructive imagination by Fig. 28. The vertical bar represents something that we can be conscious of, e.g., a tone which is not heard because not attended to, and that, as we turn to listen to it, our attention may flow in any one of the forms a, fe, or c, which represent surfaces of equal magnitude. Now if it takes the form a, the object will be in con-

FiG. 28.

sciousness continuously, but only in small part; if it takes the form c, the object will be comprehended completely as it passes through consciousness ; b represents a mean between thèse two extrêmes. As nothing would be gained by holding the tone in consciousness longer than c does, c is the most effective form.

Then, c gives consciousness a period of rest proportional in length to the degree of concentration. As c accomplishes four times as effective work as a with a given quantity of energy and still allows a good period of complète rest before the next wave, it foUows that c represents the most économie form of expenditure.

*The old philosophera had a sort of poetic dream that ail nature is rhythmical; and the more we discover of naturels ways the more we see of periodicity. Electricity furnishes a good example: the alternating current is far more effective and économie than the direct.

When, as in this case, the object of consciousness is constant, when it can be divided into natural groups by attention itself, or when the object is itself periodic, as in music, poetry, or rhythmic movements, the attention-waves adapt themselves to the rhythm so that the essentials of the group are grasped during the ctest of the attention-wave and each momentary effort is well timed and is foUowed by a period of rest. Applying this, then, to the three wave-forms in the figure, we see that as c affords the greatest feeling of ease and completeness in the grasp, permits rest, and tends to make the process automatic, it is the most agreeable.*

The psychological explanation for our enjoyment of rhythm in ail sorts of mental activity is to be found largely in this basai f act of a natural, biological rhythm of attention.

What are the immédiate psychophysical causes and conditions of thèse wave-forms? Numerous investigators are at work on that problem at the présent time, but it is too early to draw any gênerai conclusion, and détails would take us too far into technicalities. It is probable that we shall be able to trace the waves into their constituent éléments, both central and peripheral.

Language forces us to use terms which might signify

the adoption of one or another of the extrême théories

of attention. This should not mislead us into thinking

that we know what the ultimate nature of consciousness

or attention is.

* There is an analogy in the learning of a game. The begînner is conscious of every step in the process and^ usually fails; whereas the expert times his effort and uses it only at crucial points. The secret of the Japanese wréstling feat jiu-jitsu lies in the instantaneity of the act.

2. Division of Attention — Time O for thirty seconds and let him count aloud as fast as he can from one up and at the same time write numbers in an independent séries as fast as he can from one up; thus, 1, 2, 3, etc. Note errors made in the counting. Let O record the number reached in counting and writing respectively, the errors noted in counting and in writing, and any influence of one séries upon the other that he can remember or observe. Make five trials.

The observer failed in the effort to divide attention and direct it upon both processes at the same time. He noticed an irrésistible tendency to allow the attention to oscillate from one process to the other. In so far as the two processes actually went on simultaneously, one was automatic, i.e., went on without attention. Among the conspicuous errors are probably speaking a number due in writing, writing a number due in speaking, and partial combination of a number in one séries with a number in the other.

Strictly we can attend to only one process at a time. When two or more mental processes are supposed to be carried on simultaneously, either the attention oscillâtes so rapidly from one to the other that they seem simultaneous, or ail but one of the processes are automatic. Usually thèse two principles coôperate.*

♦James quotes Paulhan: "I multiply 421,312,212 by 2; the opération takes six seconds; the recitation of four verses also takes six seconds. But the two opérations done at once take only six seconds, so that there is no loss of time from combining them." Hère the reciting must hâve been entirely automatic and habituai in connection with the multiplying. We should not think that the reciting required more attention than ordinary, unchecked, happy whistling would.

