Disclaimer: This is a machine generated PDF of selected content from our products. This functionality is provided solely for your
convenience and is in no way intended to replace original scanned PDF. Neither Cengage Learning nor its licensors make any
representations or warranties with respect to the machine generated PDF. The PDF is automatically generated "AS IS" and "AS
AVAILABLE" and are not retained in our systems. CENGAGE LEARNING AND ITS LICENSORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY
AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES FOR AVAILABILITY,
ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. Your use of the machine generated PDF is subject to all use restrictions contained in The Cengage Learning
Subscription and License Agreement and/or the Gale eBooks Terms and Conditions and by using the machine generated PDF
functionality you agree to forgo any and all claims against Cengage Learning or its licensors for your use of the machine generated
PDF functionality and any output derived therefrom.
Attention Span
Author: Ryan S. Eanes
Editor: Debra L. Merskin
Date: 2019
From: The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society(Vol. 1. )
Publisher: Sage Publications, Inc.
Document Type: Topic overview
Pages: 4
Content Level: (Level 5)
Full Text:
Attention Span
Attention span refers to the particular length of time someone can concentrate on attending to a single specific task without becoming
distracted. The cultural relevance of the term becomes readily apparent when one considers that human behavioral patterns related
to media consumption and interpersonal interactions appear to have changed dramatically in the years since the introduction of the
iPhone, the first commercially successful smartphone, in 2007.
While experts disagree on whether and to what extent the always-on culture has altered the attention span of the average person,
scholars are nevertheless keenly interested in the interplay between media and the human attention span. This entry describes
contemporary neuropsychological understandings of the nature of attention, attention-related disorders and challenges, and
examples of ways in which mass media may impact the human attention span.
The Nature of Human Attention
Human attention spans seem to vary in duration depending upon the specifics of a given situation, with estimates ranging from 8–12
seconds, or perhaps more, if someone is particularly focused on a task. Regardless of the precise length of the human attentional
window, evidence suggests that these relatively short stretches are in fact subdivided into even smaller units. Research published in
2018 by scientists at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute suggests that the human brain oscillates between attention and inattention
approximately 4 times per second or 240 times per minute. In other words, human concentration occurs in pulses; between pulses,
the brain attends to background stimuli—things occurring simultaneously outside of the immediate boundaries of one’s primary focus.
Individuals perceive these attentional bursts as one continuous, unbroken stream of focus, although our perceptions of these streams
are in fact neural constructs stitched together from information collected by the brain during attentional bursts. The background
information collected during moments of inattention is never consciously perceived, though the brain can prompt us to act on this
information as needed.
The concept could be likened to a movie filmstrip, which is composed of individual still images that are played rapidly in succession
(usually between 24 and 30 images, or frames, per second). However, individuals do not see a series of sequential still images.
Rather, they perceive smooth and unbroken movement—the still images seemingly
Page 111
come to life—thanks to the brain’s ability to fill in the gaps where information is absent. In other words, the brain makes educated
guesses about what is happening between each still image to maintain a seemingly unbroken visual experience. The same is true of
these attentional bursts, with the brain filling in the gaps left when attention is shifted elsewhere.
This relatively new understanding of the nature of human attention at the neurological level calls into question the accuracy of the
claim that human beings are able to multitask, or actively attend to multiple stimuli simultaneously. The reality is that when individuals
attempt to split their attention between more than one task, particularly those that require higher levels of focus, their brains do not
process information as effectively. Efficiency can fall by nearly half, creativity flounders, and long-term memory formation is stymied.
Texting while driving, for example, is sometimes touted anecdotally as evidence of human multitasking abilities—most drivers,
according to a range of studies, routinely underestimate or disregard the dangers posed by this activity, with few acknowledging that
handheld phone use has any significant impact on their driving abilities. In reality, according to studies cited by Oscar OviedoTrespalacios and his colleagues, using a handheld mobile phone while driving increases the risk of a crash by as much as 3.6 times,
and phone-related distractions account for approximately one in four automobile accidents.
The myth of effective multitasking becomes even more questionable when one considers that human beings are able to hold
approximately seven pieces of information in short-term, or working, memory at any given time (though this exact number may vary
slightly by individual). This can be demonstrated relatively easily using a credit or debit card number. Most credit card numbers
consist of 16 digits that are usually printed on the card in four 4-digit chunks. If someone were asked to memorize this number, she
would be more likely to succeed by trying to remember these four chunks—four slots in her working memory—than 16 individual
digits, which would more readily overwhelm her short-term memory’s capacity.
The shift to a primarily digital, always-on society has brought discussions of the human attention span into sharp relief. Digital devices
like smartphones supply a practically infinite range of novel stimuli, and it is all too easy to feel a desire to try to attend to as many of
these stimuli as quickly and as frequently as possible. It seems to be a state antithetical to the so-called sense of flow coined by
psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, wherein one feels hyperfocused, energized, and completely absorbed with a particular activity.
Such a state, which Csíkszentmihályi observed in artists who would get lost in their work, is seemingly far more difficult to reach when
there are a multitude of demands vying simultaneously for one’s attentional resources.
Attention-Related Disorders and Challenges
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition,
is the primary diagnosis related to significant impairment of one’s attentional abilities. The diagnosis occurs more frequently for
males, and it is believed that approximately 5% of children and 2.5% of adults experience this condition—though the diagnosis rate
for children could be closer to 10%, according to some estimates, including data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in 2016.
