Why do we 'pay' attention
Is attention is our brain's most valued currency?
Have you ever paid attention to attention? Wondered why you notice only certain things and why sometimes you end up missing something that happened right in front of your eyes? Read on!
You may already be thinking about The Gorilla Experiment. If you don’t know what I am talking about, I insist you watch it now, be a bit mind-blown and then come back. Cos I’m going to tell you why the experiment works.
In our brain’s inventory, attention is a very scarce resource.
There isn’t enough to absorb all of the things happening around us.
These words on the screen. That hammering in the background. Ting - a whatsapp alert. Ooh the smell of that tadka. Did someone just call out your name?
Our 6 senses send a sea of such inputs to our brain. Every second.
What does it do to not drown in these inputs?
It makes choices. It decides where to allocate and reallocate that little amount of attention - “What must I notice and process? What has the highest potential to win me a reward?”
Wait a minute, rewards? Our brains? 🧠
Yes! Our brains are reward-chasing beasts. 🤷🏽♀️
Okay, so what kind rewards? 🏆
Generally speaking, anything that’s likely to give a Dopamine kick. 🎰
In the experiment, for the ones who didn’t know about the gorilla, their brain was chasing the reward – “I want to feel the accomplishment of counting the ball passes correctly.” Thus, it chose to ignore other events like a (rather noticeable) gorilla walking in.
For the ones who knew about the gorilla, their brains were chasing the reward – “I want to feel the thrill of noticing the gorilla and not get fooled by this.” It chose to just be on the look out for the black ape and completely missed the curtain.
Attention allocation is a super crucial brain-behaviour.
So much so, that mimicking it through the ‘Attention Mechanism’ has been the great differentiator between AI engines of the past (blah!) versus present (whoa!).
Did you know? All the present day LLMs, our Geminis, ChatGPTs and their mind-boggling feats are powered by an ability to allocate attention just like the human brain!
So, what does all this mean for learning design?
Let’s dive into this question with a field story –
We were conducting explorative research for a project a few years ago. While speaking to a teacher from rural Maharashtra, I asked him – “What is the most important task for you as a teacher?” His reply – “Maintaining my students’ attention. If I cannot keep their attention, I cannot teach them properly.”
Bang on!
Lauren Waldman a.k.a The Learning Pirate says this in a neat, memorable line – “Focus is the window to Learning. Attention is the window to Focus.”
All high-impact teachers understand the value of
putting effort in maintaining student attention.
And they do it NOT as a shriek to ‘PAY ATTENTION!’
They build it into their plan for the class.
I have observed over time that all high-impact teachers understand the value of putting effort in maintaining student attention. And they do it NOT as a shriek to ‘PAY ATTENTION!’ They build it into their plan for the class.
They anticipate points when attention is likely to drop. They have an arsenal of activities to re-engage students on the go. It is such a beauty to see the craft of such teachers.
As learning designers, here’s a few ways we design for learner attention –
👾 Even when we design multimedia experiences, expected to be inherently engaging, we never take attention for granted.
🪢 We build experiences that aim not just to catch learner attention in the beginning but also retain it throughout.
🎯 We use various strategies to do this like –
- tugging on learner motivation at drop-off points,
- balancing the level of challenge
- creating tone differences
- adding humor & surprise
- hiding easter eggs
etc.
And still, we are never completely sure that the learner will pay attention. That’s why learning design is a craft of increasing the probability of learning, it can never warranty learning will happen. The brain might be listening to the myna or thinking about laddoos 🤷🏽♀️. Ahh, such precariousness!
Doesn’t it make complete sense then that we don’t just ‘give’ attention but ‘pay’ it?
It’s mighty precious afterall :)
un:fold is a space where folks from fold labs write about learning, behaviour, systems, tech, equity and whatever else is occupying our mind.
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