Still we must remember that attention is a matter of degree of concentration. I may see the whole landscape before me, but see nothing in particular. The process upon which attention is actually directed is in the focus of consciousness, while the other processes must be more or less out of focus, if consciousness is f ocused at ail. AU that we do skillfuUy and nearly ail that we do well is done without much attention. Several such processes can go on simultaneously to advantage because they are more or less automatic and demand attention only at crucial points which attention can reach in its oscillations. In the development of habit such points are reduced to a minimum.*

3. The Scope of Attention. — Lay a sheet of paper on the table and tap at a unif orm rate with the point of a pencil as rapidly as you can on the sheet. Make f rom three to twelve taps, and require O to say, without counting theip, how many taps he heard. Kecord O's estimate and the true number as shown by the number of dots on the paper. Make ten trials. Before showing the results to O record his statement of how many taps he feels sure that he can estimate correctly within a single span of attention like this.

The above test, though crude, serves to illustrate the principle that the range, scope, or span of attention is limited. The observeras estimate was probably correct

* In transcribing rough notes into a finished paragraph on the typewriter, reading, thinking, and fingering are three processes which run parallel, thereby favoring oscillation of attention where necessary. Yet the best work is done when the writer is oblivious of notes or fingering and is completely absorbed in the flow of the thought.

up to about five taps, but when a group had more than that number of taps the estimate was more or less of a guess on the ^^mass."

The experiment is usually performed as a sîght test with elaborate apparatus. Letters, numerals, dots, lines, etc., are shown in groups in exposures which are so short as to prevent eye-movement. In a 0.05-second exposure one can normally grasp with certainty from three to six similar and simple objects, such as letters. If the objects are psychologically more complex, fewer are grasped. If the simple objects are united into larger units, e.g., the letters are united into short words, one can grasp almost as many of the larger units, provided they are f amiliar ; one can grasp about three times as many letters when they form words as when they do not form words. It is about as easy to grasp one's full name as to grasp the initiais. In short, the span dépends upon the cohérence of the éléments which are grasped together.*

Interest and practice are the main sources of strong grasp of attention. The artist perceives the color

* The capacity for grasping facts by large units încreases with mental devolopment. Take the case of writing: the child first begins on the penmanship stage and is conscious of "position" and parts of letters; he then passes to the spelling stage and is conscious of letters as the éléments of words; later he enters the grammar stage and is conscious of words in the construction of the sentence; this leads to the rhetoric stage, in which he is conscious of the construction of the paragraph from phrases, clauses, and sentences; and finally, if he really becomes an effective writer, he reaches the logical stage and the writing is grasped in terms of ideas which take the form of paragraphs. As he reaches each higher stage, the units of the lower stage must more or less ''take care of themselves*'. Few adulte reach the highest level.

scheme of a painting at a glance ; and many a woman sees intricate détails in a rival's toilette in but a moment's observation.

4. Intensifying Effect of Attention. — Suspend two watches, one to the right and the other to the left of the head, at such distances that each can be just distinctly heard. With eyes closed, direct your attention alternately to one and the other and observe whether the tick seems louder in the one to which you attend.

The sensation to which the attention is directed probably becomes stronger. If we strike a chord on the piano and hold the keys down while the tones ring off, *^it is possible, by successive attentions, to construct a melody from the separate tones, while the whole chord sounds on as an accompaniment" (Titchener). Some psychologists think that the same may be illustrated in weak sensations in other sensés, e.g., color and touch.* But this intensifying effect is limited to comparatively weak stimuli. Strong tones, colors, and pressures are not intensified by attention. An overtone, but. not its f undamental, is intensified by attention.

In a similar manner attention increases the apparent duration of comparatively short mental processes.

A further closely related characteristic of the process attended to is that it seems to précède other processes which occur simultaneously with it but are not attended

* This is the principal elemélit in the explanation of "the feeling of being stared at". Many persons report distinct expériences of feeling that a person somewhere behind is staring at them; they are conscious of prominent tactual sensations in the neck. Thèse sensations are normally always présent if attended to; the expectant attention intçQsiûes them.

to. The usual fonn of the experiment illustratîve of this law is to présent simultaneously two stimuli while the observer notes that aceording to the direction of the attention, he can make the one or the other appear to corne first. One can make either the bell-stroke or the click of the métronome arise first, althoiigh in a good instrument they really sound at the same instant

This explains a celebrated experiment which proves that we cannot attend to auditory and visual stimuli at the same time. The experiment is an imitation of the recording of the transit of a star by an astronomer. A Sound and a visual impression occur together, but the observer invariably records one as having occurred before the other. What the order shall be is determined by the type of imagery the observer represents.*

5. Clearness and Détail. — Look at Fig. 29 and answer the question. Observe tho apparent changes in the lines of the figure the moment you solve the puzzle.

