In the words attention is the first step of in the observation. It is focusing the conscious on a stimulus. It is a process of preferentially responding to a stimulus or a range of stimuli.

Attention is one of the most intensely studied topics within Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. Of the many cognitive processes associated with the human mind (decision-making, memory, emotion etc), attention is considered the most concrete because it is tied so closely to perception. As such it is a gateway to the rest of Cognition.

+ Mental health needs a great deal of attention. It’s the final Taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with…

Attention is the ability to actively process specific information in the environment while tuning out other details.

Attention is limited in terms of both capacity and duration, So it is important to have ways to effectively manage the attentional resources. We have available in order to make sense of the world.

Definition By R.S. Woodworth

”To attend is to concentrate your activity.”

Definition By Titchner ; ; ”Attention is a state of sensory clearness with a margin and a focus.

Attention is the aspect of consciousness that relates to the amount of efforts exerted in focusing on certain aspects of an experience, So that they become relatively Vivid.”

Clinical Model Of Attention.

Many times clinical models differ from investigation models. One of the most used models for the evaluation of attention in patients with very different neurologic pathologies is the model of Sohlberg and Mateer. This hierarchic model is based in the recovering of attention processes of brain demage patients after coma.

Five different kinds of activities are described in the models; connecting with the activities that patients could do as their recovering processes advanced.

• Focused Attention; This is the ability to respond discretely to specific visual, auditory or tactile stimuli.
• Sustained Attention; This refers to the ability to maintain a consistent behavioral response during continuous and repetitive activity.
• Selective Attention; This level of attention refers to the capacity to maintain a behavioral or cognitive set in the face of distracting or competing stimuli. Therefore it incorporates the notion of ”freedom from distractibility.”
• Alternating Attention; It refers to the capacity for mental flexibility that allows individuals to shift their focus of attention and move between tasks having different cognitive requivements.
• Divided Attention; This is the highest level of attention and it refers to the ability to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multiple tasks demands.

Overt and Covert Attention.

Attention may be differentiated according to its status as ‘overt’ versus ‘covert’. Over attention is the act of directing sense organs towards a stimulus source. Covert attention is the act of mentally focusing on particular stimuli. Covert attention is thought to be a neural process that enhance the signal from a particular part of the sensory panorama.

This shift in covert attention is linked to eye movement circuitry that set up a slower saccade to that location.

• Objective Factors (characteristic of stimuli.)
• Intensity of Stimulus.
• Frequency of Repetition.
• Size.
• Movement.
• Change of Stimuli.
• Novelty.
• Subjective (Qualities of the observer).
• Habit or Familiarity.
• Immediate Need.
• Profession-interest or Motivation.
• Innate Tendencies.

Factors Leading To Attention.

• Range of vision.
• Interest.
• Elimination and selection.
• Intensity.

Human Attention.

In the case of humans, there are problems presented by ecosystem changes resulting from human mobility and a cultural artifacts. Humans no longer live the ecosystem they evolved in, but rather in an ecosystem of their own creation.

For Example, humans are attracted to sweet food, an adaptive trait for hunting and gathering, but not so adaptive for modern nutrition. (high sugar intake is a major cause of heart disease).

This is characterized by a persistent and significant pattern of conduct in which the basic rights or other are violated or rules of the society are not followed. The clinical features includes

• Frequent lying.
• Steeling or robbery.
• Running away from home and school.
• Cruelty towards other people and animals.

Diagnosis.

It is made on the basic of

• Teacher’s school reports
• Parent’s reports
• Clinical examination

Treatment.

• Pharmaco therapy
• Behavioral therapy
• Counseling and supportive psycho therapy.

Attention is the behaviour a person uses to focus the senses, from sight to hearing and smell…