aka manas by Hindus. Attention control is akin to task scheduling in computers
Types
Attention could be endogenous or exogenous (response to a loud noise). Endogenous attention is thought to involve frontal cortex and basal ganglia. Depending on whether it involves focusing sensors, attention is overt or covert.
Number of tasks
Attention may be directed at a single or multiple tasks. Usually multitasking is accomplished by focusing on each task for a short period of time. There is a cost associated with switching tasks.
Impulsivity control
This is the ability to ignore distractions.
Attention span
Greater attention span, to a certain extant, implies greater executive function. Response to exogenous attention: 8s. Sustained attention on a task is around 20 minutes on average, though people are able to renew attention after it.
\experience{Attention span can be measured and enforced, leading to better executive function. Eg: Pomodoro technique involves a cycle of 25 minute attention span rewarded by a 5 minute break.}
Effect of tools and activities
Nutritional and biological factors affecting the pre-frontal cortex are considered elsewhere.
Hands
Working with hands improves is known to improve executive function. Large areas of the brain are associated with the use of hands.
Working on the web
Working on a computer with access to the internet involves working in an environment rich in information and interruptions.
This environment rewards lower attention span with novelty. \experience{So, rewards associated impulsivity control should be stronger.}
Hence, one hypothesis is that, in the current generation, impulsivity control ability is decreasing on average. In the long term, strong executive function in an information / interruption rich environment, with the ability to handle lot of information may actually increase.
Environmental factors
Attention span varies with motivation, environment, fatigue and ability/ fluency. Tasks where people are in the ‘flow’ (which are neither too easy nor too challenging) are easier to attend to.
Number of distractors
Studies show that if there are many stimuli present (especially if they are task-related), it is much easier to ignore the non-task related stimuli, but if there are few stimuli the mind will perceive the irrelevant stimuli as well as the relevant.
Connection with age
Younger children have lower attention spans.
Ability to process multiple stimuli fully may decline with age after youth, leading to easier cognitive overload; but old folk compensate by focusing on the important information. \chk
Yet, people who have developed a greater ‘cognitive reserve’ show a slower decline with age and disease.
Over the long term
Deep human thought is to a great extant parallel. Switching attention between various tasks, while returning to the same task repeatedly/ periodically over the course of a long period of time has the beneficial effect of increasing cognitive flexibility, exploiting the associative/ abstract nature of thought.
\tbc