Attention makes the image of an object clearer and more meaningful. This is the raost striking and fundamental characteristic of attention. Fig. 29 is usually seen first as a disagreeable face and then as

*About a hundred years ago two astronomers who compared notes found that there was a large constant différence in their observations on the transit. Investigation rovealed the fact that one of them was a visualizer and the other an audile; one attended first to the visual impression and the other attended first to the auditory impression. The difîerenctj between the observations of the two astronomers was always the algebraic sum of their errors. This discovery marks the beginning of the study çf the so-called "persbnal équation".

something entirely différent, agreeable, and elear. The détails whieh are elear and dominant when we apperceive one view tend to vanish in the background when we apperceive the other.

It is, however, important to make a distinction between elearness and intensity. Faint stimuli become

FiG. 29.

both more intense and elear, while médium and strong stimuli, as a rule, gain only elearness through attention.

6. Distraction of Attention: Mind-Wandering. — Select fifteen consécutive lines from a paragraph and count how many a's there are in the sélection. Count as fast and accurately as possible and apply yourself to the task as exclusively as possible. Immediately after

the countîng, retrace the sélection and write ont a fuU, f rank, and spécifie account of the irrelevant impressions, memories, thoughts, feelings, and impulses which came more or less into the f ocus of attention against your best eflfort.

Unwavering attention is a fiction. There are great individual différences in the power of application of attention, but no mentally alert student can apply himself so closely even to this simple task but that he will hâve a long and intricate list of mind-wanderings to report. Indeed, the mind wanders so much for ail persons that a scant report in this experiment would be indicative of lack of power of observation rather than a high degree of concentration. Like many other processes, such as after-images, double images, etc., which ordinarily are not désirable, thèse mind-wanderings are not easy to trace without some practice.

The great scholar who held the egg in his hand while he boiled his watch, and the other one who dropped his watch down the well in place of a stone when he wished roughly to measure its depth, were really thinking about things vastly more important than eggs and watches. There are two kinds of absent-mindedness : the one which comes from extrême absorption in something else (the philosophical), and the one which comes from inability to apply oneself to anything (the scatterbrain).

The conditions of distraction, the effect of various types of training, the relative value of différent types of attention, the advantages and disadvantages of distraction, such are some of the numerous problems connected

with this topic which await solution in the expérimental psychology of éducation.

7. Sensé Processes in Attention Observe by introspection, in repeated trials, and record the sensory and motor tendencies which are characteristic of each of the f oUowing attitudes of attention :

(a) The attitude of listening as in Exp. 4.

(b) The eflfort to see clearly the irregularities in the period at the end of this sentence.

(c) Kesting a finger upon the point of a pin or sharp penknife and observing the fluctuation in the sensation of pain f rom the pricking.

(d) Thinking the names of the five largest towns in your State, eyes closed.

(e) Imagining a baseball flying directly toward your face.

AU attitudes of attention have certain tendencies in common, and each attitude probably has peculiar tendencies which give characteristic sensory impressions.*

* Pillsbury in hîs work on "Attention" sums up his chapter on the motor accompaniments of attention as follows: (1) The muscles of the sense-organs contract so as to give the greatest efficiency. (2) The voluntary muscles of the limbs and the trunk tend to make contractions which have been useful in similar situations of previous expérience. (3) There is a tendency to contract certain muscles regardless of the nature of the stimulus. (4) The processes of respiration and circulation are profoundly affected. (5) The bodily processes accompany attention; they do not précède it.

It is thèse motor processes that one has sensory impressions of in the state of attention.