There are a number of different subdiagnoses for ADHD, as it may or may not present with elements of impulsivity or hyperactivity;
regardless of the specific subtype, ADHD disrupts attention to such a degree that ordinary day-to-day function is impaired across a
range of different environments (e.g., at school and at home). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
Edition, specifies that ADHD begins during childhood, though it is not uncommon for individuals to remain undiagnosed until they
reach adulthood. One who experiences ADHD may frequently feel bored, irritable, and frustrated by the inability to remain focused
and complete ordinary tasks. Furthermore, ADHD in adults has been associated with a number of functional impairments (e.g., poor
school or work performance, interpersonal conflict) as well as an increased risk of attempted suicide.
Page 112
A number of different treatments are available to address ADHD. These range from psychotherapeutic approaches and counseling to
prescription medications, typically stimulants, that can help the brain establish more neurotypical attentional patterns. While the use
of stimulants as a treatment for a disorder that frequently includes hyperactive behaviors may seem counterintuitive, consider that
ADHD is believed to be caused (at least in part) by a shortage of certain types of neurotransmitters in the brain. Stimulants coax the
brain to release larger amounts of the neurotransmitters that are in short supply, and brain function that would be described as closer
to neurotypical can then occur as a result.
While ADHD is the primary disorder associated with disruptions to one’s attention, it is by no means the only cause of these types of
difficulties. Certain drugs (both legal and illicit) and alcohol hold the potential to impact the attention span in a negative way. This is
particularly true of substances that, like stimulants, have some effect on the composition and proportion of neurotransmitters present
in the brain. Likewise, other psychological or neurological disorders (many of which may also be caused in part or in total by
neurochemical imbalances) may also compromise attentional abilities; these may include, but are not limited to, anxiety, depression,
traumatic experiences, and learning and sensory disorders.
Attention Span and Mass Media
Understanding the ways in which digital communication technologies can impact an average user’s ability to pay attention remains an
open question in the early 21st century, but media history suggests that electronically mediated and distributed messages and
broadcasts can be successfully manipulated to maximize human engagement, for better or worse. The educational potential of
television, for example, was not well understood in the 1970s and the 1980s, with some speculating that television stoked shorter
attention spans, preventing the level of absorption or comprehension needed to truly learn. However, the producers and researchers
behind the classic children’s television program Sesame Street (1969–), arguably the most heavily researched children’s educational
program of all time, proved empirically that television messages could be altered to increase the length of children’s attention spans.
Experiments revealed that children were entranced by Sesame Street segments featuring Jim Henson’s Muppet characters, but that
the interstitial street scenes featuring only human beings—whether children or adults—did not hold children’s attention nearly as well.
Sesame Street producers not only made the decision to allow Muppets and human characters to interact with each other on screen
but later performed other empirical studies confirming the show’s ability to teach various concepts to children. These efforts, among
others, helped to cement the program’s legacy as not only engaging and entertaining but also educational.
Televised media directed at adults has also been tinkered with in an effort to retain viewer numbers in various ways. One of the most
blatant examples is the cable news ticker, a scrolling bar of constantly updated headlines placed at the bottom edge of the viewer’s
screen. Such tickers became ubiquitous following the attacks of September 11, 2001; while many broadcasters claimed that the
addition of tickers was an effort to keep viewers abreast of late-breaking developments, cynics argued that the text scrolls were an
attempt to keep individuals on edge. As of 2018, most of the major cable news networks had largely phased out tickers, with many
acknowledging that their value was questionable at best.
Ryan S. Eanes
See also Cognition and Information Processing ; Mediated Culture ; Perception
Further Readings
Atchley, P. (2010, December 21). You can’t multitask, so stop trying. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2010/12/you-cant-multi-task-so-stop-tr
Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1988). The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In M. Csíkszentmihályi & I. S.
Csíkszentmihályi (Eds.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness (pp. 15–35). Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
Fiebelkorn, I. C., Pinsk, M. A., & Kastner, S. (2018). A dynamic interplay within the frontoparietal network
Page 113
underlies rhythmic spatial attention. Neuron, 99(4), 842–853. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.07.038
Helfrich, R. F., Fiebelkorn, I. C., Szczepanski, S. M., Lin, J. J., Parvizi, J., Knight, R. T., & Kastner, S. (2018). Neural mechanisms of
sustained attention are rhythmic. Neuron, 99(4), 854–865. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.07.032
Mautz, S. (2017, May 11). Psychology and neuroscience blow-up the myth of effective multitasking. Inc. Retrieved from
https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/psychology-and-neuroscience-blow-up-the-myth-of-effective-multitasking.html
Mayzner, M. S., & Gabriel, R. F. (1963). Information “chunking” and short-term retention. The Journal of Psychology, 56(1), 161–164.
doi: 10.1080/00223980.1963.9923710
Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., Haque, M. M., King, M., & Washington, S. (2018). Should I text or call here? A situation-based analysis of
drivers’ perceived likelihood of engaging in mobile phone multitasking. Risk Analysis, 38(10), 2144–2160. doi: 10.1111/risa.13119
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2020 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Source Citation (MLA 9th Edition)
Eanes, Ryan S. "Attention Span." The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society, edited by Debra L. Merskin, vol.
1, SAGE Reference, 2019, pp. 110-113. Gale eBooks,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX7900400054/GVRL?u=mountsanclr&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=62ef8687. Accessed 30 June 2024.
Gale Document Number: GALE|CX7900400054