User:Dwidge/Attention span

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Duration in humans from   copied from Attention span  →  "Attention Span By Age"

Modern society   copied from  Attention span  → "Impact Of Technology"

Research   copied from  Attention span → "Testing The Attention Span"

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Estimates for the length of the human attention span are subject to high variability and depend on the precise definition of attention being used.


 * Transient attention is a short-term response to a stimulus that temporarily attracts or distracts attention. Researchers disagree on the exact amount of the human transient attention span.
 * Selective sustained attention, also known as focused attention, is the level of attention that produces consistent results on a task over time. Common estimates of the attention span of healthy teenagers and adults range from 5 to 6 hours; however, there is no empirical evidence for this estimate. People can choose repeatedly to re-focus on the same thing. This ability to renew attention permits people to 'pay attention' to things that last for more than a few minutes, such as lengthy films   copied from Attention span →  Measuring humans estimated attention span depends on what the attention is being used for. The terms “Transient attention” and “Selective sustained attention” are used to separate short term and focused attention. Transient attention is a short-term response to a stimulus that temporarily attracts or distracts attention. Researchers disagree on the exact amount of the human transient attention span. Whereas, Selective sustained attention also known as focused attention, is the level of attention that produces consistent results on a task over time. Common estimates of the attention span of healthy teenagers and adults range from 5 to 6 hours. This is possible because people can choose repeatedly to re-focus on the same thing.[5] This ability to renew attention permits people to 'pay attention' to things that last for more than a few minutes, such as lengthy films.

Older children are more capable of longer periods of attention than younger children. An account, for instance, cited that the average attention span in children is: 6-10 minutes for 2-year-olds; 9-15 minutes for 3-year-olds; 12-20 minutes for 4-year-olds; and 14 minutes for 5-year-olds. copied from Attention span → '''For children it is little different, older children are more capable of longer periods of attention than younger children. Average attention spans per age before 18th look like this:'''


 * 2 years old: four to six minutes
 * 4 years old: 8 to 12 minutes
 * 6 years old: 12 to 18 minutes
 * 8 years old: 16 to 24 minutes
 * 10 years old: 20 to 30 minutes
 * 12 years old: 24 to 36 minutes
 * 14 years old: 28 to 42 minutes
 * 16 years old: 32 to 48 minutes

For time-on-task measurements, the type of activity used in the test affects the results, as people are generally capable of a longer attention span when they are doing something that they find enjoyable or intrinsically motivating. Attention is also increased if the person is able to perform the task fluently, compared to a person who has difficulty performing the task, or to the same person when they are just learning the task. Fatigue, hunger, noise, and emotional stress reduce the time focused on the task. Common estimates for sustained attention to a freely chosen task range from about 5 minutes for a two-year-old child, to a maximum of around 20 minutes in older children and adults. However, there are many studies that claim humans are able to hold their attention span for a much shorter time. There are claims that humans can hold their attention for a shorter time than other animals such as goldfish. copied from Attention span → '''For time-on-task measurements, the type of activity used in the test affects the results, as people are generally capable of a longer attention span when they are doing something that they find enjoyable or intrinsically motivating. [5] Attention is also increased if the person is able to perform the task fluently, compared to a person who has difficulty performing the task, or to the same person when they are just learning the task. Fatigue, hunger, noise, and emotional stress can reduce the time focused on tasks.'''

After losing attention from a topic, a person may restore it by resting, doing a different kind of activity, changing mental focus, or deliberately choosing to re-focus on the first topic copied from Attention span  →  Will erase this.

Some authors, such as Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, believe that the attention span of humans is decreasing as use of modern technology, especially television, increases. Internet browsing may have a similar effect because it enables users to move easily from one page to another. Most Internet users spend less than one minute on the average website. Movie reviewer Roger Ebert, an active blogger and Twitter user, wrote of the effect of technology on his reading habits and his search for frisson on the Web and in life. Ebert cited Nicholas Carr's June 2010 Wired magazine article. This article summarizes UCLA professor Gary Small's study, which used an MRI scan to measure the differences in the cerebral blood-flow of six participants, three experienced Web users and three novices, while they performed tasks with goggles and a handheld keypad. First, participants searched Google for various preselected topics, resulting in higher increases in prefrontal cortex activity for the experienced Web users than for the novices. Second, participants read text with the goggles, resulting in no significant differences in brain activity between the two groups. Afterwards the experienced Web users spent an hour a day online for five days, the study found no significant difference between the two groups. copied from Attention span → '''Some authors, such as Neil Postman in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, believe that the attention span of humans is decreasing as use of modern technology increases. Though the increase of new media/technology has caused kids and adults to mass consume, the victims of shorter attention spans are often children or members of younger generations who have grown up with technology. With the fast-paced modern technology, the internet’s most visited sites have been social media platforms especially amongst teenagers. Roughly 73% of all adolescents are users of social networking sites even with the terms of service on some sites stating restricting use to those under age 13. The massive concern with social media platforms is the amount of time spent by adolescents and young adults using technology with the number of hours daily being as high as over 11-hours for 11–18-year-old (Carstens). The level of stimulation adults are exposed to daily between emails, television, internet, social media and more, our brain’s neurons are firing on all cylinders all day long. Children are now experiencing this degree of stimulation in there developmentary years. While they are trying to learn how to manage information and pay attention. They are now being flooded with extreme stimulation and distractions. Dr. Richard Restak’s book The New Brain: How the Modern Age Is Rewiring Your Mind discuss this phenomenon. in depth. He explains how we are all capable of reaching a breaking point where we lose our ability to focus due to overstimulation. This is what could be happening with many of our children. A child who is seen as “having difficulty focusing” or “bright, but not working to his full potential” may be unable to keep up with the demands of a stimulus-filled environment (Bhat).'''

One study of 2600 children found that early exposure to television (around age two) is associated with later attention problems such as inattention, impulsiveness, disorganization, and distractibility at age seven. This correlational study does not specify whether viewing television increases attention problems in children, or if children who are naturally prone to inattention are disproportionately attracted to the stimulation of television at young ages, or if there is some other factor, such as parenting skills, associated with this finding. copied from Attention span → Add another study under this paragraph: '''Furthermore, a study examining the relations between children’s attention span-persistence in preschool and later school achievement and college completion. In other words, this study is analyzing the importance of children’s early skills for predicting later developmental paths. For instance, children who enrolled in formal schooling without the ability to pay attention, remember instructions, and demonstrate self-control have more difficulty in elementary school and throughout high school. The research found 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 (McClelland).'''