Hellene Hiner Copyright @2016 

Main Characteristics of Attention

Attention is primarily directed to ensuring the physical needs and issues and then at solving semantic problems. This happens because of the instinct of self-preservation: first, we need to survive, and then we can search for the meaning of life.

Attention is our inner guard. Its mission is our security.

This principle is widely used in mass media: networks increase ratings and make money from advertising through "dangerous" news. News carrying a potential threat to our lives draw our closest attention.

Attention works in a practical way. For example, if you were planning to read or write an interesting article, but suddenly remembered that you forgot a purse with all your savings in a store, the energy of your attention will switch to searching the purse, no matter how much you try to focus on the article.

First Attention Focuses on General and Then on Specific

Human nervous system is formed in the womb. The feeling of gravity, however, comes after a baby is born. First, the baby learns to see in general and then develops the ability to focus on specific objects.

That is why, initially, attention is directed to the geography of an instrument. Once a student becomes familiar with it, his attention can be redirected to the strength of impact of each individual key.

Little children pound on the piano keys because they are not able to control the force of impact. Children can often "play music" for hours by “aimlessly” pressing keys in different registers: stronger and weaker sounds attract their attention.

However, until at least one particular key does not become the object of their focus, these movements will be spontaneous and unconscious, in no way developing the their attention.

Since hearing develops before birth while vision does after birth, attention is first drawn to sound and then to image.  Thus, because of the sound of a rattle, a baby learns to recognize its image.

As adults, we still prefer looking for a lost phone using hearing versus vision.

All this happens because attention is conservative.  It prefers to learn new things by using only tested methods that work.  First, neural paths form big tracks.  Then big tracks turn into roads and paths.  As a brain learns new information, its attention first rolls through tested tracks and roads and then develops the ability to create new neural connections.