What is attention?
Finding a line in a document, following a conversation and checking a calculation involve choosing which information to focus on. Attention concerns this selection and control of focus. It participates in different tasks and cannot be reduced to a single game score.
Types and properties: the differences
Concentration concerns focus on a target; sustained attention concerns maintaining it over time; switching concerns moving to a different rule. Capacity concerns how many items are attended to. Voluntary attention follows an intentional goal, while involuntary attention is captured by an event. The tree treats these as topics to explore.
Which exercises can you try?
Schulte tables ask you to find items in order. Stroop requires following a rule when word meaning and ink color conflict. Visual search asks you to find a target among other items. Learn one task’s rules and compare the same conditions rather than scores from different trainers.
Find the numbers from 1 to 9
Try it right here
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Your result
Step-by-step worked example
What to prepare
Prepare paper and a timer. Copy the grid without moving its numbers. Find them in ascending order and record the cells you select.
Task sample
What to do, step by step
State the rule before starting: find 1, then 2, up to 9 without skipping a number.
Start the timer. Point to each number and record its row and column, counted from the top and left.
If you select a wrong cell, record the error, correct your choice and continue with the required number. Keep the error in your notes.
Stop after 9. Complete the whole route before opening the check below.
How to check your result
Correct cells: 1 — (1,2), 2 — (3,3), 3 — (2,1), 4 — (3,1), 5 — (2,2), 6 — (1,3), 7 — (2,3), 8 — (1,1), 9 — (3,2). Verify all nine choices. Record time and incorrect selections separately.
Your next attempt
Shuffle the numbers for a new 3×3 grid. Keep size, search order and recording method unchanged. Treat a familiar layout separately because its route can be remembered.
Examples in everyday tasks
Find the correct arrival
You are meeting someone whose flight arrives from Berlin around 6 p.m. The board also lists departures to Berlin and other arrivals at similar times. Check direction, city, time and flight number before choosing a row. Attention helps select the relevant entry among similar alternatives.
Check dates in a document
A contract needs to match the project calendar. On this pass, locate only dates and compare them with the approved schedule, leaving punctuation and style for later. The task has a defined target: record mismatches and dates you missed, rather than judging the document’s overall appearance.
Resume assembly after a break
You pause shelf assembly to answer a call. On returning, compare the last installed part with the diagram and identify the next step before acting. This combines returning attention to the goal with checking what has already been completed; it is more specific than simply trying to concentrate harder.
